Kerry Westland leads one of the most ambitious innovation functions of any major law firm - a 70-person team at Addleshaw Goddard dedicated to transforming how legal services are delivered (with and without tech).
In this episode, Kerry shares her journey from paralegal to head of innovation, and how AG has built out a tech strategy that blends vendor tools with homegrown solutions - including AGPT, the firm’s in-house AI assistant that’s now used across the business.
We talk through the evolution of AG’s legal tech stack, how the firm approaches ROI, the rise of GenAI, and the practical challenges of implementing new tools in a legacy profession. Kerry also reflects on what the future of the law firm might look like - and why she doesn’t believe in the “end of the people pyramid.”
From document automation to internal product development, from pricing models to practice group engagement, this is a look at how one of the UK’s top firms is operationalising innovation at scale.
Chapters
00:35 The Evolution of Legal Innovation
03:21 Defining Innovation in Law Firms
06:39 Day-to-Day Responsibilities of an Innovation Leader
09:26 Balancing Technology and Process in Legal Work
12:43 Addleshaw Goddard's Tech Stack Overview
15:30 Managing Technology Demands Across Practice Areas
18:33 Impact of Internal Tools on Legal Work
21:31 Adoption and Use Cases of AGPT
24:26 Cost Considerations in Legal Technology
27:19 Evaluating ROI on Legal Technology
30:17 Impact on Billable Hour Model
32:55 Productising Legal Technology
35:04 Disruption from AI in Legal Services
38:53 The Future of Junior Lawyers
40:38 Envisioning the Law Firm of 2035
44:11 Exciting Innovations in Legal Tech
48:46 Career Advice for Junior Lawyers
50:08 Overcoming Risk to Foster Innovation
51:32 Influential Reads in Legal Thinking
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