The changing face of the legal sector and the way innovation and advanced technology are shaping its future have been explored through a series of events staged by Bristol law firm Burges Salmon for its staff. 
The firm’s second annual B-Innovative Week aimed to educate and inspire the firm’s people about the ways they – and their clients – work and included a tech fair, pictured below, coding workshops and events with high-profile guest speakers that drew more than 300 attendees from across the business.
A panel session on the changing face of legal facilitated by Joanna Goodman, author, journalist and freelance technology columnist for The Guardian and The Law Society Gazette, sparked interesting discussions on the potential impacts of new advanced technology. 
Guest panellists included Dagmar Steffens, head of innovation and sector development at the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), legal consultant Chris Bull from Shepton Mallet-based legal and professional services sector consultants Kingsmead Square, and Rick Seabrook, executive specialising in digital transformation of professional services.
The firm said the two B-Innovative Weeks tied in with its strategic focus on ‘innovative service delivery’, which highlights the collaborative approach to client service delivery taken by the firm’s lawyers, project managers, innovation specialists and technologists.
The initiative was coordinated by the firm’s business solutions and learning and development teams, led by head of business solutions Rachel Roberts.
Rachel said: “At Burges Salmon we pride ourselves on our forward-thinking approach to continuous improvement, putting the spotlight on how we can engage with new technologies and innovate the ways we work to support this.
“The 2020 initiative was met with great enthusiasm from across the business and it was fantastic to see so many of our people involved in the various events.”
For last year’s B-Innovative week Burges Salmon collaborated with Bristol science and education centre We the Curious and the University of Bristol, among others.
Burges Salmon employs around 750 people in its Bristol headquarters and London office.
