Join Alex Herrity, Director of Global Legal Solutions at Adidas, as he gives his take on the future of legal innovation, including AI adoption, change management, expanding legal ops on a global scale, and much more.

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Key Insights

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1. Legal Innovation Isn’t About Tech—It’s About Intent

Alex argues that legal ops isn’t a tech function; it’s a discipline for delivering legal services more effectively. “You can make something bad efficient,” he says, “but the goal should be to make it effective.” Legal innovation, for him, is about designing systems that make lawyers’ lives easier, not flashier.
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2. You Can’t Automate Trust (or Skip Change Management)

When Adidas implemented document automation, Alex assumed instant adoption — until business stakeholders pushed back. “They thought we were reviewing every request. When we removed that step, they lost trust, even though nothing changed,” he recalls. The lesson? “People need to feel legal is still in the loop.” Change management, he says, “isn’t corporate fluff—it’s survival.”
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3. Process Eats Tech for Breakfast

Despite the hype around AI, Alex insists that fundamentals still rule: “You still need to fix your process before automating it.” He warns against chasing tools for their own sake — “Just because it exists doesn’t mean we need it.” At Adidas, his team focuses on identifying friction points first: broken templates, unclear roles, or policies that need rewriting — before layering on new technology.
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4. Building Global Systems Means Building Cultural Fluency

Leading legal ops across EMEA, Asia, and the Americas, Alex says the hardest part isn’t technology — it’s culture. “In China, contracts are sealed with a physical chop. In Japan, e-signature is tolerated. You can’t assume one process fits all.” Instead, his team builds flexible sub-processes per region, ensuring compliance without friction.
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5. Resistance Is a Resource

Alex doesn’t ignore skeptics — he recruits them. “If we can win over the biggest resister, we can win everyone else.” By piloting tools with critics first, his team creates advocates out of doubters. “Carrot beats stick every time,” he says. “And don’t forget—skeptics often have the best insights on what could go wrong.”
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6. Legal Ops Belongs at the Leadership Table

Looking ahead, Alex sees legal ops evolving into a “chief of staff” role for legal departments. “We’re the ones delivering data, insights, and systems that make strategy possible,” he says. In his view, legal ops leaders aren’t back-office anymore— “we’re frontline partners in how the business runs.”
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7. Closing Insight

“Legal ops is growing up—from side project to leadership function.”

For Alex Herrity, the future of legal transformation isn’t about automating lawyers—it’s about empowering them to think, act, and lead differently.

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