Christina Blacklaws

Christina Blacklaws is a legal innovation strategist and former President of the Law Society of England and Wales who specialises in guiding organisations through the intersection of law, technology, and ethical leadership. She chairs LawtechUK, the government-backed initiative accelerating the UK's legal technology sector, and Innovate UK's Next Generation Services Advisory Body, whilst serving as UK President of the World Jurist Association. Her pioneering credentials include developing one of the first virtual law firms, establishing the UK's first Alternative Business Structure, and leading the largest global research project on women in law across 20 countries. Through her consultancy work and advisory board roles, including with Elevate, Christina equips leaders with practical frameworks for digital transformation that balance commercial innovation with human-centred values, enabling audiences to navigate technological change, address algorithmic bias, and build inclusive cultures with confidence.

When Christina Blacklaws developed one of the first virtual law firms in the UK, she set in motion a career defined by anticipating change rather than reacting to it. A former President of the Law Society of England and Wales, she now chairs LawtechUK, the government-backed initiative accelerating the UK's legal technology sector, and Innovate UK's Next Generation Services Advisory Body. Her work spans strategic advisory roles, non-executive directorships, and thought leadership that connects technological innovation with ethical practice. As UK President of the World Jurist Association and an advisory board member at Elevate, she operates at the forefront of legal transformation, helping organisations navigate the intersection of law, technology, and inclusion.

Christina's credentials reflect decades of pioneering action across legal innovation, governance, and social justice. She established the UK's first Alternative Business Structure with the Cooperative Group and served as one of the earliest Directors of Innovation at a leading UK firm. During her presidency of the Law Society, she spearheaded the largest global research project on women in law, engaging thousands of lawyers across 20 countries and securing a UK government-backed pledge for gender equality. Her thought leadership extends to chairing a commission on algorithmic use in the criminal justice system, publishing research in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions, and delivering a widely viewed TEDx talk on algorithmic bias. She holds public appointments including chairing the Judicial Pensions Board and serving on the King's Counsel Selection Panel, and represents the UK on the International Bar Association. An Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, Christina also chairs the Civil Liberties Trust and serves as an executive board member of Liberty, demonstrating her commitment to human rights alongside technological progress. She has spoken at international forums including FutureLaw in Tallinn, addressing audiences on reinventing legal structures and the future of legal education.

Christina equips audiences with practical frameworks for managing change in an era of rapid innovation. Whether advising law firms and technology start-ups as a non-executive director, or speaking internationally on legal technology, diversity, and ethical leadership, she translates complexity into clarity. Her consultancy work focuses on helping organisations integrate new technologies whilst maintaining human-centred values and building inclusive cultures. Audiences leave her sessions equipped to make informed decisions about digital transformation, to recognise and address bias in automated systems, and to lead with confidence through uncertainty. Her approach balances commercial pragmatism with social purpose, enabling leaders to drive innovation that serves both business objectives and access to justice. Through her work with bar associations and law societies worldwide, she provides actionable strategies for upholding the rule of law whilst embracing technological change.