The CLOC Global Institute conference (CGI) continued yesterday with full day of sessions! Here are the Wednesday CGI 2025 sessions and events to check out!

The 2025 CLOC Global Institute (CGI) conference is being conducted this week through May 8, at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Here’s a word cloud of the topics being discussed this year (based on the agenda).

Sessions

With that in mind, here’s a list of the Wednesday CGI 2025 sessions and events of note you may want to check out, along with the location (all times PT):

8:00 AM – 8:45 AM

KLDiscovery Roundtable: AI in Legal Ops: Transforming Challenges into Strategic Wins (Pinyon Ballroom 3)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining how legal operations professionals tackle today’s challenges and uncover strategic opportunities. In this interactive roundtable, we’ll explore both the risks and potential benefits of AI, from enhancing compliance initiatives to creating compliance headaches, from detecting potential cyber threats to being the cyber threat, while also streamlining workflows, and managing contracts with precision—all while navigating the evolving data, regulatory, and legal landscapes.  

From ethical considerations to practical implementation strategies, this session offers insights tailored to legal operations professionals looking to take their role to the next level.  

Whether you’re just beginning your AI journey or already leveraging advanced tools, you’ll leave with actionable ideas and real-world examples to drive efficiency and innovation and enhance defensibility. Join us to connect, share ideas, and discover how AI can help you transform challenges into strategic wins.

Speakers: Eric Mandel, Director, Global Advisory Services, KLDiscovery; Eric Robinson, VP, Global Advisory, Services & Strategic Client Solutions, KLDiscovery; Aditya Mirza, Managing Director, India, KLDiscovery; Oscar Vega, EVP. Global Sales & Marketing, KLDiscovery.

Fishbowl Discussion: Same Goal Different Playbook? Exploring the Differences Between In-house and Firm Legal Operations (Pinyon Ballroom 1)

Legal operations is a critical function in both firms and corporate legal departments—but how do these roles compare? While both focus on driving efficiency, leveraging technology, and optimizing service delivery, the priorities, challenges, and execution can look very different depending on the environment.

In this interactive fishbowl discussion, participants will explore the similarities and differences between legal ops in law firms and in-house legal teams. Legal operations professionals from both sides will share insights on strategic priorities, collaboration models, budget considerations, and success metrics. Attendees will have the opportunity to step into the discussion, ask questions, and contribute their own experiences to uncover best practices and key takeaways from both perspectives.

Fishbowl Format: A dynamic and interactive discussion designed to foster engagement and collaboration among attendees. A small group of thought leaders will start a discussion around a provocative topic while inviting attendees to join the discussion whenever inspired.

Speakers: Marcia Bobb, Director Winston Legal Solutions, Winston & Strawn LLP; Richard Robinson, Director of Legal Ops and Litigation Support, Toyota; Kevin Bielawski, Senior Director of Legal Operations, Husch Blackwell.

9:00 AM – 9:45 AM 

The Return on Effort Framework: Automate, Delegate, Eliminate, Elevate (Juniper 1)

Legal Operations directors are navigating cost management pressures, an evolving legal technology landscape, and the need for workload management tools to prioritize tasks effectively. David Cambria and Daniel Katz lead a discussion on advancing legal operations with Gen AI and present a framework for corporate legal departments to categorize tasks, identify the right solutions, and maximize their return on efforts. The Return on Effort Framework leverages Gen AI and other technologies to help legal departments: 

• Automate repetitive, time-consuming workflows. 
• Delegate work and decision-making to the appropriate individuals and teams. 
• Eliminate low-value work that is better served by technology.  
• Elevate lawyers to operate at the top of their licenses and add greater value to their organizations.  

David will share insights from his experience driving innovation for corporate legal departments and law firms and provide real-life examples of how this framework has been successfully implemented. 

Daniel, a renowned AI expert whose research includes ChatGPT-4 passing the bar exam, will discuss the latest advancements in Gen AI tools and their applications to legal work. 

Practical takeaways for the audience:  

CLO’s and Heads of Legal Operations need to point lawyers’ energies in the right places to ensure they’re getting the most return on their efforts. From this session, the audience will: 

• Receive a framework that supports workflow analysis and guides the allocation of people, technology, and services against the total work demands of the legal department.   
• Learn about the latest Gen AI technologies that can enhance efficiency and effectiveness.  
• Gain insights and examples of how to implement this framework in medium to large legal departments to maximize the value of legal teams.

Speakers: David Cambria, Managing Director, Legal Business Advisory, Epiq; Daniel Katz, Professor of Law, Chicago Kent College of Law.

10:00 AM – 10:45 AM 

Transforming Legal Operations: From Administrative Support to Strategic Enabler (Juniper 1)

Join us for a panel discussion featuring thought leaders in legal operations as they explore what it takes to move from an administrative support function to a strategic leader and partner within the legal department. Through real-world examples, our panelists will illustrate the differences between operational support and strategic contributions, sharing practical insights on how to make this transformation, and how technology can play a pivotal role in the transformation.

Key Discussion Points:

• Defining Strategic vs. Administrative Roles in Legal Operations: What does it mean to be strategic? How do strategic contributions differ from traditional support tasks? What role does technology play?
• From Cost Center to Value Driver: Examples of how strategic legal operations reduce costs, optimize resources, and improve decision-making,
• Vendor Management: Building a strategic vendor management program that optimizes law firm relationships and effectively controls costs.
• Predictive Analytics and Data-Driven Insights: Moving from reactive tasks to proactive, data-informed decision-making that supports risk management and business growth.
• Workflow Automation and Process Improvement: How automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows shifts legal ops teams from merely supporting functions to enabling efficiency and scalability.
• Performance Metrics and KPIs: Setting measurable goals that align with business objectives and showcase legal operations’ impact beyond administrative duties.

Speakers: Stacy Lettie, Chief of Staff to the General Counsel, Organon; Maitane Arozena, Head of Legal Technology and Program Services, Citi; Jennifer McIver, Director, Legal Operations & Industry Insights, Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions; Dana Harris, Director, Head of Law Department Projects, Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company.

Trends & Insights from first-ever Harbor Law Department Survey in Collaboration with CLOC (Juniper 4)

For the first time ever, CLOC and Harbor combined forces to develop, distribute, and prepare the 2024 Law Department Survey.  This Survey, which has been conducted by Harbor for over 20 years, is the source of data for CLOC’s 2024 State of the Industry Report.  The Survey covers all key aspects of law department operations, including staffing, spending, use of outside counsel, technology, and emerging areas such as use cases for Generative AI.

This session will provide highlights and key trends from this Survey, and then allow session participants to participate in live polling to capture how they compare to benchmarks from the Survey, and then will be provided a summary report of how they compare to other sessions attendees as a takeaway following the event.  

Panelists will represent perspectives from large law departments, small law departments, and external service providers; bringing a holistic perspective to the materials shared.

Speakers: Kevin Clem, Chief Growth Officer, Harbor; Lauren Chung, Practice Group Leader, Strategy + Transformation, Harbor; Oyango Snell, Executive Director, CLOC; Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel & Chief Global Discovery Counsel, Marsh McLennan.

11:00 AM – 11:45 AM

CLOC Must Know: Legal’s New Playbook: AI, Automation, and Business Alignment (Juniper Ballroom 4)

The legal department of the future won’t just review contracts or mitigate risk—it will be a strategic driver of business outcomes, operational efficiency, and competitive advantage. That future isn’t years away—it’s already taking shape, as Legal teams embrace AI, automation, and cross-functional collaboration to meet increasing demands from the business.

In this action-oriented panel, cross-functional leaders—including a General Counsel, Chief of Staff, Legal Operations leader, and CFO from leading companies—will break down how top Legal teams are evolving their processes, technology, and value story to better align with business goals and prove their impact beyond traditional Legal metrics.

You’ll learn how forward-thinking Legal teams are:

• Embedding Legal earlier into revenue-generating and cost-control processes to drive faster deal cycles and more predictable outcomes.
• Leveraging AI and automation to scale expertise, reduce manual work, and improve decision-making across the contract lifecycle.
• Building stronger cross-functional partnerships with Finance, Procurement, and the C-suite to ensure Legal is seen as a strategic partner—not just a cost center.
• Creating more flexible, business-aligned operating models to support global teams, regional complexities, and fast-changing regulatory environments.

Speakers: David Silbert, Senior Director, CLM Growth Strategy, Docusign; Julian Tsisin, Director, Global Legal and Compliance Technology, Meta; Curt McDaniel, Chief Legal Officer and Board Secretary, Ferring Pharmaceuticals; Aaron Wilkins, Senior Vice President, Human-I-T.

1:00 PM – 1:30 PM

Epiq Solution Lab: Funding Legal Department Innovation with Effective Spend Management (Pinyon Ballroom 2)

Insights from your legal department’s data can help you better manage legal spend, outside counsel performance, and the impact of the legal budget. Identifying and acting on these cost savings opportunities will not only relieve financial pressure on your legal department – it can also pave the way to funding the next innovation project.   

In this session, Sarah Sawvell, Global Director of Legal Operations – Head of Legal Data Intelligence, Honeywell, and Emily Miniger, Managing Director, Legal Transformation Servcices, Epiq, share their experiences with AI-enabled solutions and leveraging data to: 

• Decide where to assign work.  
• Audit compliance with outside counsel guidelines.  
• Reduce the administrative burden of managing outside counsel. 
• Find cost savings to fund specific investments and neutralize revenue.  
• Clearly and accurately communicate legal department spending.

Speakers: Sarah Sawvell, Global Director of Legal Operations and eDiscovery, Honeywell; Emily Miniger-Taragan, Managing Director, Legal Transformation Services, Epiq; Peter Eilhauer, Managing Director, Legal Spend Management, Epiq.

Relativity Solution Lab: From Tipping Point to Turning Point: Closing the Gap on Generative AI Adoption (Pinyon Ballroom 7)

As legal departments face growing demands, tighter budgets, and increasing pressure to innovate generative AI has emerged as a powerful ally. As legal operations leaders, you understand this better than anyone — the proof is undeniable.  

There are tipping points and there are turning points. For legal operation professionals, the tipping point arrived two years ago with ChatGPT. As we adopted this technology into our personal lives, the legal profession took notice when ChatGPT passed the bar exam. The defining moment for generative AI – the true turning point – is now. Adoption is happening faster than previous technologies. 

A widening gap is emerging between organizations that have embraced generative AI and those that haven’t. You’re either in or out; and if you are out, it’s costing you time, money, and accuracy. The challenge is clear: you want to adopt it, but roadblocks stand in your way. With each passing month, the gap in understanding and optimizing generative AI solutions is growing. How do you clearly communicate generative AI’s benefits to your stakeholders and close the gap? 

In this session, you’ll hear from peers who have successfully prioritized generative AI, secured internal buy-in, and are now reaping the benefits, including:  

• Substantial cost and time savings  
• Enhanced productivity and job satisfaction 
• Positioning legal as a driver of innovation, giving your company a competitive advantage

Speakers: Rachel Hull-Murphy, Director, Legal Operations, Relativity; E.J. Bastien, Director of Discovery Programs, Microsoft; Kyle Dobbs, Sr. Manager – Legal Functional Excellence, Thermo Fisher Scientific; Cecil A. Lynn, III, Senior Director, Associate General Counsel, Global Head of eDiscovery, Paypal.

1:45 PM – 3:00 PM 

General Session: Powerhouse Perspective (Ironwood Ballroom)

A dynamic panel of industry thought leaders will explore the pivotal role of legal operations in driving transformation across the enterprise.

• How can legal ops move from a reactive support role to a strategic driver of AI adoption and business impact?
• What are the critical skills legal ops professionals need to lead enterprise-wide change and harness technology for maximum value?
• How can legal operations break down silos and collaborate across the business to deliver lasting, measurable impact?

With a focus on real-world applications and the future of AI, this session will challenge conventional thinking and offer actionable insights to help you lead the way. Don’t just keep up — take charge of the future!

Speakers: Eric Dodson Greenberg, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Cox Media Group; Karen Gally, Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM

Presenting Data That Compels – How to Present Legal Data to Leadership (Juniper 1)

Data is a necessary component for the modern in-house legal team. 

In this session, participants will learn how to effectively showcase legal metrics that highlight the value of the legal function. We will delve into essential metrics to track and report, including the legal team’s ongoing projects, contract volume, workload monitoring, and reporting. Additionally, we’ll discuss the most effective visualization techniques to present this data in a compelling manner. Participants will learn how to use charts and graphs to illustrate legal efficiency and performance, ensuring executives understand how the legal function impacts the overall organization’s business success.

Speakers: Ashlyn Donohue, Director of Legal, LinkSquares; Tim Parilla, Chief Legal Officer, Linksquares; Marie Widmer, Contracts Manager, Sigma Computing; Brittany Leonard, General Counsel.

3:15 PM – 5:15 PM

Skill Builder: Building Your Own Custom GPTs: A Game Changer for Legal Ops (Pinyon Ballroom 8)

This hands-on Learning Lab explores how legal operations teams can harness custom GPTs (Generative Pre-trained Transformers) to create tailored AI solutions. Participants will dive into the core technology of GPTs, identifying the most impactful areas to deploy them—from contract review and policy creation to automated FAQs.

Learn practical steps to build, train, and integrate custom GPTs within your legal department’s workflows. We’ll cover essential considerations for selecting datasets, ensuring compliance, and avoiding common pitfalls encountered by early adopters. Participants will also receive guidance on measuring ROI and tracking efficiency.

Please Note:

This session requires pre-registration and has a limited capacity.

This session is only open to legal operations professionals.

Speakers: Brandi Pack, Legal Tech Analyst & AI Specialist, UpLevel Ops; Stephanie Corey, CEO/Founder, UpLevel Ops; Peter Calleo, Head of US Corporate Legal, Enstar.

4:15 PM – 5:00 PM 

This Time Really is Different, Finally (Juniper 4)

Ratcheting expectations, escalated by AI’s recent leaps, have affected a critical phase shift in the legal industry. This session will explore how perceptions of AI advancements have accelerated long-standing structural trends, pushing law departments and firms to rethink how they leverage legal talent through process and technology. We will discuss why this AI-driven evolution feels different—because it is—and how the increased pace of change, while bringing opportunities, also introduces risks of more complexity and disarray. Learn how to ride this wave without getting swept away.

Casey Flaherty, Chief Strategy Officer of LexFusion, will set the stage, laying out the structural forces that have only become more acute in the age of AI fever. Lydia Petrakis, Assistant General Counsel at Microsoft, will offer an inside view from a law department positioned at the epicenter of AI-enabled recalibrations.

Rachel Dooley, Chief Innovation Officer of Kirkland & Ellis, will present a law firm perspective on the expectations cascade, from the business to the law department to the external providers in the value chain.

Finally, Darth Vaughn, Associate General Counsel at Ford, will discuss what has changed—and what has not—as we all navigate a very different, and rapidly evolving, expectations landscape.

Speakers: Darth Vaughn, Associate General Counsel & Managing Dir., Policy Ops+, Ford Motor Company; Lydia Petrakis, Senior Corporate Counsel, Digital Strategist, Microsoft Corporation; Rachel Dooley, Chief Innovation Officer, Kirkland & Ellis; Casey Flaherty, Chief Strategy Officer, LexFusion.

In addition to the Wednesday CGI 2025 sessions, there’s more networking events, happy hours and receptions. But remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – unless I report it! 😉

So, what do you think? What Wednesday CGI 2025 sessions are you looking to attend? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the authors and speakers themselves, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.