I recently had the opportunity and honor to introduce Alberto Gonzales, 80th Attorney General of the United States, and Loretta Lynch, 83rd Attorney General of the United States, as they kicked off Legalweek 2019 with a State of the Industry Keynote Conversation. Their perspectives on the trends and evolution of the legal industry were insightful and can help legal industry participants plan ahead as we navigate the ever-changing waters of technology, data, and law.

In our prep sessions for the State of the Industry delivery, I asked both Attorney General Gonzales and Attorney General Lynch what one thing they could point to as having the most impact on innovation in the legal industry. AG Gonzales answered that the Department of Justice is rooted in tradition and that innovation takes time. AG Lynch reminded me that innovation isn’t always about technology, but also about policy innovation and innovation in the law itself. Policy is driven by information, which means we must make sure that we can learn things from the data that we manage. When we deliver business intelligence relating to technology-enabled services, we are empowered with a better informed foundation on which policy can be built.