Event Details

Event Name: From AI exploration to execution: How midsize law firms are building a strategic AI advantage
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (UTC+01:00) Greenwich Mean Time : Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London
 
Join us for a fireside chat with Gardner Leader LLP and Blaser Mills Law on real-world AI adoption, plus a first look at the next generation of Thomson Reuters CoCounsel Legal.
 
For midsize law firms, the conversation around generative AI is shifting from exploration to strategic, business-aligned adoption. Thomson Reuters draws on Thomson Reuters Institute research to explore why structured AI strategy is becoming a key differentiator — helping firms improve efficiency, strengthen client service, and stay competitive as they identify the right use cases and build internal confidence.
 
The session features a fireside chat with Katie Dyson (Partner, Gardner Leader LLP) and Alex Kirk (Partner, Blaser Mills Law) — both LawNet members and CoCounsel Legal customers. Gardner Leader, founded 1895, is a South East/London firm of 200+ professionals; Blaser Mills Law, 130 years old, serves multinational clients and sporting institutions from three London-area offices. Katie and Alex will share what prompted their AI journeys, how they implemented it, where they're seeing value, and lessons for other firms — with audience Q&A.
 
The session closes with a demo of the next-generation of CoCounsel Legal, Thomson Reuters’ agentic AI. See how you can describe a matter in plain language, and it plans, researches legal authority, reasons through the issues, pulls from your precedents plus Westlaw and Practical Law, and drafts with citations — adapting as new information emerges.
 
Attendees will learn:
  • How midsize law firms are moving from AI exploration to strategic adoption
  • What Thomson Reuters Institute research shows about sector-wide AI adoption
  • Katie and Alex's real-world lessons learned
  • Which legal use cases deliver value today
  • How next-gen CoCounsel Legal supports key tasks, via live demo

 

Bonus joining gift:  By joining the webinar, you will be entered into the draw to win one of 100 pairs of Lexon Black 2-in-1 Wireless Speakerbuds (worth £85).   

   

 
Speakers

Katie Dyson, Partner, Gardner Leader LLP

Katie Dyson is Knowledge Management and Innovation Partner at Gardner Leader LLP, where she leads the firm’s approach to the adoption of emerging technologies, including AI. Her role focuses on improving legal service delivery through strong governance, effective change management and firm-wide capability building.
 
Alongside this, Katie is a Commercial Disputes Partner specialising in complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation, and is currently instructed on one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2026. This front-line litigation experience underpins her pragmatic, client-led approach to the adoption of AI in legal practice.
 
 
Alex Kirk, Partner, Blaser Mills Law
 

Alex is Partner and sits on the firm’s Management Board to develop and implement the firm’s vision and strategy, particularly on the operational side of the business. Alex also heads up People Services  focusing on delivering a high quality and client focused service for the personal client services offered by the firm, and also building close relationships with key complementary external professionals to ensure clients can obtain access to top quality advice across all areas outside the law.

Alex is also a senior leader and Solicitor in the Residential Property team having qualified in 2006 with more than 20 years’ experience in the field. Alex has particular expertise in dealing with property for sports professionals and HNW individuals, and regularly advises on all of their property requirements, from buy to let investments to purchasing their main residence. Her vast experience enables her to advise her clients in an efficient, discreet and stress-free manner.

 

Ben Firth, Client Solutions Director, Thomson Reuters 

Ben Firth drives customer success across Thomson Reuters’ legal tech portfolio in the UK and Europe. Since joining through the HighQ acquisition in 2018, Ben has scaled HighQ sales and now leads a multi-product client solutions team.  

With 20 years in legal tech and AI—from technical consulting to enterprise sales—Ben has pioneered customer success methodologies at Thomson Reuters and championed the integration of AI platform CoCounsel Legal. Known as “The HighQ guy,” he obsesses over aligning sales, marketing, and customer success to deliver exceptional client experiences and maximise legal tech ROI.  
 

Shivani Goldie, Legal Technologist, Thomson Reuters 

Shivani is a Legal Technologist at Thomson Reuters, supporting the Pre Sales and Sales teams in showcasing AI platform CoCounsel Legal to the market. A qualified lawyer turned technologist, she trained as a solicitor at Addleshaw Goddard before moving into legal tech, holding senior implementation and project management roles at Eigen Technologies and Robin AI, where she led client delivery and onboarding for AI-powered legal solutions. She is PMP certified and brings a unique blend of legal practice experience and hands-on technology implementation to her work helping firms adopt AI effectively.