Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has hired legaltech consultant George Steven from document automation service DocGovern to expand its NRF Transform change and innovation business.

Steven will work alongside NRF’s head of legal operations consulting Stephanie Hamon, who supports in-house legal teams with commercial and business management strategies. Steven will advise those clients on the procurement and implementation of legaltech, particularly around document automation and legal engineering tools, as well as helping in-house teams decide which tech is best suited to them.

David Carter, global lead of NRF Transform and chief product officer, said: “We’re delighted to welcome George to the team. He combines an excellent understanding of the legaltech market with a strong commercial outlook, gained from advising some of the world’s most sophisticated organisations.”

Steven spent just over a year as chief technology officer at DocGovern, having previously worked in various consulting and strategy roles at AbacusNext, Nalytics, Accenture and SAS. 

Hamon said: “In-house lawyers’ roles have evolved and they need to manage their own teams like a business. Increasingly, technology underpins this, whether it is automation, workflow, visualisations, analytics or tools to support specific functions of the legal team. George has a fantastic skillset and I look forward to working together with him to support our clients.”

The NRF Transform programme aims to improve efficiencies across the firm and the effectiveness of its people, processes, tech and data when delivering client services, as well as providing ‘new law’ services directly to clients, such as consulting and product offerings.

Steven said: “NRF Transform provides a great platform to support clients in their use of legal technology. The team already has considerable technology capabilities, and through legal operations consulting, is able to help in-house legal functions to leverage technology to address strategic and practical issues.”

Last month, UK Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance appointed April Brousseau as director of its new research and development hub as the firm seeks to accelerate its digital product development to support lawyers who are working remotely.

And in March, Spanish law firm ECIJA absorbed Valencia-based legaltech consultancy Revamp Law to enhance its advice around technology, cybersecurity and legal operations.