About LLI
Who we are
Association
The Liquid Legal Institute is an international, open, neutral, and interdisciplinary think tank focussing on legal transformation. It is organized under the laws of Germany as a registered not-for-profit association (eingetragener Verein).
The association’s purpose as stated in the articles of association is “to research and promote new ways of thinking and new technologies and other innovations in the ‘legal ecosystem’ (i.e. so-called Legal Transformation). The ‘legal ecosystem’ includes in particular the fields of legal development, legal application and legal structuring.”
The association is composed and driven by its members, who are working together to design the future of legal.
Although being a think tank, we aim to produce tangible results that support the legal sector, be it with guidance for the next practical steps, by identifying new trends, or by developing a clear vision for the future of legal.
Ambassadors
The Liquid Legal Institute has flourished very well over the past years and has made great progress both in substance and in our membership.
In order to foster the geographical expansion of our Institute we appoint Ambassadors to represent our interests across different regions. We are putting this plan into action straight away!
Our Ambassadors
Ambassador for Northern Europe
International business lawyer
Ambassador for US West Coast
Founder, CEO – Docgility, AI-powered Contracts
Ambassador for Eastern Europe
fingolex
Ambassador for Switzerland
International Lawyer | Future Law | Metaverse Enthusiast
Ambassador for human-centric AI
Lawyer, Lecturer,
Mindfulness teacher
Ambassador for Austria
Attorney,
Co-Founder Nerds of Law & NetzBeweis
Ambassador for North America
Managing Director & Assoc. General Counsel, Bank of America / BofA Securities (ex-Merrill Lynch)
Every member can nominated as an LLI Ambassador. We welcome self-nominations!
We give the role of Ambassador to members who strongly identify with the objectives of the Liquid Legal Institute. The duration of membership plays just as little a role as the seniority in the respective company or organization.
Most importantly, the appropriate person is one who can credibly communicate our transformational goals. In other words, we want to exchange ideas with all colleagues worldwide who are involved in digital transformation in their company or function and whose voices we would like to amplify through our network of like-minded people.
In conclusion, an Ambassador represents the Liquid Legal Institute to the outside world and connects the newly acquired contacts internally, so that our network gradually grows for the benefit of all.
You have ideas for how we could support your specific situation? Then just let us know. We are more than happy to offer support!
Partner Network
The LLI has a vital and vibrant partner network, with whom we are constantly discussing new ideas, work on existing topics, and support each other in events or on other occasions.
Feel free to get in touch with us, if you want to become a trusted partner in our network.
Partners
We see ourselves as part of an ecosystem. Get an overview on our partner network.
How we work
Working Groups
We pursue a holistic approach and cover all aspects of the legal transformation. Our working groups give a thematic and organizational structure to our activities in the Liquid Legal Institute. Currently we have six working groups and one goal.
Digitalization
Topics related to digitalization including applications, processes, technologies, and innovation increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations and enabling for new business models and areas.
Methodologies
Topics related to the application of new methods and tools to address the challenges we are facing more effectively. New ways of collaboration and formation of interdisclinary teams as well as best-practices to achieve more with less.
Computational Law
Topics related to represent the legal system and the law in a machine-readable and executable format. This includes various topics of artificial intelligence and automated legal reasoning.
Standardization
Topics related to the standardization of processes, tools, metadata, terminologies, and other aspects of the legal field. Structuring a complex field by providing a commonly accepted and shared understanding is of ultimate value.
Education
A process of teaching, training and learning to improve knowledge and develop skills.
Common Legal Platform
The CLP is an open and neutral platform that connects different layers including infrastructure, data, applications and business processes in a seamless and interoperable way. Thereby, unknown synergies can be leveraged leading to a highly efficient and effective legal function. Not only for companies or law firms, but for the whole society.
Our activity formats
We have established a set of formats for collaboratively designing the future of legal.
Collaborating with third parties
We are open to collaborate with third parties in various ways, from contract research to content partnership.
How we are organized
Governance structure
Overview on the governance structure of the Liquid Legal Institute as provided by the articles of association.
Management board
LLI Board Member and
KPMG Law
Kai is Co-Founder of the LLI and Co-CEO. He is also a partner in Legal Operations & Transformation Services (LOTS) at KPMG Law since 2021. Before KPMG Law, Kai was a partner at Deloitte Legal and previously spent many years at SAP SE.
LLI Board Member and
Robert Bosch GmbH
Dierk is Co-Founder of the LLI and Co-CEO. Dierk is Vice President & Head of Corporate Legal Services, Mobility Solutions, Supply Chain & Logistics at Bosch. In addition, he is an academic lecturer on topics regarding innovation in business and law.
LLI Board Member and
BMW Group
Bernhard is Co-Founder of the LLI and Co-CEO. Bernhard is software engineer and computer scientist. He is fellow of the CodeX (Stanford Law School). He is with BMW Group where he leads the practice group on Legal Innovation and Operations .
Team
Manager Projects & Events, Social Media, Administration
Manager Projects & Events, Social Media, Administration
Manager Projects & Events, Social Media, Administration
Back-Office Management and Administration
Supervisory board
General meeting
The general meeting is the highest authority of the association. In the general meeting, each member of the Liquid Legal Institute has one vote.
Articles of association and other important documents
The articles of association can be found here:
The membership fees scheme can be found here:
Our compliance policy can be found here:
Our values and background
Values
The Liquid Legal Institute is an open and interdisciplinary platform for promoting a new way of thinking in the legal sector. Digitalization, new business models and technological innovations are currently changing all major industries worldwide. However, the legal sector has not yet benefited sufficiently from these trends.
Interdiscplinary. International. Professional.
Since the inception, the Institute grew in membership and geographical reach, with many members on every continent. Each member of the interdisciplinary group contributes a valuable aspect to the promotion of Liquid Legal.
The Liquid Legal institute is a neutral and non-profit platform for discussion, exchange, and cooperation. We identify and promote new thinking in the legal sector together with our partners and affiliates, and the growing membership. Our projects put findings into action, gather knowledge, create methodology kits, set standards and more—all available to our members to quickly apply those resources in their daily practice.
Innovation. Collaboration. Diversity.
We believe in the power of collaboration, co-innovation and simplification. We base or work on actual needs and invite all stakeholders to bring in their perspectives and set the bar for tomorrow’s legal! Join us!
Our (hi)story
Following the liquid mindset we started small with a big potential. We are proud to see the LLI growing.
Background
The Liquid Legal Institute was founded in 2018 by seven experts from legal and business practice, design thinking and computer science to close this gap.
Dr. Dierk Schindler
Dierk serves as Vice President & Head of Corporate Legal Services, Mobility, Supply Chain & Logistics at Robert BOSCH GmbH. With his team & the BOSCH Legal Leadership Team he drives a people-centric and business-oriented innovation agenda, applying a digital-first approach.
Beyond his day job, Dierk has served as the Vice Chair Europe & Officer on the Board of Directors of IACCM until October 2018. Dierk regularly speaks, lectures & publishes on digitization, transformation & innovation in the legal ecosystem.
Astrid Kohlmeier
Legal Design & Legal Tech
Astrid is both, an educated lawyer and a mediadesigner. She combines the disciplines law and design for over a decade and is now a so called „legal designer“. She is a pioneer in developing design thinking methods for the legal industry.
She worked for more than 10 years as head of Marketing & Communications in the legal service industry at ERGO Insurance Group, a subsidiary of Munich Re and is engaged as a consultant for legal transformation and development of new legal services.
Astrid has a long-standing experience in marketing, design, consulting and leadership based on a background in law, media design, strategy consulting and design thinking.
Kai Jacob
KPMG Law
Kai, initially a lawyer in the procurement department of Lufthansa Systems, joined SAP in 2008. At SAP, he held various roles, leading the Global Contract Management Services team and, in 2015, becoming the Global VP with added responsibilities for Legal Information Management. This role was instrumental in driving the digital transformation of the legal function, including the development of SAP’s Enterprise Contract Management and Assembly Solution in S4/HANA.
In 2019, Kai moved to Deloitte as a partner focusing on Legal Management Consulting (LMC). He then joined KPMG Law in 2021 as a Partner in Legal Operation and Transformation (LOTS), further shaping the evolution of legal services.
Since 2018, Kai has also been a founder and Co-CEO of the Liquid Legal Institute, actively promoting innovative approaches in the legal sector. He regularly speaks at conferences, advocating for his vision of LIQUID LEGAL.
Dr. Bernhard Waltl
BMW Group
Bernhard is a computer scientist and interested in technology, and how technology changes the business of law. He designs, develops, and evaluates technology and methods transforming the future of law.
In 2017 he was an invited researcher at Stanford University Law School (CodeX: Center for Legal Informatics) where he conducted research on text mining and artificial intelligence in the legal domain. He is part of an international network of leading researchers from computer science, and legal informatics.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Wegerich
German Law Publishers
Thomas has long held various management positions in leading legal publishing houses. He is the founder of the publishing house German Law Publishers, which operates numerous top-class journalistic projects, networks, and event formats as part of a joint venture with F.A.Z.-Fachverlag.
In addition, Thomas is a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Bundesverband der Wirtschaftskanzleien in Deutschland (BWD). He also serves as a member of the Legal Committee of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Frankfurt.
Roger Strathausen, PhD
Leader
Roger is a business consultant, author and lecturer focusing on organizational transformation in knowledge-intensive industries.
An ex-Accenture executive and SAP employee , he is co-editor of the „Liquid Legal“ compendium (Springer 2017), author of “Leading When You Are Not the Boss“ (Apress 2015), and a speaker on topics of leadership and learning. Roger earned his PhD from Stanford University while on Fulbright and Stanford Dissertation Fellowships, and his MA from the University of Tübingen.
Dr. Jens Wagner
Allen & Overy
Jens is a Counsel at Allen & Overy’s Corporate department and based in the Munich office.
As German Rechtsanwalt he advises on corporate governance, corporate actions and group-internal reorganisations, having an industry-focus on telecommunications, media and technology. He published widely on German and European company law. Recently he has also published on legal tech. Jens is a member of Allen & Overy’s legal tech group.
Your membership
Find out more about how you can become a member of LLI and what benefits you will receive.