[The second of eight articles in the Law 2.5 Strategic Insight series. Law 2.5 is a forward-thinking consortium of industry leaders focused on redefining how law firms operate, compete, and create value in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Throughout the series, authors explore structural, cultural, and strategic shifts shaping the next generation of legal services.]
Building an Innovation Mindset: It Starts with People
Innovation in the legal industry doesn't begin with a software license or a hot new dashboard; it starts with a mindset. At its heart, innovation is about people: the way they think, collaborate, adapt, and engage with the problems in front of them. When firms foster this mindset intentionally, they do more than generate new ideas; they build a culture equipped to evolve, solve, and grow.
The people who lead innovation aren't necessarily the most technical – they're the most agile, curious, and collaborative.
So what does an innovation mindset look like? It's grounded in five foundational traits:
- Curiosity – The willingness to ask "what if?" and challenge assumptions.
- Adaptability – A readiness to pivot when markets, client demands, or regulations shift.
- Empathy – Designing client solutions with human impact in mind.
- Resilience – Viewing failed initiatives not as mistakes but as data.
- Openness to feedback – The ability to take input, iterate quickly, and continuously improve.
Brandice Johnson, Client Development Manager at Fisher Phillips captures this ethos well: "Innovators are perpetual learners, not only turning ideas into actions but also being open to opportunities along the way." The people who lead innovation aren't necessarily the most technical – they're the most agile, curious, and collaborative.
For lawyers, innovation often requires a mindset shift. Legal culture tends to reward precision and precedent, which can be at odds with experimentation. But innovation isn't about recklessness; it's about designing smarter, client-centered ways of delivering value. That could mean streamlining a process, embracing alternative pricing, leveraging data, or creating cross-practice solutions. As Danielle Smith, Director of Baker Women, at Baker Donelson notes, "Innovations that really take off are led by people who can not only see the potential big reward at the end but are also people comfortable with the potential failure." Forward-thinking lawyers reframe risk not as something to avoid, but something to manage in the pursuit of meaningful progress.
Creating a Culture that Supports Innovation
Law firms traditionally operate within risk-averse environments, though most would claim to foster innovation. For a strategic shift toward innovation to be a reality, leadership must model a mindset open to experimentation and learning. For marketing professionals, this means moving beyond task execution to insight generation—transforming client data, market trends, and firm expertise into proactive, strategic campaigns.
Innovation is most successful in a team culture that incorporates psychological safety for out-of-the-box thinking, permission to try and to fail without professional penalty, praise and recognition for ideas as well as outcomes, and willingness to try new approaches without resistance and sabotage within the team.
Legal marketers and business development professionals are uniquely positioned to drive this cultural shift. As storytellers, strategists, and internal influencers, they're often the ones connecting disparate dots across practices, identifying gaps in client experience, and piloting creative campaigns. Tahisha Fugate, Associate Director of Marketing and Business Development at Axinn explains her philosophy this way: "I focus on delivering innovative solutions that positively impact clients and the community—prioritizing accessibility, efficiency, and relevance."
And as Roy Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer at Vedder Price, cautions, innovation must be intentional: "Innovation for innovation's sake is just chasing the shiny object. Solve for the immediate problem you are facing in a creative way that delivers results—then rinse and repeat."
Adapting to Change: Leadership and the Role of Team Culture
Leaders play a pivotal role in shaping a team culture that nurtures innovation. Their behavior, priorities, and communication directly influence how team members perceive risk, experimentation, and creativity. When leaders model curiosity, ask provocative questions, and support new ideas—even those that fail—they signal that innovation is both valued and safe.
Effective innovation leadership begins with clarity of vision. In the words of author and speaker, Simon Sinek, "Start with Why." How do leaders articulate the strategic rationale that aligns innovation with client needs, market dynamics, and firm strategy? Encouraging cross-functional collaboration and breaking down silos allows ideas to flow across disciplines, fueling creativity.
Leaders can empower their marketing professionals to challenge legacy processes, test new technologies, and propose bold ideas. Structured brainstorming sessions, innovation sprints, and regular cross-functional meetings with attorneys, business development, and other administrative teams signal that creativity is not only accepted but expected.
Data should underpin innovation. Marketing teams should adopt tools and practices that elevate performance tracking, ROI analysis, and client behavior insights. This fosters a test-and-learn cycle, where small-scale pilots can be launched, assessed, and scaled based on evidence. Recognition programs that highlight experimentation and learning—not just wins—further embed innovation as a core value.
Identifying lawyer champions and influencers who are willing to advance novel ideas and celebrate successes can help scale small ideas into firmwide change. Getting enthusiastic buy-in from a small but powerful early adopter group can be a critical tool in bringing less-willing lawyers along.
Leaders must also walk the fine line of shaping innovation with structured methods to assess and measure effectiveness, or risk creating chaos masquerading as innovation. Ultimately, leaders shape culture by what they reward, tolerate, and celebrate. A team will take its cues from the top—if innovation is championed through example and investment, it will become embedded in the team's way of working.
Practical Tips for Legal Marketers
- Spotlight innovation internally. Host "Innovation Spotlights" to celebrate small, meaningful wins across departments.
- Facilitate curiosity. Co-host lawyer-marketer "What If" workshops to reimagine processes or client touchpoints.
- Assess readiness. Conduct a cultural diagnostic to understand team appetite for experimentation.
- Measure impact. Track metrics such as time from idea to pilot and pilot success rate.
- Close the loop. Host brief "innovation retrospectives" to review what worked and what didn't—celebrating both outcomes and learnings.
The Future is Human + Tech + Culture
At a time when the legal industry is flooded with discussions about AI, automation, and transformation, it's essential to come back to a core truth: innovation is not a department – it's a mindset. The firms that will lead in the future won't be the ones with the most tools; they'll be the ones with the most empowered people.
"Solve for the immediate problem you are facing in a creative way that delivers results."
Innovation succeeds when it's integrated across every aspect of the firm: people, culture, technology, leadership, and client engagement. And while technology can accelerate progress, it's not the engine. Human creativity, team dynamics, and institutional courage are what move ideas forward.
Sexton of Vedder Price offers a valuable reminder: "Any innovation has to solve for presence, awareness, and revenue. Solve for the immediate problem you are facing in a creative way that delivers results. And never be afraid to call it a pilot program. That will get you a lot of grace."
The mindset that experimentation is expected and pilots are how progress begins should be woven into the DNA of the modern law firm. Innovation doesn't always have to be sweeping or high stakes. It can be as simple as rethinking how a pitch is delivered, how client feedback is gathered, or how marketing and legal teams collaborate.
But none of this happens without cultural support. That means encouraging curiosity rather than punishing deviation, rewarding teams for trying not just succeeding, embedding innovation into leadership KPIs not just annual goals, and carving out time and space for experimentation, not just asking people to innovate on top of their jobs and current responsibilities.
It also means breaking down internal silos. Innovation often lives at the intersection of disciplines, where marketing meets data, where legal meets tech, where client service meets design thinking. Firms must build internal structures that allow these intersections to thrive.
Smith at Baker Donelson emphasizes the need for bravery and belief: "Innovation means doing something that's never been done before – maybe even something risky. It takes people who believe in the reward but are also comfortable with failure." That belief must be modeled from the top, by partners, Chief Marketing Officers, department heads, and practice leaders alike.
When innovation is democratized, powerful things happen. Associates feel empowered to propose process changes. Business teams feel confident bringing new ideas to the table. Clients see themselves reflected in the firm's willingness to evolve.
Ultimately, the future of law won't be defined solely by which firms implement the best tools. It will be shaped by the firms that cultivate resilient, creative, collaborative cultures, treating innovation not as a side project but as the way they do business.
Because at the end of the day, tools don't transform firms, people do.
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Diana Lauritson is a Senior Marketing and Business Development Manager at Hogan Lovells US LLP. Bree Metherall is Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Stoel Rives LLP.
