It’s the end of another busy week in legal tech land and there were two US law firm hire announcements in the past few days that are particularly worth noting.
First up, Am Law 100 law firm Sheppard Mullin has hired David Lampert as its new CIO. Lampert, who replaces Britton Choi, will lead a team of 90 professionals, overseeing information governance and records, network infrastructure, support systems, software training, project management and data teams. Choi joined Lewis Brisbois as CIO in March.
Based in New York, Lampert (pictured above) joins Sheppard Mullin from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft where he has served as CIO since November 2023. Prior to that, he was CIO at Loeb & Loeb and held leadership roles at A&O Shearman and Epstein Becker Green, as well as roles in the consulting, financial services and technology industries.
Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard Mullin, said: “David is at the top of his field. Innovation is a core focus for our firm, and David’s background and expertise will help us deploy the right innovative technology solutions across all lines of business to better serve our clients.”
Lampert joins Sheppard Mullin’s business services leadership team, which is led by chief operating officer Robert Brown and consists of nine chiefs. Last year, Kate Cain joined the firm as chief knowledge and innovation officer and chief practice management officer Keri Gavin was promoted to chief financial officer. “We have a best-in-class senior business services team, and David is no exception,” said Brown. “His track record in successfully contributing to and implementing technology strategies will drive our firm forward in this rapidly evolving landscape. Together, David and Kate, along with our other chiefs, will accelerate innovation and deliver exceptional value to our clients, attorneys and all business services professionals.”
Elsewhere, popular in-house industry figure Chris Grant (pictured above) has swapped sides of the fence with a move to Am Law 100 law firm Goodwin as managing director of client value. Grant was previously head of legal market engagement at HSBC and, aside from a brief stint doing legal operations consulting with Stephanie Hamon at Norton Rose Fulbright, before that was LawTech director at Barclays Ventures. At Barclays he also held roles including head of external engagement and head of relationship management, helping to manage the bank’s panel selection.
At Goodwin, he will be working with chief operating officer Mary O’Carroll, who said on LinkedIn: “Absolutely thrilled to welcome Chris Grant as Goodwin‘s new Managing Director of Client Value! I have long admired Chris for his energy, passion and knowledge in this space. Chris joins us from the client side, bringing deep expertise in legal ops, innovation, and pricing. His perspective will be key as we evolve our approach to deliver even greater value for clients.”
Grant commented: “After an amazing few years at HSBC I’m proud of what we achieved—especially being recognised with Financial Times RSG Consulting Award for Innovation in Outside Counsel Management. It’s been a privilege to work with such a fantastic team and I know there are many more great things to come from them!
“I am now stepping to the other side of the fence and joining a firm that’s genuinely committed to innovation and rethinking how we deliver value to clients. I’m especially excited to be working with Mary O’Carroll and the brilliant team at Goodwin.”