Beacon LIVE NYC 2026 | The Future of Legal Is Being Built Now

Defining the Future of Legal, Together

Join us for SpotDraft Beacon LIVE NYC, an exclusive gathering of legal leaders shaping the future of legal. Expect candid conversations, real-world stories, and curated roundtables, not product pitches or recycled AI talk. Together, we’ll explore how modern legal teams can build and grow with intention.

October 20, 2026 | 9 AM - 2 PM

GH on the Park

Reserve your Spot

🌉 San Francisco 🏙️ Boston 🗽New York 💂🏼‍London 🌆 Chicago

Meet Our Facilitators

Smiling bald man wearing black glasses and a black blazer over a black shirt.

Akshay Verma

Chief Operating officer / Host, SPOTDRAFT

Oyango A. Snell

President & CEO, CLOC

Susan Packal

Head of Legal Transformation & Chief of Staff, Avalara

Hope Cannon

Director of Legal Operations and Innovation, HighLevel

Nadja Hemingway

Director Legal Operations, Versant Media

Sameer Arya

Director, Product Management, Versant Media

Avita Delerme

General Counsel, The Channel Company

Christina Chelliah

Corporate Counsel, TransPerfect

Norah J. Campbell-Royal

Legal Operations Executive & Consultant

Sabrina Steinberg

Managing Counsel, Opensity Solutions

Stephanie Guberman

Senior Counsel, UJA-Federation of New York

Jenn McCarron

Co-Founder & CEO, Contracts.ai

Kristen Thorn

Legal Operations Program Manager, Reddit

Lynley Jane Reilly

North America Legal Director, dsm-firmenich

Agenda

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Registration + Networking Breakfast

Ease into the morning with coffee, light breakfast, and your BeaconBox arrival kit. The lounge is open for early conversations.

9:30 AM – 9:50 AM

Welcome Address : The Future of Legal

A forward-looking take on what’s next for legal ops, AI, and the growth of the legal function. We'll set the tone for a day focused on impact, scale, and efficiency.

9:50 AM – 10:40 AM

Roundtable 1: Where Is AI Actually Creating Value for Legal?

Not which tools to adopt — but where AI is genuinely changing how Legal operates. What’s delivering real leverage, what’s still hype, and what separates an impressive demo from something that actually matters?

10:40 AM – 11:15 AM

Coffee + Mimosas Break

Grab a coffee, take a breather, and connect with new faces before we dive back in.

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Roundtable 2: The Automation Frontier: What Should Legal Hand to AI?

Where should legal teams draw the line? Discuss what can be delegated, what still needs human judgment, and how leaders are approaching that balance.

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM

Screening: Smooth Operators

A screening of the first episode of SpotDraft’s documentary with CLOC exploring the people and work behind modern Legal Operations.

12:15 PM – 12:30 PM

Behind the Scenes: The Making of Smooth Operators

Go behind the documentary with the people who helped bring Smooth Operators to life. Hear about the idea behind the series, what it took to capture the reality of modern Legal Operations, and the stories that shaped it.

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Lunch + Lounge

This is an exclusive community lunch. Use this time to float between tables, or just kick back with your cohort. Feel free to check out our Genius Bar.

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Beacon After Hour

Keep the conversations going over drinks, bites, and informal networking with fellow legal leaders.

Why Attend

01 A room built around peers, not a program

Beacon LIVE brings together senior legal leaders shaping the future of their teams. With an intentionally curated guest list, every conversation starts at the right level and stays there.

02 Conversations that go somewhere

Forget the usual AI-in-Legal discussion. We’ll get into what’s actually working, what isn’t, and what the hard decisions look like in practice.

Panel of four speakers in front of an audience

03 Practical perspectives, not AI theatre

What’s creating real leverage? Where is the hype still outrunning the reality? Expect honest takes from leaders figuring it out in real time—not polished case studies.

Roundtable discussion with a participant speaking

04 The best part comes after the roundtables

Drinks and bites keep the conversation going, one-on-one and around the room. The agenda ends, but the conversation doesn’t.

Participant speaking at a roundtable discussion

Photo Gallery

Man with light shirt gesturing and talking to woman with glasses near a window with sheer curtains.

Three adults smiling at a social event, one woman holding a drink between two men in jackets.

Four smiling people posing indoors at an event, two men and two women wearing name tags and casual business attire.

Panel of four people seated with one standing, speaking to an audience in a room with string lights.

Four people seated in a panel discussion, two women speaking and others listening attentively.

Man with glasses speaking and gesturing with hands, three women seated beside him listening.

Woman in yellow shirt holding a smartphone, facing an audience watching a presentation on a screen.

A diverse group of adults seated indoors attentively listening to a presentation or lecture.

Man presenting to an audience while four panelists sit beside a blank projector screen in a wood-paneled room.

Group of people sitting and talking around tables in a warmly lit room with string lights.

Tray with pita bread, hummus, olives, cucumber, cheese, and sliced radishes on a wooden table.

Smiling man in white shirt sitting at table with people, drinks, and snacks in a bright room.

Two people smiling and looking at a booklet together in a warmly lit indoor setting.

About SpotDraft

SpotDraft is an AI-powered CLM platform that accelerates contract creation, analysis, and management, allowing businesses to close deals twice as fast while minimizing risk and errors.