In the last six months alone over thirty law firms in the US and Europe have appointed chief innovation officers, according to executive search firm The Cowen Group.

30 new hires

The group expects the trend to continue, as David Cowen, the firm’s president, predicted that another 30 will be hired or promoted by the end of 2018. Blank Rome is the latest, with Linda Novosel, formerly Steptoe & Johnson’s chief client value officer, joining the firm as chief innovation and value officer in its Philadelphia office. In this new role at Blank Rome, Ms Novosel will develop innovative solutions to drive efficiency and enhance client service through the implementation of collaborative systems and processes to support litigation, transactional, and regulatory compliance matters and projects.

Identifying new models

Blank Rome chief operating officer Patrick Cavanaugh said the new role is intended to help the firm increase efficiency and lower costs for clients, ‘we continue to make significant investments in strategic pricing and legal project management, as they are areas of critical importance to our clients and firm.’ Ms Novosel told Bloomberg Law that the job will include ‘identifying new staffing models, processes, and technology that will support our practices and client teams.’ She added, ‘I will be working with my peers, Blank Rome lawyers, and many of the business professionals at the firm to develop client and matter-specific approaches that are aligned with our clients’ goals and budgets.’