About LLI

Who we are

Association

The Liquid Legal Institute is an international, open, neutral, and interdisciplinary think tank focussing on legal transformation. It is organized under the laws of Germany as a registered not-for-profit association (eingetragener Verein).

The association’s purpose as stated in the articles of association is “to research and promote new ways of thinking and new technologies and other innovations in the ‘legal ecosystem’ (i.e. so-called Legal Transformation). The ‘legal ecosystem’ includes in particular the fields of legal development, legal application and legal structuring.”

The association is composed and driven by its members, who are working together to design the future of legal. 

Although being a think tank, we aim to produce tangible results that support the legal sector, be it with guidance for the next practical steps, by identifying new trends, or by developing a clear vision for the future of legal.

Members

Get an overview on selected members of the Liquid Legal Institute.

Ambassadors

The Liquid Legal Institute has flourished very well over the past years and has made great progress both in substance and in our membership.
In order to foster the geographical expansion of our Institute we appoint Ambassadors to represent our interests across different regions. We are putting this plan into action straight away! 

Our Ambassadors

Tatiana-Caldas-Löttiger

Tatiana Caldas-Löttiger

Ambassador for Northern Europe
International business lawyer

Baltasar-Cevc

Baltasar Cevc

Ambassador for Eastern Europe
fingolex

Dr

Dr. Anita Lamprecht

Ambassador for Switzerland and Austria
International Lawyer | Future Law | Metaverse Enthusiast

Dr.-Valérie-M

Dr. Valérie M. Saintot

Ambassador for human-centric AI
Lawyer, Lecturer,
Mindfulness teacher

Vera-Roedl

Dr. Vera Roedel

Ambassador for Life Sciences and Pharma
Global Lead Antitrust,
Merck KGaA

Robert-Dilworth

Robert Dilworth

Ambassador for North America
Managing Director & Assoc. General Counsel, Bank of America / BofA Securities (ex-Merrill Lynch)

Every member can nominated as an LLI Ambassador. We welcome self-nominations!

We give the role of Ambassador to members who strongly identify with the objectives of the Liquid Legal Institute. The duration of membership plays just as little a role as the seniority in the respective company or organization.

Most importantly, the appropriate person is one who can credibly communicate our transformational goals. In other words, we want to exchange ideas with all colleagues worldwide who are involved in digital transformation in their company or function and whose voices we would like to amplify through our network of like-minded people.

In conclusion, an Ambassador represents the Liquid Legal Institute to the outside world and connects the newly acquired contacts internally, so that our network gradually grows for the benefit of all.

You have ideas for how we could support your specific situation? Then just let us know. We are more than happy to offer support!

Partner Network

The LLI has a vital and vibrant partner network, with whom we are constantly discussing new ideas, work on existing topics, and support each other in events or on other occasions.

Feel free to get in touch with us, if you want to become a trusted partner in our network.

Partners

We see ourselves as part of an ecosystem. Get an overview on our partner network.

How we work

Working Groups

We pursue a holistic approach and cover all aspects of the legal transformation. Our working groups give a thematic and organizational structure to our activities in the Liquid Legal Institute. Currently we have six working groups and one goal.

icon-digitalization

Digitalization

/ˌdɪdʒɪtəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/:

Topics related to digitalization including applications, processes, technologies, and innovation increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations and enabling for new business models and areas.

icon-methodologies

Methodologies

/ˌmeθəˈdɑːlədʒi/:

Topics related to the application of new methods and tools to address the challenges we are facing more effectively. New ways of collaboration and formation of interdisclinary teams as well as best-practices to achieve more with less.

icon-digitalization

Computational Law

/ˌkɑːmpjuˈteɪʃənl lɔː/:

Topics related to represent the legal system and the law in a machine-readable and executable format. This includes various topics of artificial intelligence and automated legal reasoning.

icon-standardization

Standardization

/ˌstændərdəˈzeɪʃn/:

Topics related to the standardization of processes, tools, metadata, terminologies, and other aspects of the legal field. Structuring a complex field by providing a commonly accepted and shared understanding is of ultimate value.

icon-education

Education

/ˌedʒuˈkeɪʃn/:

A process of teaching, training and learning to improve knowledge and develop skills.

icon-common-legal-platform

Common Legal Platform

/ˈkɑːmən ˈliːɡl ˈplætfɔːrm/:

The CLP is an open and neutral platform that connects different layers including infrastructure, data, applications and business processes in a seamless and interoperable way. Thereby, unknown synergies can be leveraged leading to a highly efficient and effective legal function. Not only for companies or law firms, but for the whole society.

Our activity formats

We have established a set of formats for collaboratively designing the future of legal.

1
Projects
/ˈprɑːdʒekt/: Every member can propose ideas for a new project to create know-how, review or evaluate a specific topic. The community is working towards a common and shared goal, which could be a publication, an event, or something else.
2
Round-tables
/ˌraʊnd ˈteɪbl/: A series of discussions and meetings which are moderated and organized around a specific topic. The community discusses hypothesis and novel topics without the dedicated objective of creating a tangible deliverable.
3
Initiatives and Forums
/ɪˈnɪʃətɪv ˌænd ˈfɔːrəm/: A larger, more complex, or novel idea with high uncertainty can become an LLI-initiative or forum. The high relevancy of the topic requires more dedicated focus with a strategic plan for execution and efficient operational level. It can result in sub-projects and a series of events and round-tables.
4
Labs
/læb/: A virtual area and room for scientific and practical research. A lab is the ideal sandbox environment to experiment with methods or try out new technologies and tools. Get your hands around a new innovation or something you want to try out.
5
Events
/ɪˈvent/: A well-organized public or social occasion on a certain topic. It can either be virtual or on-site. It allows forward-thinkers to connect, meet face-to-face and discuss latest trends and relevant topics.

Collaborating with third parties

We are open to collaborate with third parties in various ways, from contract research to content partnership.

How we are organized

Governance structure

Overview on the governance structure of the Liquid Legal Institute as provided by the articles of association.

Management board

Kai-Jacob

Kai Jacob

LLI Board Member and 

KPMG Law

Kai is Co-Founder of the LLI and Co-CEO. He is also a partner in Legal Operations & Transformation Services (LOTS) at KPMG Law since 2021. Before KPMG Law, Kai was a partner at Deloitte Legal and previously spent many years at SAP SE.

Dierk-Schindler

Dr. Dierk Schindler

LLI Board Member and 

Robert Bosch GmbH

Dierk is Co-Founder of the LLI and Co-CEO. Dierk is Vice President & Head of Corporate Legal Services, Mobility Solutions, Supply Chain & Logistics at Bosch. In addition, he is an academic lecturer on topics regarding innovation in business and law.

Bernhard-Waltl

Dr. Bernhard Waltl

LLI Board Member and 

BMW Group

Bernhard is Co-Founder of the LLI and Co-CEO. Bernhard is software engineer and computer scientist. He is fellow of the CodeX (Stanford Law School). He is with BMW Group where he leads the practice group on Legal Innovation and Operations .

Team

Evgeny-Ioffe

Evgeny Ioffe

Head of Business
Development & Administration

Larissa-Hambek

Larissa Hambek

Manager Projects & Events, Social Media, Administration

Carla-Wengenroth

Carla Wengenroth

Manager Projects & Events, Social Media, Administration

Büsra-Bayzat

Büsra Bayzat

Manager Projects & Events, Social Media, Administration

Supervisory board

Dr

Dr. Jens Wagner

Allen & Overy

Roger-Strathausen-phd

Roger Strathausen, PhD

PD GmbH

Astrid-Kohlmeier

Astrid Kohlmeier

Founder AK

Eva-Gardyan-Eisenlohr

Eva Gardyan-Eisenlohr

Olympus Corporation

Prof.-Dr

Prof. Dr. Thomas Wegerich

German Law Publishers GmbH/Deutscher Anwalt Spiegel Mediengruppe

Zoë-Andreae

Zoë Andreae

CEO at LECARE

General meeting

The general meeting is the highest authority of the association. In the general meeting, each member of the Liquid Legal Institute has one vote.

Articles of association and other important documents

The articles of association can be found here:

The membership fees scheme can be found here:

Our compliance policy can be found here:

Values

The Liquid Legal Institute is an open and interdisciplinary platform for promoting a new way of thinking in the legal sector. Digitalization, new business models and technological innovations are currently changing all major industries worldwide. However, the legal sector has not yet benefited sufficiently from these trends.

Interdiscplinary. International. Professional.

Since the inception, the Institute grew in membership and geographical reach, with many members on every continent. Each member of the interdisciplinary group contributes a valuable aspect to the promotion of Liquid Legal.
The Liquid Legal institute is a neutral and non-profit platform for discussion, exchange, and cooperation. We identify and promote new thinking in the legal sector together with our partners and affiliates, and the growing membership. Our projects put findings into action, gather knowledge, create methodology kits, set standards and more—all available to our members to quickly apply those resources in their daily practice.

Innovation. Collaboration. Diversity.

We believe in the power of collaboration, co-innovation and simplification. We base or work on actual needs and invite all stakeholders to bring in their perspectives and set the bar for tomorrow’s legal! Join us!

Our (hi)story​

Following the liquid mindset we started small with a big potential. We are proud to see the LLI growing.

The first edition of Liquid Legal Book appears
The Liquid-Legal-Institute e. V. was founded and goes live
The LLI keeps growing and becomes an interesting place for Legal Innovation
First two project officially published: The LegalTech Digitalization Guide and the Legal Design Challenge with the HPI
The second edition of Liquid Legal Book (The Common Legal Platform) is published
We open additional publishing channels via Weblaw, GitHub, and GitBook.
The third edition of Liquid Legal Book (Humanization and the Law) is published
We launch www.metaverse-for-legal.com and design first metaverse spaces for the LLI
2016
2017
2018
2018
2019
2019
2019
2020
2020
2020
2021
2021
2022
2022
2022
2023
Industry-wide requests for a neutral platform, the LLI
The LLI presents itself at the Inhouse Matters in Frankfurt
LLI migrates to MS Teams fostering collaboration and pursuing open communication
The Common Legal Platform Principles are published.
The Common Legal Platform Ecosystem goes live: https://www.common-legal-platform.org
We have more than 2000 followers on LinkedIn.
Leading a consortium of nine companies, the LLI has been approved as Gaia-X project lead by the Federal Ministry of Economy for the Domain "Legal"
We connect more than 1000 persons via our LLI-platform and relaunch our homepage.

Background

The Liquid Legal Institute was founded in 2018 by seven experts from legal and business practice, design thinking and computer science to close this gap.

Dierk-Schindler

Dr. Dierk Schindler

Lawyer & Agile Legal Business Leader at Robert BOSCH GmbH

Dierk serves as Vice President & Head of Corporate Legal Services, Mobility, Supply Chain & Logistics at Robert BOSCH GmbH. With his team & the BOSCH Legal Leadership Team he drives a people-centric and business-oriented innovation agenda, applying a digital-first approach.

Beyond his day job, Dierk has served as the Vice Chair Europe & Officer on the Board of Directors of IACCM until October 2018. Dierk regularly speaks, lectures & publishes on digitization, transformation & innovation in the legal ecosystem.

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Astrid-Kohlmeier

Astrid Kohlmeier

Lawyer and Consultant,
Legal Design & Legal Tech

Astrid is both, an educated lawyer and a mediadesigner. She combines the disciplines law and design for over a decade and is now a so called „legal designer“. She is a pioneer in developing design thinking methods for the legal industry.

She worked for more than 10 years as head of Marketing & Communications in the legal service industry at ERGO Insurance Group, a subsidiary of Munich Re and is engaged as a consultant for legal transformation and development of new legal services.

Astrid has a long-standing experience in marketing, design, consulting and leadership based on a background in law, media design, strategy consulting and design thinking.

 

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Kai-Jacob

Kai Jacob

Partner at
KPMG Law

Kai, initially a lawyer in the procurement department of Lufthansa Systems, joined SAP in 2008. At SAP, he held various roles, leading the Global Contract Management Services team and, in 2015, becoming the Global VP with added responsibilities for Legal Information Management. This role was instrumental in driving the digital transformation of the legal function, including the development of SAP’s Enterprise Contract Management and Assembly Solution in S4/HANA.

In 2019, Kai moved to Deloitte as a partner focusing on Legal Management Consulting (LMC). He then joined KPMG Law in 2021 as a Partner in Legal Operation and Transformation (LOTS), further shaping the evolution of legal services.

Since 2018, Kai has also been a founder and Co-CEO of the Liquid Legal Institute, actively promoting innovative approaches in the legal sector. He regularly speaks at conferences, advocating for his vision of LIQUID LEGAL.

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Bernhard-Waltl

Dr. Bernhard Waltl

Legal Operations Officer
BMW Group

Bernhard is a computer scientist and interested in technology, and how technology changes the business of law. He designs, develops, and evaluates technology and methods transforming the future of law.

In 2017 he was an invited researcher at Stanford University Law School (CodeX: Center for Legal Informatics) where he conducted research on text mining and artificial intelligence in the legal domain. He is part of an international network of leading researchers from computer science, and legal informatics.

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Prof.-Dr

Prof. Dr. Thomas Wegerich

Deutscher Anwalt Spiegel
German Law Publishers

Thomas has long held various management positions in leading legal publishing houses. He is the founder of the publishing house German Law Publishers, which operates numerous top-class journalistic projects, networks, and event formats as part of a joint venture with F.A.Z.-Fachverlag.

In addition, Thomas is a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Bundesverband der Wirtschaftskanzleien in Deutschland (BWD). He also serves as a member of the Legal Committee of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Frankfurt.

 

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Roger-Strathausen-phd

Roger Strathausen, PhD

Digitalization
Leader

Roger is a business consultant, author and lecturer focusing on organizational transformation in knowledge-intensive industries.

An ex-Accenture executive and SAP employee , he is co-editor of the „Liquid Legal“ compendium (Springer 2017), author of “Leading When You Are Not the Boss“ (Apress 2015), and a speaker on topics of leadership and learning. Roger earned his PhD from Stanford University while on Fulbright and Stanford Dissertation Fellowships, and his MA from the University of Tübingen.

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Dr

Dr. Jens Wagner

Counsel at
Allen & Overy

Jens is a Counsel at Allen & Overy’s Corporate department and based in the Munich office.

As German Rechtsanwalt he advises on corporate governance, corporate actions and group-internal reorganisations, having an industry-focus on telecommunications, media and technology. He published widely on German and European company law. Recently he has also published on legal tech. Jens is a member of Allen & Overy’s legal tech group.

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Your membership

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Your career

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