The legal workplace is entering a period of structural change. AI, evolving workforce expectations, new client demands and shifting real estate economics are changing how law firms think about people, place and performance. Drawing on the latest research from WORKTECH Academy, Matthew Myerson maps the forces reshaping the sector and identifies the workplace decisions firms will face over the next decade. From changing patterns of office use to new expectations around experience, technology and collaboration, this session establishes the external pressures that will shape the conversations throughout the day.

If the forces reshaping work are clear, the more difficult question is how organisations respond. William Higham explores what distinguishes organisations that successfully adapt to periods of rapid change — from leadership and decision-making to culture, innovation and organisational resilience. Drawing on his work advising organisations on future business strategy, William considers what leaders need to do differently as AI transforms work, expectations evolve and traditional organisational models come under pressure. The session moves the conversation from identifying change to building the organisational capacity to respond to it.

Having explored the forces changing work and the leadership response they demand, this panel brings the conversation firmly into the legal sector. Senior leaders from leading UK law firms share how these shifts are influencing workplace strategy today: from investment in new headquarters and changing portfolio requirements to AI, talent and the evolving role of the office. Drawing on live projects and practical experience, they examine the choices firms are making now, the tensions they are navigating and what legal workplace leaders should be planning for next.

Strategy depends on understanding what is actually happening inside the workplace. Hybrid working has made office use less predictable, while traditional booking data often shows intention rather than reality. Simon Privett explores how occupancy insights, real-time visibility and workplace behaviour data can give organisations a clearer picture of how their environments are being used. The session considers how better data can help workplace teams test assumptions, identify friction and make more informed decisions about space, services and employee experience. The session considers how better data can help workplace teams test assumptions, identify friction and make more informed decisions about space, services and employee experience.

Moving a global law firm into a significantly smaller footprint requires far more than a real estate strategy. It demands a rethink of how people work, how technology supports them and what the office needs to provide when employees are there. Through the relocation to 2 Broadgate, this session explores the practical decisions behind creating a smaller but more effective workplace: balancing flexibility with confidentiality, choice with consistency, and technology with simplicity. The discussion provides a real-world example of how changing workplace expectations can be translated into a new operating model for space, and the lessons other organisations can take from a major legal workplace transformation.

Just as law firms are rethinking their physical workplaces, AI is beginning to change the work those environments need to support. James Garner cuts through the hype to examine how AI is moving from experimentation into everyday organisational capability. He explores where AI is already creating value, how it could reshape work, decision-making and client service, and the critical questions around accuracy, governance, privacy and accountability. Rather than predicting a distant future, this session provides a practical framework for understanding what leaders should be preparing for now while keeping people, professional judgement and measurable outcomes at the centre.

James Garner has set out the opportunity, disruption and risks created by AI. This panel asks what those changes mean specifically for the legal workplace. Senior workplace leaders explore how AI is beginning to influence workplace strategy, real estate decisions, technology investment and employee experience. What will lawyers need from the office as AI becomes embedded in everyday work? How might collaboration, space requirements and roles change? And which decisions should firms be making now? The discussion moves AI from a technology conversation to a workplace strategy question.

As workplaces become more flexible, even seemingly simple elements of the employee experience need to adapt. In this rapid innovation spotlight, Vecos explores how adaptive workplace storage can respond to changing patterns of office use, giving employees greater flexibility while providing workplace teams with better visibility of demand and utilisation. The session demonstrates how small interventions in the workplace experience can contribute to a more efficient, responsive and frictionless environment.

What can one of the most overlooked parts of the workplace tell us about employee experience, and its true cost? In this provocative session, Rachel Swann turns attention to the workplace bathroom to explore how seemingly small points of friction can have an outsized impact on experience, operations and organisational cost. It is a reminder that workplace performance is shaped not only by major design and technology decisions, but by the everyday moments that determine whether an environment actually works for the people using it.

The morning explored how AI may reshape legal work and workplace strategy. This session takes the next step: what does an AI-enabled workplace actually look like? As intelligent tools become embedded in everyday workflows, their impact will extend into the physical workplace — influencing how people use space, collaborate, access services and move between digital and physical environments.
This discussion explores how workplace design, technology infrastructure and experience need to evolve together, and what an intelligent legal workplace could mean for productivity, talent and culture.

If footprint and technology are changing, what should the physical workplace ultimately create for people? Drawing on the design of a leading global law firm's London headquarters, Gavin Hughes explores how design can strengthen community, connection and culture. From consistent employee experiences and shared amenities to spaces designed to bring people together, the session examines how headquarters can create value beyond simply providing a place to work — becoming an important tool for engaging talent and strengthening organisational identity.

The workplace may create community and connection, but ultimately it also needs to help people perform. As AI changes the nature of legal work, productivity can no longer be understood solely through hours worked or desks occupied. This session explores the everyday conditions that enable high performance: frictionless services, effective technology, access to knowledge, focused work and environments that support different modes of collaboration. It considers how workplace, operations and technology can work together to remove friction and help lawyers spend more time on the work that creates value for clients.

After exploring the many things the workplace is now expected to deliver, this session asks the critical question: how do we prove its value? Office attendance has dominated the workplace debate, but presence alone tells organisations little about whether a workplace is improving collaboration, attracting talent or supporting business performance. Drawing on new global research from Savills and CoreNet, Sarah Brooks examines how organisations are moving beyond utilisation towards more meaningful measures of workplace value. She also considers the growing importance of location, quality of place and access to talent as firms make long-term real estate decisions.

Closing the day, this session challenges a fundamental assumption behind workplace strategy: can the office actually make people collaborate, innovate or perform? Drawing on lessons from global law firms, high-growth technology companies and some of the world's most iconic live music venues, Martin Cotterill and Ben Munn explore the relationship between physical environment and human behaviour.
Great venues do not create great performances — they create the conditions in which great performances can happen. Applying the same principle to the workplace, the discussion considers the role of culture, incentives, shared purpose and environment in enabling high-performing teams. It brings the day's conversation back to a deceptively simple question: what does the workplace really need to do — and what should we stop expecting it to do?