Reed Smith welcomed its first director of applied artificial intelligence (AI), Richard Robbins. In this role, Robbins will lead the design and development of generative AI, predictive AI, data science and other disciplines for the delivery of Reed Smith’s legal and business services. He will lead a team of AI engineers and data scientists and work closely with the firm’s existing design and tech transformation resources within its Innovation Lab, strategic client intelligence and financial intelligence teams, and Gravity Stack subsidiary.
Robbins brings unique depth and breadth to this new role. He is a former Am Law 10 partner and Morningstar, Inc.’s first general counsel. He established the knowledge management department at his former law firm and was a senior consultant at Fireman & Company, focusing on law firm data strategy. Most recently, he was the managing director of applied AI at legal services provider Epiq. Robbins holds a B.A. and an M.A. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. He will receive a master's in data science from UC Berkeley this month. He is a teaching assistant for the program's generative AI class and served in that role for its natural language processing class.
At Reed Smith, Robbins will be part of the team assembled by Chief Innovation Officer David Cunningham, who created and leads the firm’s global Innovation program. “Rich adds both a client’s perspective and technical experience to the work we aspire to accomplish. He has partner-level experience and still gets excited about neural networks,” said Cunningham.Robbin’s arrival marks a new phase of expansion for Reed Smith’s innovation offering. In its just-completed foundational phase, the firm implemented 22 new or improved business systems and expanded its intelligence collection to more than 8 billion data elements.
“Rich and his team are a cornerstone element of our client-centered design flow. Our Innovation Lab crafts new legal service playbooks while our strategic intelligence and applied AI teams consider how data insights and AI can enhance these services, and Gravity Stack assists our clients in adopting these solutions alongside Reed Smith lawyers.” said Cunningham. “Applying these combined skills, for example, to create predictive risk radars for our clients and help deepen integration with in-house legal teams will become our norm.”
“With its global platform and commitment to building a next-generation law firm, Reed Smith holds a competitive edge in legal intelligence,” Robbins said. “I’m impressed with the firm’s advanced innovation program, the people I have met, and the firm’s strategy-driven approach. I look forward to the opportunity to guide the firm in developing new methods for creating even greater impact and client service.”“Rich will be critical in determining how we deploy next generation technology for clients and the firm,” said Global Managing Partner Casey Ryan. “He brings a considerable depth of understanding and experience to bear, and we’re excited for him to get started.”
The firm also plans to hire a new director of change leadership to design and facilitate awareness, understanding, adoption and measurable impact of its transformative initiatives.
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