SOLID San Francisco 2025 | Legal Innovation Summit

Microsoft, Silicon Valley

SOLID

SOLIDWEST

March 5, 2026

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Discover upcoming SOLID conferences, AI workshops with Microsoft, and more. Explore the full calendar to see what’s ahead.

A space to connect, learn, and collaborate with peers who are redefining the future.

SOLID AI Workshops @Microsoft

March 6, 2026

Microsoft, Silicon Valley

SOLID Chicago

April 9, 2026

Chicago

SOLID AI @Microsoft

(August 5-6) 2026

Redmond

SOLID New York

October 01, 2026

New York City

Faculty

SOLID Agenda

8:00 AM Breakfast & Networking

Opening Remarks
Speakers:
- David Cowen
  President, The Cowen Group

8:40 AM Welcoming Remarks

Welcoming Remarks

Session 1: THE BIG PICTURE — Navigating What’s Now and What’s Next

State of the Industry
The Challenge:
Legal leaders are balancing more change than ever—AI disruption, cost pressures, shifting expectations, and new definitions of value.
The Reality:
The most forward-thinking GCs are rewriting their playbooks, turning uncertainty into clarity, and risk into strategy.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How leading law departments are measuring impact and defining value beyond cost savings
--- What trends are shaping investment, hiring, and innovation priorities for 2026
--- The playbook top GCs use to stay adaptive and decisive amid constant change
Key Takeaway:
The future isn’t coming—it’s already here. The question is: how ready is your team to lead it?
Market Trends that Matter
The Challenge:
The noise around “innovation” can make it hard to separate hype from what actually moves the needle.
The Reality:
From AI to data governance, new platforms are creating measurable gains for teams who align tech with strategy—not trend-chasing.
What You’ll Learn:
--- The three technologies every forward-thinking legal team is piloting in 2026
--- Real metrics showing where AI and automation are producing measurable ROI
--- How to build a legal innovation roadmap rooted in results, not hype
Key Takeaway:
The winners aren’t the fastest adopters—they’re the sharpest filters.
The Evolving Role of the GC and the Leadership Team
The Challenge:
Today’s General Counsel isn’t just managing risk—they’re managing reinvention.
The Reality:
The GC’s chair now sits at the strategy table, where decisions on AI, data, and ethics shape the enterprise.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How leading GCs are redefining influence and leading enterprise transformation
--- Frameworks for cross-functional collaboration with finance, IT, and business ops
--- Real examples of GCs driving measurable business outcomes through innovation
Key Takeaway:
Leadership in 2026 is about more than practicing law—it’s about building the business of law.
Newskilling vs Upskilling in the AI Era
The Challenge:
AI isn’t just changing tools—it’s changing talent. The skills that got us here won’t get us there.
The Reality:
Legal departments are learning to “newskill,” not just “upskill”—building fluency in data, design, and decision intelligence.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How to identify and develop the skills that make teams future-ready
--- The structure of a modern AI literacy or data fluency program that works
--- How forward-leaning teams are fostering curiosity and experimentation
Key Takeaway:
The next great skill in legal isn’t coding—it’s curiosity.
Table Talk + Town Hall

Session 2: TECH ON THE EDGE — From Agents to Architecture

ChatGPT vs. The Rest
The Challenge:
With every platform promising transformation, how do you know which AI tools are actually built for legal?
The Reality:
The real differentiator isn’t what these tools do—it’s how they think, learn, and integrate.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How to evaluate competing LLMs and choose the right ecosystem for legal use
--- What’s working inside real-world legal ops and eDiscovery implementations
--- How to future-proof your stack as enterprise AI evolves
Key Takeaway:
The smartest teams aren’t picking tools—they’re building ecosystems.
Productivity Agents vs. Growth Agents
The Challenge:
Many legal teams are building agents for efficiency—but the real opportunity is driving growth.
The Reality:
Productivity agents streamline the present. Growth agents reshape the future—unlocking insight, revenue, and strategy-level value.
What You’ll Learn:
--- The difference between agents that automate and agents that innovate
--- Real-world examples of “growth agents” driving business outcomes
--- Frameworks for measuring success beyond time savings
Key Takeaway:
Don’t just save time—create opportunity.
Managing Your Agent Workforce
The Challenge:
As digital agents become part of your workforce, how do you structure, monitor, and measure their impact?
The Reality:
Agent management is the new org design—defining roles, rules, and relationships between human and digital collaborators.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How to design your “agent org chart” and governance structure
--- Metrics and KPIs for managing agent performance and compliance
--- Case studies of early adopters blending human and digital collaboration
Key Takeaway:
Your next workforce plan isn’t headcount—it’s agent count.
AI + HI = You Are the Human in the Loop
The Challenge:
In the rush to automate, it’s easy to forget the human still drives meaning, judgment, and trust.
The Reality:
The future belongs to teams who balance AI scale with human insight—and know when to lean on each.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How to design decision workflows that preserve human accountability
--- Practical examples of “human in the loop” governance in action
--- How to keep culture and ethics at the center of automation initiatives
Key Takeaway:
The loop isn’t closed until the human completes it.
Table Talk + Town Hall:
Where are you experimenting on the edge — and what’s holding you back?

12:25 PM – Lunch & Networking

Gourmet Lunch

Session 3: INNOVATION IN ACTION - Case Studies

Capturing and Measuring the AI Dividend
The Challenge:
Everyone’s investing in AI, but few can clearly show what they’ve gained.
The Reality:
The best legal teams measure the “AI dividend”—time, efficiency, insight, and innovation—and reinvest it where it matters most.
What You’ll Learn:
--- Metrics that leading companies use to track AI’s impact on legal performance
--- How Microsoft Copilot is being applied to real-world legal workflows
--- Frameworks for reinvesting saved time into higher-value strategic work
Key Takeaway:
Don’t just earn the AI dividend—decide how to spend it.
Looking Forward to Next: Why Productivity Is Just the First Step
The Challenge:
Productivity tools can make us faster—but not necessarily better.
The Reality:
True transformation starts when teams move from “doing more” to “doing differently.”
What You’ll Learn:
--- How to identify when productivity peaks and innovation should begin
--- Real examples of teams turning efficiency into enterprise value
--- How to shift focus from outputs to outcomes that matter
Key Takeaway:
Productivity is the warm-up. Progress is the game.
How to Get R&D for Free (Tech Challenge Stories)
The Challenge:
Innovation budgets are tight—but opportunities for experimentation have never been greater.
The Reality:
The smartest teams are turning pilots, partnerships, and prototypes into “free R&D” engines.
For firms and in-house teams alike, this is the new talent equation:
Curiosity + Adaptability + Digital Resourcefulness = Competitive Advantage.
The question isn’t if you’ll embrace it — it’s how fast you’ll learn to.
What You’ll Learn:
--- Three real-world examples of innovation built through collaboration, not budget
--- How to structure co-innovation projects that deliver mutual value
--- How to leverage partners, vendors, and cross-functional teams as your R&D lab
Key Takeaway:
You don’t need more funding—you need more curiosity.
AI Readiness Starts with Data Readiness
The Challenge:
Every AI strategy stands on one thing: clean, connected, trustworthy data.
The Reality:
Data chaos remains the biggest barrier between intention and impact.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How to assess your current data maturity and readiness for AI
--- Case studies of legal teams modernizing data to enable automation
--- Practical steps to align data strategy with AI goals
Key Takeaway:
No AI strategy survives contact with messy data.
Table Talk + Town Hall:

Session 4: THE HUMAN ELEMENT — Leading, Learning, and Redefining Success

(Book Review) Measure What Matters — Objectives and Key Results
The Challenge:
Everyone wants results—but few measure what truly drives them.
The Reality:
OKRs aren’t just a management tool—they’re a mindset shift toward clarity, accountability, and alignment.
What You’ll Learn:
--- How OKRs help legal teams connect daily work to enterprise strategy
--- Examples of legal ops and innovation teams using OKRs effectively
--- How to translate OKR lessons into AI and transformation initiatives
Key Takeaway:
What gets measured gets momentum.
Rethinking Legal Education for the AI Era
The Challenge:
Legal education hasn’t kept pace with how law is practiced—or how technology is changing it.
The Reality:
The next generation of legal professionals must learn data literacy, system thinking, and creative problem-solving.
What You’ll Learn:
--- What skills and programs the next wave of legal professionals need
--- How firms and in-house teams are building “learn while you lead” cultures
--- The role of mentorship, microlearning, and community in future-proofing talent
Key Takeaway:
The future of legal isn’t being taught—it’s being designed.
Town Hall + Open Floor:

Wrap Up

Cocktails and Wrap Up

Summit On Legal Innovation And Disruption: Come smart, leave smarter, and connected

About SOLID

SOLID is a TEDTalk-style summit focused on innovation and the business of law. Listen to 16+ speakers, engage in table discussions with peers, and gain unmatched insights into what’s happening next in the industry.

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