LegalTech in Leeds Annual Conference 2026 Agenda

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22 Mar

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‍Thursday 21 May 2026 | The Rose Bowl, Leeds Beckett University

A full day of big ideas, bold conversations and real connections. Join us for the fifth LegalTech in Leeds Annual Conference, the region's must-attend event where law meets technology and where the future of legal services takes shape.

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Agenda

8:30-9.00 - Breakfast and networking

9.20 - Welcome from Leeds Beckett University Professor Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Professor of Law and Technology at the Leeds Law School, Leeds Beckett University

9.30 - Welcome to LegalTech in Leeds, Leeds Law Society Luke Corcoran, President of Leeds Law Society, Director of Leeds Law Society and Senior Lawyer in the Government Legal Department (GLD)

9.40 - Legal Technology in the UK, Lawtech UK Beth Fellner, Director of Legal Geek

9.55 - Keynote: The Efficiency Advantage: How AI Is Rewriting the Rules for Modern Law Firms Harry Black, Sales Manager, EMEA, Clio

10.15 - Panel: LegalTech Perspectives: Honest perspectives on adoption and implementation from across the legal sector. Featuring Laura Pilkington, Innovation Lead, Walker Morris, Claire Thompson, In-House Solicitor and Sheffield LegalTech Chair, Dr Virág Blazsek, Associate Professor of Law, Deputy Director, Centre for Business Law and Practice, University of Leeds School of Law

10.55 - Break and networking

11.25 - Panel: AI and the Future of Legal Work: What Really Needs to Change, chaired by BPP. Featuring James Grice, Head of Innovation and AI, Lawfront Group, Martin Beanland, Head of Service at Park Lane Plowden, Claire Zucker, Senior Account Executive, Laurel

12.05 - Fireside chat: Beyond the hype, driving AI investment and adoption. What does genuine adoption look like in practice, and what does it really take to move from curiosity to commitment? With Adam Roney, Calls9 / Kalisa.

12.25 - Lunch and networking

13.15 - IT procurement guidance Andy Evison, Director at Xexos

13.25 - AI and the Bar Henry Fingerhut from the Bar Standards Board shares their recent research and published guidance on AI usage for the Bar, joined by Paul Wright, Founder of Barrister Link and CEO of Quartz Barristers, who brings a chambers perspective to the conversation.

13.40 - Panel: Data trust fundamentals, managing change in a multi-stakeholder, multi-regulator environment. How the property market is building the foundations for secure and interoperable data, and digitally-enabled homebuying and selling. Featuring Jayne Roberts - Senior Supplier Performance Lead, Skipton Building Society Kris Byers - Pre & Post Completions Manager, MQube, Angela Hesketh - Head of Government & Public Affairs, PEXA & Board Member, Open Property Data Association, Matt Thomas, HM Land Registry, Julian Wells - Head of Communications, PEXA (panel chair)

14.20 - Keynote: Lawyer of the future, University of Law Patrick Grant, Associate Professor AI and Technology, The University of Law

14.35 - Innovation in a Day: LTIL Hackathon. The winners of the 2025 LegalTech in Leeds Hackathon, rradar, present their solution and reflect on what innovation in a day really looks like. Led by Charlotte Carruthers, Data Protection Practitioner at rradar.

14.45 - Panel: Investment perspectives: The LegalTech funding landscape, what investors want, where the opportunities are, and what it takes to scale. Hear from an investor, a LegalTech founder who has successfully secured funding, and experts in the LegalTech investment landscape. Featuring Gary Gallen, CEO and Founder, rradar.

15.15 - LegalTech Showcase - Rapid-fire presentations from LegalTech innovators, followed by a live Q&A with the audience. Chaired by Chris Grant, Head of Client Value at Goodwin.
Featuring:
- Legalito, Peter Ambrose
- AILES Project, Crish Nagarkar, Professor Leonid Bogachev and Professor Serge Sharoff, University of Leeds.
- Laurel Mary Rychlik, Account Executive at Laurel
- i agree, Helen Cutler, Co-Founder and CEO
- Collaborative Conveyancing, Luke Harris
- LegalCloud, Pelumi Okezie, Managing Director
- Katchr, Graham Moore, Managing Director