LexisNexis has appointed an innovative technology leader to help law firms get ahead of the curve
Before stepping into the managing director role at LexisNexis for New Zealand and Australia, Carol Chris had not worked within the legal industry. But the challenges she has been brought in to help address are not legal questions alone.
They sit at the intersection of trusted professional services and rapidly evolving technology, an environment Chris knows well.
With a background spanning telecommunications, financial services, data analytics and fraud prevention, Chris took the helm at LexisNexis in the Pacific region at the beginning of 2026. One of her earliest observations was the pace at which AI is evolving within the legal sector.
"AI in the legal market is moving very quickly. Every day there is new discussion about AI, what's changing and how it's impacting the industry," she told [NZ Lawyer].
What stood out to her was the legal profession’s willingness to engage with innovation.
"The legal industry is very engaged in these conversations around AI and innovation. There is a strong interest in how technology can support lawyers and legal teams, and the pace of change is significant," Chris said.
Chris’s career has included leadership roles across industries that have experienced significant technological and competitive change. She previously lived in New Zealand while leading the Equifax data and credit bureau business and has held senior roles at companies including GBG.
She believes those experiences are highly relevant to the legal technology sector today.
"I've worked in industries where technology and customer expectations have evolved very quickly. Understanding how organisations navigate change and continue delivering value to customers is really important," she said.
Chris said she sees strong foundations in the LexisNexis business across Australia and New Zealand, particularly its long-standing reputation in trusted legal research and content.
"We're a well-established brand with deep expertise in legal research and content, and we're continuing to build on that through our legal AI capabilities and workflow solutions," she said.
She added that the company’s approach to AI is grounded in authoritative legal content and human oversight.
As AI adoption accelerates across the legal industry, Chris believes trust, quality and reliability will remain central considerations for customers evaluating technology solutions.
"When organisations are considering new technologies, trust and confidence in the solution are incredibly important," she said.
Chris said LexisNexis places strong emphasis on governance, compliance and human expertise throughout its product development process.
"We have more than a thousand lawyers across our business globally helping ensure humans remain involved in the process. Quality is critical because our customers rely on these tools to support important work and decision-making."
She noted that legal expertise is embedded across multiple parts of the organisation, including product development, content, engineering and customer support functions.
"We have many legally trained professionals working across our engineering, AI quality assurance, product and content teams. It's been impressive to see how closely legal expertise and technology work together across the organisation," she said.
Chris said one of the key conversations taking place across the industry is how specialised legal AI tools integrate with broader enterprise technology environments.
"The question is increasingly about how different technologies work together within an organisation's broader ecosystem," she said.
That includes integration with document management systems, workflow tools and enterprise AI platforms already being used across businesses.
"The ecosystem will continue evolving quickly, and interoperability will be important for customers as they build out their workflows and technology environments."
Chris expects the market to continue developing toward more specialised and complementary solutions rather than a single platform serving every need.
Chris said the growing use of AI is also creating new conversations around legal education and workforce readiness.
According to feedback from firms participating in recent LexisNexis customer discussions in New Zealand, employers increasingly value graduates who are familiar with legal technology and AI-enabled workflows.
"What's becoming clear is that firms want graduates to arrive with a good understanding of how these technologies are used in practice," she said.
Chris said LexisNexis is exploring additional opportunities to work with universities and the profession to support technology readiness and practical skills development.
LexisNexis New Zealand already runs a "Get Ready for Work" programme in partnership with the New Zealand Law Society, engaging with law students and universities on how legal technology and AI are shaping the profession.
"We want to continue working closely with universities and students to help support the transition into the profession and build confidence around technology adoption," Chris said.
Looking ahead, Chris said her focus for the year is supporting customers as they continue integrating AI into their legal workflows.
"I'd like to see more lawyers and legal teams across Australia and New Zealand using Protégé Workflows in ways that help support their daily workflows and deliver value to their organisations," she said.
She emphasised that successful adoption requires both technology and customer support, particularly as organisations continue adapting to rapid change.
"We have experienced teams, including legally trained professionals, helping customers implement workflows and drive adoption in ways that work for their businesses."
Chris said ongoing customer engagement and feedback will remain a key priority as the market evolves.
"We're focused on listening to customers, understanding how their needs are changing and continuing to innovate in ways that support them."
For LexisNexis, she said, the opportunity is to continue evolving from a trusted legal research provider into a broader technology and workflow partner for the legal profession.
"I've spent much of my career helping organisations navigate periods of technological change. Our focus is on supporting customers through that change and helping them achieve successful outcomes," Chris said.
Protégé Workflows turns complex legal tasks into guided, repeatable processes. It helps you complete legal tasks across your entire practice area, using secure, end-to-end workflows grounded in authoritative legal content and your firm’s own knowledge.
This article was produced in partnership with LexisNexis.
