Building on its 2018 acquisition of the AI technology and consulting firm LexPredict, the global law company Elevate has launched a Digital Strategy and Solutions business unit and hired a big name in legal AI to run it — Brian Kuhn, formerly global managing leader of the IBM Watson Legal business.

The unit will focus on helping law departments law departments and law firms capitalize on the digital technologies and related best practices that are transforming legal business models and operations, the company said. Kuhn will report to Liam Brown, Elevate’s chairman and CEO.

Since 2015, Kuhn had been cofounder (along with Shawnna Hoffman) and global leader of the IBM Watson Legal consulting business, working with major corporations and legal departments to help them identify and implement appropriate digital technologies, including AI, machine learning and blockchain.

Earlier, he was a sales executive at Thomson Reuters. He is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

“Law departments and law firms face increasing pressure to operate differently, yet meeting this challenge requires help beyond their internal resources,” CEO Brown said in a statement. “With Brian leading our new Digital Strategy and Solutions practice, we will help our customers thrive in the coming wave of digitization.”

“The convergence of disruptive digital technologies — artificial intelligence, machine learning, the cloud, and blockchain — has created unprecedented opportunities for law departments and law firms to solve previously unaddressable business problems,” said Kuhn.

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Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.