Transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has been shortlisted for two awards at the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards Europe 2019.
The FT Innovative Lawyers Report is one of the top legal rankings in Europe and the accompanying awards are widely regarded as the best researched in the market. The report represents a unique analysis of the legal industry through interviews, extensive research and analysis including robust client, independent and expert references.
WBD has been shortlisted for Innovation in the business of law: New business and service delivery models which focuses on the firm’s launch of WBD Advance which has been designed to bring together all of the key technology and business services that are becoming increasingly essential to clients. The platform allows the firm to help clients with large volume projects, automation and process design, project and risk management; knowledge and data management and increased capability and flexible resource.
WBD has also been shortlisted for Innovation in legal expertise: Enabling business growth and transformation which recognised the firm’s support of Newcastle City Council with its national pathfinder project supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Trust to transform the business delivery model for its parks and open spaces. WBD worked in collaboration with the in-house team at Newcastle City Council to set up a new charitable trust to operate and manage the City’s parks and allotments.
Nigel Emmerson, Head of Innovation at WBD, said: “It is fantastic to have been recognised for our innovation drive and major projects where we have demonstrated innovative thinking and initiative. We firmly believe the legal sector needs to embrace innovation in order to remain competitive, relevant and progressive, which is why we set up our Innovation Group to help identify potential innovation opportunities and coordinate initiatives and projects across the firm.”
“The launch of WBD Advance is one of many of our projects which looks to deliver high-quality, cost-effective services for our clients. The relentless pace of innovation however means that we need to keep challenging ourselves to think differently about how we can deliver the most value to our clients and our people.”