LegalTechTalk 2026: What Global Legal Tech Can Teach the Profession - Albert Ferré - E11

0:00What happens when the brightest minds in legal, technology and innovation come together to shape the future of our profession? Welcome to the Legally Speaking Podcast Legal Tech Talk 2026 miniseries. As the UK's number one legal podcast and show ranked in the top 1 % of podcasts globally, we're delighted to be returning as the official media partner for Legal Tech Talk for the third time. Having supported this event since the beginning, we've witnessed firsthand how it has become Europe's largest legal technology conference, bringing together the people, ideas and innovations transforming the legal industry.

0:37Across this special series, we'll be speaking with some of the world's leading legal professionals, founders, technologists, change makers to explore what's next for law. Because our mission remains the same, inspiring legal minds, transforming legal futures. Let's get into it.

0:58Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Legally Speaking podcast sponsored by Clio, recording live here at Legal Tech Talk 2026 in London. Joining me now is another fantastic guest live. Please kindly introduce yourself, name, title and organization. Thank you. I'm Albert Ferrer, Vice President and CEO to the Global Legal Tech Hub and a huge non-profit association to legal tech. And we have a lot of members around the world and a lot of members and friends here. Absolutely. And you're doing such great work. And we were very kindly connected before the event. And it's nice to do this in person with you.

1:35Everyone is talking about transformation. In your view, what's the single biggest shift happening in the legal industry right now that legal leaders can no longer afford to ignore? For me, people, this is the focus. This is the focus, this is the present, and maybe this is the future. I'm a fighter, I'm a warrior to the access to justice. Yes. And we work a lot for making this concept inside to the sector and say, okay, guys, it's incredible that this vision intelligence, it's incredible software. But the real challenge, it's help people. Yeah, absolutely. And we agree for that. We talk a lot about tech for good, improving access to justice and just making the world a better place.

2:23We're here live, obviously, at Legal Tech Talk. one of the most influential events on the global legal calendar now, that's for sure. What brought you to LegalTalk 2026 and what's been one of the biggest highlights for you thus far? I think for the first time, the environment around to this event, it's more human approach. And I don't know, maybe it's my opinion because it's my first year here in the event. But I think now we are in a special moment. And I think I can smell in the air this new soul for the ecosystem. But maybe it's my opinion. And your opinion matters. And that's why I wanted to have you on the show.

3:10You spend a lot of time at the forefront of the industry. You've got members all over the place. What's one legal problem or challenge you're most passionate about solving right now? And why does that matter? I think there exist a lot of problems. It's true, a lot of pains. We spoke with 1 ,000 partners in the last year about, for example, the problem to the adaptation to the technology and innovation things and tools. this is one incredible problem the cultural impact in different companies and I think another time again the impact in people, the psychological problems in the law firms, in the legal departments we spoke with a lot of people in a critical moment and I say this is stress this continuous stress Yes, this control, this more technology, this more growth inside to the productivity.

4:22It's incredible, but we need more human basis. And that's where I wanted to go next on the human impact, because we're hearing, as you say, a lot around technology, automation, innovation. But if we get this right, what is the real human impact and how does that improve life for lawyers, legal teams, clients and society overall? I think maybe the best impact in the world is when the technology crosses the line to the B2B for a right to the B2C. It's now at the moment. We need to understand this process, not in a small time, not in a middle time. It's a learn. We need to understand better where is the future.

5:09and we need to improve the people for for create this future and at the end i think now we don't have time we don't have time and we don't have time for thinking we don't have time for dreaming we need more time for all these things for example in in our case in global leader they have the main event in october um are focused in empowering the future this is the title empowering the future and then for me the solution is create time yeah no and and take time no take time in different spaces uh in law firms in uh in companies no in the academia too no we need time we need we need time within a within a very uh clear proper zone time is so important isn't it it's our only commodity we can never get back so looking at the future forecast and sticking with time, let's fast forward a few years.

6:03What will seem completely obvious in say 2030 that many legal professionals are perhaps still underestimating today? In the next five years, we can see an absolutely automatic law firms. We can see different solutions for the final client, for the citizens, for the customers. We can see new justice systems with an incredible open doors. For example, we can see different countries. For example, in Italy, we can see different experiences, incredible experiences for direct connection to citizens and administration and the justice system. And we can see new universities. because for us the ecosystem starts when people are learning yes and we learn all you know all the all the all the process in university in masters you know in the career too and we learn always if you are in the legal sector you are always learning and and yeah i can see this future with incredible challenges.

7:23But for me, the opportunity, it's don't lose time in increase the productivity. Yeah, I agree. I agree. You know, this is the opportunity. And like you looking at it from a growth mindset there in terms of opportunity, I love that you go to the learning piece because if you drop the L from learn, it spells earn. You must learn before you earn and absolutely re-educating, particularly the next generation. coming through. And so if you had the attention of every law firm leader, general counsel, managing partner, legal operations professional right now watching or listening to this, what should they take action on in the next 90 days to prepare for the future?

8:02What's one action they should take? For me now, the great impact, it's the operation. Okay. Yeah. It's the operations teams. It's rethinking the old structures. and this is the actual challenge. But in the next month when the people cross this line, the next steps, the last border, it's rethinking not the process, it's rethinking the system. Then in nine days, operations. In nine months, the system. Okay, very clear. Appreciate you giving us that. What's one belief that any legal professional or legal technology or future of law you hold, so one belief that you hold, that perhaps many people might disagree with?

8:52It's very different in different areas to the sector. But maybe people are disagreeing in the use of time. Okay. No, in this sense, like, okay, but my time has impact in my life. obviously yes because you work and you earn money etc but my actions are impacting my community, this is a different thing and my actions in this time that I use in my law firm 12 hours every day are impacting the world, change the world at the end I am in the good part of the world I am in the team of the people that can change the world for the better future. This is the question. I don't know. I don't know. Every man, every woman, every people in this ecosystem has the answer.

9:57But now, the use of time for me. And that's been a key theme, and I've heard that loud and clear throughout the discussion. I've really enjoyed the discussion. So a last signature question before I let you go. So the League of Speaking podcast is all about inspiring legal minds, transforming legal futures. So my final question is this. What's one skill, mindset, or behavior you believe will separate tomorrow's leaders from everyone else? Empathy. Love it. Okay. And if people want to learn more about yourself, indeed your organization, where can they go to find out more? Feel free to share any social media handles, any website links.

10:30We'll also share them this episode for you too. Global Legal Tech Hub you can find in internet GLTH and you can find GLTH Day, you can find a lot of activities that we can create every year more than 25 around the globe and collaborate with, I don't know, in social networks for example you can find Global Legal Tech Hub in LinkedIn and you can find Global Legal Tech Hub in the website to and in all the activities and actions that we have with partners like Legal Tech Talk. We are here. We can find the blue t-shirts. There we go. It just needs me to say thank you so much for joining me live here at Legal Tech Talk 2026.

11:15It's been an absolute pleasure for all of us on the Leeds Beam podcast sponsored by Clio, wishing you lots of continued success. But for now, over and out. Thank you for listening to this week's episode. If you like the content here, why not check out our world-leading content and collaboration of the Legally Speaking Club over on Discord. Go to our website, www.legallyspeakingpodcast.com. There's a link to join our community there. Over and out.