Manchester Law and technology Conference 2024

Manchester Law and technology Conference 2024

In July 2024 we ran our ever-popular annual conference delivered in partnership with LawtechUK and, thanks to our partners at Bruntwood SciTech, was again hosted at No 1 Circle Square. 

The event featured speakers from the Manchester Law and Technology Initiative (MLaTI) partner firms alongside a range of academic industry speakers from Manchester and beyond. 

As always, this was a gathering of experts and thought leaders who shared their insights on various topics related to technology and legal services. The event began with a warm welcome and overview by Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research at The University of Manchester, who described the University’s ambition with regard to partnership and collaboration to ensure our research and teaching ambition is informed through applied “real-world” projects designed with industry partners. 

Our academic keynote was delivered by Professor Sophia Ananiadou who discussed “Applications of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in finance and legal services”. The other morning keynotes were Jay Dunning of KPMG covering "Designing technology-led solutions", and Alex Herrity, Director of Legal Solutions at Adidas, shared insights on "Tech and knowledge management for in-house teams." 

In the afternoon the topics of “How Technology tools can improve Access to Justice”, and “AI Applications and Implication of AI in Legal Services”, were tackled by panel discussions featuring wide-ranging expertise. Aspects of innovation and leadership in the legal field were explored by Sophie Jackson, Senior Manager of the Innovation Group at Addleshaw Goddard, and Merley Okine, an experienced General Counsel / Head of Legal and Board Advisor. 

The main programme concluded with a session convened by the LawTech National Network Panel, featuring speakers sharing perspectives on regional hubs for LegalTech activity outside of London, and the future of LawTech. 

The event concluded with the LawtechUK Showcase Event, which introduced LawtechUK and featured demos from various LawTech startups in the NorthWest, providing a platform for innovative solutions and networking opportunities. 

The day was a great success and has fast become a highlight of the LawTech events calendar. 

View the full 2024 event programme here.