Quarles & Brady Adds Industry Leader as Senior Director of Legal Operations and Innovation
Milwaukee — National law firm Quarles & Brady LLP announced that Chris Emerson, a leader in helping law firms and corporate law departments use technology, processes and data analytics to improve the delivery and client experience of legal services, joined the firm today as senior director of legal operations and innovation. Emerson will be based in the firm's Milwaukee office.
Emerson will build upon the firm's reputation for consistently exceeding client expectations by leading its adoption of innovative technologies and processes such as improved workflows and automation, machine learning, and dashboards to improve business outcomes for clients and to strengthen the firm's operational capabilities.
For clients, this will mean counsel that fully understands the challenges companies experience in legal operations and how to respond to those client needs more effectively, whether that entails different pricing and service models, dashboards that quantify trends and drive insights into preventive law opportunities, or a combination of tools and legal service better designed to meet their needs. Emerson has helped many companies operationalize areas such as contract management, portfolio litigation, real estate asset management, acquisition and divestitures, regulatory advice, and matter management.
"We're committed to building a strategically savvy, forward-looking infrastructure that will enable our attorneys to consistently provide the high level of service clients have come to expect from Quarles & Brady," said David Fleisher, the firm's chief operating officer. "Chris fits that mold perfectly. His entire career has been about helping law firms find ways to deliver more client value, and we're thrilled he's bringing that experience to our team."
Emerson also will oversee the pricing and matter budgeting functions at Quarles & Brady. Most recently, he was chief of legal operations solutions and head of Cantilever at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. Before that, he was Bryan Cave's chief practice economics officer.
He comes to Quarles & Brady on the heels of two other significant additions to the firm's business operations team. Fleisher, who is well known for his expertise in law firm finance, mergers, capital projects and business leadership, joined Quarles & Brady as COO last October. Jill Weber, an experienced legal marketer and business development leader, joined as chief business development officer in April.