While I watched our guests laugh, exchange stories, and pile into expert panels, I couldn’t help but marvel at the community we are part of.  

Every year I think to myself, “How will we ever improve on this?” Yet here we are, coming off our biggest conference yet. Briana McCrory and her team deserve a lot of credit for that remarkable magic trick, but they’re not alone. Everyone who walks through the door is important to the success of a BigHand event. 

The hundreds of legal tech and operations professionals who give us a day (and in most cases a night) to attend the conference each year. The client panelists who jump at the opportunity to share some of their hands-on knowledge with colleagues and peers. The C-suite executives, resource managers, finance directors, and administrative leaders whose feedback helps us create, refine, and distribute solutions to real-life law firm needs.  

That’s our tribe. You saw it in the standing-room only sessions, the handshakes and hugs, and the wall-to-wall after-party attendance. 

BigHand turned 30 this year. I’ve been with the company for just over a third of that. I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished, and so excited for what comes next. 

Becoming Change Evangelists 

At the start of the day, I took the stage for my annual introduction. I spoke about our commitment to helping every BigHand client achieve better efficiency, decision-making, and profitability, even in a market that is changing every day. 

But my presentation isn’t what people will remember from that first session. No, I don’t think my words can hold a candle to our brilliant keynote speaker, Ellis Watson, who followed shortly after. 

What I took away from his presentation is this: 

Curiosity, passion, and partnership have and always will be the biggest drivers of change. 

Legal technology has a monumental opportunity for change in the next few years. From cloud migration to AI integration, the industry is just landing on the shores of a new world. I couldn’t be more aligned with Ellis’ four ways to embrace and champion that opportunity: 

Every day, I encourage the BigHand team to run head-on toward any challenge that presents itself. A common theme throughout the conference was how firms can start to future-proof their operations, dealing with problems before they become, well, problems. We want to work with you to ensure a profitable and successful future. 

Visibility Above All Else 

During an afternoon panel in one of the breakout rooms, I wrote down a quote from one of our client speakers. Miranda Pammenter, Director of Premises and Operations at Michelmores, said “I can’t imagine going back to a world without this visibility.”  

While obviously a great plug for our workflow tool (thanks Miranda), it resonates in a much broader context. Technology gives us the ability to drill down into granular data and make better decisions across all business functions. It helps us stay agile, drive productivity, and increase profitability.  

We shouldn’t forget that it can also help us improve the experience for employees and clients alike. It can help us find talented teammates and develop them into real change-makers. It can improve process transparency and prove value. It can identify weaknesses or vulnerabilities before anyone is negatively impacted.  

I can’t imagine going back to a world without it either.  

The Next 30 Years 

So, what’s next? Here’s a prediction. At least one person (and likely several more) that attended the BigHand Conference 2025 is going to have a significant impact on the legal tech industry. The number of high-level, forward-looking conversations I had and overheard was staggering.  

It could be someone that was inspired by Ellis’ keynote or had a chance encounter in the headshot line. But somewhere on Wednesday, something happened that will change our industry. I couldn’t be more honoured to host an event that can help nurture that kind of impact. 

BigHand will always be driven by curiosity, passion, and partnership. We’ll be here to help create change evangelists, and improve visibility and outcomes. I’m more dedicated to that than ever before and confident that our team can achieve it.  

Everyone that came to the conference saw what we mean by ‘Make BIG Happen’ and we’re not stopping anytime soon.