Clifford Chance, looking to expand its technology product subscription business, has named a New York-based CEO to lead the unit.

The Magic Circle firm this week announced that it had hired Jeroen Plink, a onetime Clifford Chance associate who spent the bulk of his career in the legal technology field, to lead its new Applied Solutions unit, designed to provide technology products to in-house counsel for document automation and to resolve regulatory and compliances issues.

The New York appointment is a sign of the growing competition among law firms to market their own technology products and subscription services to in-house legal departments. While most large law firms still aren't known for launching their own technology products to clients, firms are increasingly investing in these products and companies.