Edited 12 January to correct the heading which originally said Integreon instead of UnitedLex
Legal technology consultancy Harbor today (11 January) announced the appointment of Lisa Ellis-James as president. Ellis-James will report to chief executive officer Matt Sunderman, and lead Harbor’s global practice groups and key enterprise operations teams, including the talent, IT, integration, and administration departments.
Ellis-James was most recently chief operating officer at Ogletree Deakins, which is a Harbor client. Prior to that, she was with Boston Consulting Group for 18 years in roles that included client service and global practice management; firm operations; senior director leading global operational innovations; and chief of staff of its operations leadership team.
“Lisa brings a unique blend of leadership experience in professional services as well as the legal industry, and understands what it takes for organizations to change, innovate, and grow,” said Sunderman. “Her strategic insights and operational savvy will help us strengthen collaboration and integration across Harbor, and I’m thrilled to have her on board.”
“As a former client, I was always impressed with the high caliber of talent, the spirit of partnership, and the quality of work delivered by this team,” said Ellis-James. “The value proposition we now offer as Harbor is unparalleled, as we advise clients on strategy, implement legal technology, support operations, and provide insights about the rapidly changing legal industry. I am impressed with the world-class talent that Harbor has assembled and energized to be part of this growing team.”
Harbor has made other organizational updates this week to its go-to-market team. Kaye Sycamore has moved into a new role of chief revenue officer, while continuing to lead marketing and brand strategy, reporting to Sunderman.
Kevin Clem will continue as chief growth officer for corporations and community, while Chris Ryan is elevated from EVP of client engagement to chief growth officer for law firms.
Elsewhere, UnitedLex also announced today that it has hired Rajitha Boer, founder of Yerra Solutions, as chief client officer. She will focus on global client growth and retention, especially in the European and Asia Pacific regions, and enhancing client experience across all lines of business.
Immediately prior to UnitedLex, Boer worked at US-headquartered risk management company Breakwater assisting with EMEA and APAC operations. She founded Yerra Solutions in 2013 before selling the company to Elevate in 2019.
“In my experience, too often legal departments and law firms settle for imperfect solutions that don’t solve their challenges completely,” said Boer. “UnitedLex’s culture of innovation and collaboration aligns closely with my belief that better solutions are not only possible, but absolutely essential to meet the increasing mandate to create business value and mitigate risk.”