Driving change inside a global law firm: White & Case innovation chief Isabel Parker

Isabel Parker, chief innovation officer at White & Case, joins the podcast to talk about what it takes to drive innovation inside a global law firm. A former Freshfields lawyer and Deloitte partner, she shares how her career evolved from practice into leading transformation at one of the world’s largest firms.

She explains why innovation isn’t just about technology, even in the age of AI. The real challenge, she says, is time and mindset - getting lawyers to see tools like AI as part of their core role, not something delivered by a separate team. Her goal is to shift ownership of innovation to lawyers themselves.

We also get into White & Case’s AI strategy, including the build of its in-house platform Atlas and its broader approach. Parker makes the case for developing internal capability alongside adopting best-in-class tools, particularly in such a fast-moving market.

Finally, she shares her views on what will actually differentiate firms going forward - not the tools themselves, but how quickly firms can upskill their people and make better use of their data. And for individual lawyers, the key skill is simple: disciplined curiosity.

Chapters

00:01 Introduction
02:30 From Freshfields lawyer to innovation leader
04:37 Lessons from Deloitte and working closer to clients
06:39 What a Chief Innovation Officer actually does
08:59 Why time and mindset are the biggest barriers to innovation
11:56 Culture, experimentation and the lawyer mindset
14:59 White & Case’s AI strategy and building Atlas
17:56 Build vs buy vs partner: making the right AI bets
23:51 What will differentiate law firms in the AI era