International law firm Bird & Bird has hired a legal transformation team from Big Four firm EY in the shape of Shahin Baghaei, along with: Head of Legal Solutions – Dale Carden, Senior Manager – Carl Newman, and Manager – Carolyn Guha.
Baghaei led a global group of legal consultants focused on solving enterprise contract management challenges while at EY in London. He was at the Big Four firm for seven years.
The new group ‘will specialise in the delivery of innovative, technology enabled solutions that help manage clients’ legal work more effectively and at scale. This will include both enhancing how existing mandates are delivered and developing new AI legal solutions, underpinned by the assurance and expertise of Bird & Bird’, they said.
The team will complement Bird & Bird’s existing LegalTech & AI capabilities, it was added. Currently, the law firm is working with Legora as its main legal AI platform.
Baghaei has particular expertise in ‘improving contracting processes and helping clients prepare for regulatory change’, they concluded. He also once worked at Clifford Chance.
Christian Bartsch, Bird & Bird’s CEO, commented: ‘This exciting appointment reinforces Bird & Bird’s position at the forefront of advising clients on the opportunities and challenges of a technology-driven world. Shahin’s experience advising organisations on AI, innovation and the future of legal service delivery further strengthens our Legal Tech & AI capabilities, supporting our clients through smart, efficient and scalable solutions.’
Baghaei added: ‘Bird & Bird’s leadership, lawyers and business services teams are united by a shared commitment to innovation and helping clients navigate change. The firm’s willingness to embrace new ideas and continually evolve how legal services are delivered was a major attraction for me and my team.
‘The opportunity to join a firm with such a strong brand, culture and heritage at a time of unprecedented opportunity and change is incredibly exciting. We are excited to contribute to the firm’s continued growth.’
Is this a big deal?
Most major law firms offer some type of consulting around legal tech and innovation these days, but this is a chunky team from the Big Four. So, it’s definitely noteworthy. It may also help Legora, as presumably, the firm will be suggesting to clients that they use that platform when it comes to AI systems.
—
Two Major Legal Innovators Conferences this November
Come and join us in New York and London this November at Legal Innovators!
Legal Innovators UK – London, Nov 4 and 5
And, then Legal Innovators New York – Nov 17 and 18.
After another fantastic Legal Innovators California, where we had speakers from OpenAI, Y Combinator, Google, Meta, and many more pioneering organisations; and our stellar inaugural event in Paris this June, we are now looking forward to the landmark conferences in London and New York, both in November, and both across two days: Law Firm Day, and Inhouse Day.
Discover more from Artificial Lawyer
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.