UK top 50 law firm Womble Bond Dickinson has appointed Sam Dixon as its chief innovation officer in the UK, elevating the UK innovation conversation to the C-Suite.
Dixon, who joined the firm as a trainee solicitor in 2008, has been a partner in the firm’s restructuring and insolvency team since 2020 and involved with the firm’s innovation initiatives for the past decade, including most recently as head of innovation and chair of the UK AI steering group. He has sponsored a number of key projects including the recent cloud migration of its DMS to iManage Cloud and the development of Peppermint Technology’s CRM. In addition, he also works closely with the firm’s IT and risk teams to put in place the frameworks and tools needed to address the opportunities and risks presented by generative AI.
We’re told that Dixon will be designing and leading its innovation strategy to leverage ideas from colleagues across the business. Womble Bond Dickinson is a transatlantic firm and in the States Bill Koch has been chief knowledge and innovation officer since 2022.
Paul Stewart, managing partner at Womble Bond Dickinson, said: “Sam has been at the forefront of many of our innovation projects and he understands what it will take to be a leader in the legal industry in the future. His wealth of expertise and insight into new technologies will be crucial to supporting our core strategic aims and objectives.”
Dixon said: “It is hard to imagine a more exciting time to be involved in innovation in the legal sector. As we stride into a future filled with generative AI, there will be plenty of opportunities to grasp and plenty of pitfalls for the unwary. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead on innovation at Womble Bond Dickinson and I’m looking forward to working with colleagues from across the business to help find ways to do things differently to improve our business.”