For 10 years, HighQ has been gathering leaders in the legal industry together to collaborate, network and innovate at the annual HighQ Forum event. This year, more than 300 attendees and a record 37 speakers from all areas of the legal industry shared their experiences and expertise—covering topics including technology implementation, successful adoption, internal and external collaboration, alternative legal services and more.
Again this year, we encouraged attendees to share their insights and thoughts on LinkedIn and Twitter using the hashtag #HighQForum. These posts are perhaps the best way for us to capture the excitement and camaraderie that always surrounds the day. Here are some of our favorites from the 2019 event:
HighQ insights
During the opening keynote presentation, Stuart Barr, chief product and strategy officer, unveiled the latest update, HighQ 5.1. Included in the update are enhancements to iSheets, data visualisation, AI Hub and more.
All of the features and enhancements in HighQ work together to create a platform that offers a multitude of constantly evolving solutions including transaction management, legal project management, legal operations, contract management, risk management and more. We were pleased to receive some immediate positive feedback from the attendees.
After HighQ 5.1 was unveiled and the group was given a live demonstration of just a few of the new enhancements, Rob MacAdam, vice president of corporate legal solutions, took the stage to share advice about how to get the most out of the platform. He offered some words of wisdom for teams who want to innovate.
For attendees who wanted to explore the capabilities of the platform in more detail, the technology-focused breakout sessions in the afternoon offered more information delivered by specialists from our product team. Many of the sessions were presented by the same product managers that have directly helped to shape the evolution of the HighQ platform.
Industry experts
We welcomed several industry experts to the HighQ Forum stage this year.
Josh Kubicki from Bold Duck Studios started by exploring how captive practice groups embracing alternative legal services interact with the law firm at-large. He shared the potential outcomes of practice group growth.
We also heard from one of the co-founders of She Breaks the Law, Priya Lele, who discussed the rapidly growing network's mission and purpose. The network has expanded in the last two months to include more than 1000 members from more than 10 countries. Priya explained that the group's mission is to seek change and to elevate all members of the legal industry. The group will be hosting events across the globe in the coming year.
We were joined by Chris Simkims from Wavelength.law who spoke about how the current legal landscape is impacting communication between law firms and their clients in corporate legal departments. Chris also explored the developing role of the legal engineer as law firms seek to unite technology, data and design to create better ways to deliver legal services.
As our closing keynote speaker, we were honored to welcome Reena Sengupta from RSG Consulting. Reena shared the story of her journey into legal tech, the founding of RSG Consulting and the beginning of the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards. Contributions of previous winners of the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards were highlighted and illustrated that legal innovation begins with people who think differently.
Corporate legal and law firm breakout sessions
New this year, we hosted afternoon breakout sessions that were dedicated to corporate legal departments, law firms and technology. Each track offered a unique perspective from experts and practitioners in that area. The sessions aimed to offer practical advice with zero hype.
Law firm insights
The law firm track explored how firms like Matheson, WolfThiess and CMS use technology, including HighQ, to innovate and transform the way they work to improve client engagement and efficiency.
Andrea Miskolczi, from WolfTheiss, shared the firm's strategy for increasing technology adoption within the firm, which included clever site branding and bringing an element of fun and gamification into their platform.
Corporate legal sessions
This year the Forum presented a new perspective for our corporate legal attendees. Speakers from SBV Consulting, National Grid, BUPA, Fleetcor, Nisbets, LDC and BT offered insights on topics ranging from how to win budget to how to get started with technology when you do. Each speaker offered advice and strategies focused on how corporate legal teams can get the most value from technology and better serve their business.
Client case studies and insights
One of our favorite parts of the HighQ Forum is having the opportunity to let our clients take the spotlight to share the new and creative ways they are using the platform. In our general session, we heard from KMPG, Addleshaw Goddard, CMS, Sainsburys and Ashurst who discussed how they use HighQ to improve collaboration, regulatory compliance and client experience.
We set out this year to cut through the hype and deliver real-world insights and practical advice for our clients and anyone in the legal industry interested in technology. Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event the highlight of our year, once again. We can't wait to see you again next year.
