UK top 50 law firm HFW has appointed Ashleigh Ovland in the newly-created role of head of legal technology adoption. Ovland will work closely with lawyers and business services teams to “identify where AI and other legal technologies can enhance client outcomes, strengthen relationships, and improve the efficiency and quality of legal delivery,” the firm said today (5 March).
Ovland’s remit includes helping to ensure that technology is embedded into day‑to‑day practice and that the firm maximises the return on its legal technology investments across its sectors. She will work closely with the firm’s chief technology officer, John Court, and the firm’s AI Committee.
Ovland was previously an aviation partner in the firm’s Hong Kong office and led the development of HFW’s ‘Flight Deck’ technology platform for airline industry clients, a client role she will continue actively to support.
“Technology and AI are increasingly important to how we deliver value to clients, but success depends on thoughtful, lawyer‑led adoption, rather than technology for its own sake. This new role underlines our focus on embedding technology into day‑to‑day practice across the firm, supporting our lawyers and ensuring we achieve real returns from our legal technology investments. Ashleigh’s background as a Partner and knowledge leader, together with her deep, hands-on legal technology experience, makes her ideally placed to help us continue on this journey.”
Ovland added:
“This is very much a team effort, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with our lawyers to understand where AI and other legal technology can make a meaningful difference to our offering at HFW, and then making sure that these tools are embedded in a way that delivers real value – to our clients and our people.”
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