Legal Summit part 1: What are the biggest challenges facing legal services? Clients, Talent or Technology?

Legal Summitt summary during the Iberian Lawyer #40uForty2017 awards

Over recent years, clients and talent have moved to the top of the list of law firm challenges. Clients are now firmly in the driving seat and putting their external legal providers under new and increasing pressure. At the same time, a new generation of young lawyers have new expectations and are making new demands – threatening the foundations of the traditional law firm “up or out” approach.
With an increasing demand for services which are “quicker, better, cheaper”, some have charted the demise of what is seen as the “traditional” law firm model in preference for the “hybrid” approach and the alternative legal providers.

But what about technology? Past decades have suggested that technology is the biggest threat for law firms. In this unique event we will instead be suggesting that technology is fast becoming the biggest opportunity for law firms, helping them to reinvent the ways in which they deliver law, an increase competitiveness.

We will open with the opportunity to ask the views of a unique panel of Expert Witnesses – one
responding from the client perspective and the second from the law firm perspective. The following
have kindly agreed to be our witnesses:
In-house lawyers:
• Asier Crespo, Legal Director Spain & Portugal, Microsoft
• Luis Elías Viñeta, General counsel, Grupo Planeta
• Marta Casas, Vice Secretary General and Legal Director, Abertis
Law firm leaders:
• Héctor Bros, Managing Partner, Cuatrecasas, Barcelona
• Luis Guerra, Managing Partner, Deloitte, Spain
• Antonio Herrera, Managing Partner, Uría Menéndez, Barcelona
• Michael Willisch, Resident Partner, Davis Polk, Madrid
• Montserrat Llopart, Managing partner, Baker McKenzie, Barcelona

See more information at iberianlawyer.com/past-events/241-legal-summit-2017/event_details