Client demand may be driving law firm innovation, but it’s Chris Emerson’s job to see that it actually happens. Last month, Emerson joined Quarles & Brady as the firm’s new senior director of legal operations and innovation, which all but guarantees that he’ll be spending more than his fair share of time with dashboards and machine learning software.

More specifically, Emerson will be overseeing Quarles & Brady’s pricing and matter budgeting functions, while also continuing to build out the firm’s operational capabilities through the adoption of new technologies and workflows. He has some experience in that department, having most recently served as chief of operations solutions at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Additionally, Emerson was head of that firm’s bespoke legal operations consultancy, Cantilever.