NEW YORK – February 19, 2025 – Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a pioneer in legal innovation for over two decades, announces the creation of two key leadership roles that reinforce the firm’s longstanding commitment to technology, AI, data-driven insights, and design strategy.
Byong Kim will be the firm’s first Chief Data & AI Officer (CDAIO), and Zeynep Ersin will be the first Chief Innovation & Strategic Design Officer (CISDO). In the early 2000’s, Seyfarth was among the first law firms to develop an efficiency model for project management and process improvement, and, in 2016, the firm was again among the first to build an in-house technology incubator called Seyfarth Labs. These new roles demonstrate the firm’s continued dedication to embedding innovative thinking into every aspect of legal service.
“Client-centric innovation is woven into Seyfarth’s DNA,” said Lorie Almon, Chair and Managing Partner. “We’ve been leading the legal market for decades with our commitment to continuous improvement, and to delivering value in the ways that matter most to our clients. Byong and Zeynep’s appointments reflect our deep commitment to delivering impact by bringing creative interpretations to our work, by developing new solutions, and making the most of this moment of great technological change.”
Kim, who has been with the firm for more than 12 years, most recently served as Senior Director, Technology Innovations and head of Seyfarth Labs, where his role has evolved and more of his responsibilities have become centered around AI. As CDAIO, he will continue to oversee Seyfarth Labs but now will also be responsible for integrating AI, predictive analytics, and automation and data-driven decision making into legal service delivery—ensuring that data-driven decision-making enhances both firm operations and client outcomes.
“We’ve always been at the leading edge of legal tech, but the explosion of AI presents an unprecedented opportunity to push boundaries even further,” Kim said. “My focus is on making AI practical—turning emerging technologies into real-world tools that lawyers and clients can use to drive efficiency and improve outcomes.”
Ersin, who has been with the firm for nearly 14 years, most recently served as Senior Director of Practice Development, Labor & Employment, where she has driven business strategy, knowledge management and operations, and worked closely with innovation leaders to grow and develop that function across all practices and sectors. In her new role as CISDO, she will lead efforts to embed design thinking across the firm, optimize internal processes, and develop innovative solutions that directly enhance client service delivery.
“Legal innovation is about rethinking how we deliver services to better meet client needs,” said Ersin. “By leveraging design thinking and process optimization, we can create tailored solutions that improve both the efficiency and the experience of legal service delivery.”
Seyfarth has long been a pioneer in law firm innovation. Dating back to 2005 when Seyfarth became the first major law firm to adopt Lean Six Sigma principles, it created Seyfarth Lean, an approach that revolutionized project management and legal service efficiency and has grown to a 15-person team of project managers. This methodology laid the groundwork for the 2016 launch of Seyfarth Labs, one of the first law firm innovation incubators where lawyers, technologists, and data experts collaborate to test and deploy cutting-edge solutions in AI, process automation, and data analytics to enhance legal operations. The Lab now has more than 20 tech designers, engineers, and data scientists. These new C-Suite positions demonstrate the firm’s commitment to innovation, including hiring and allocating resources toward AI, automation, and process innovation, and continue its tradition of being on the leading edge of industry transformation.
About Seyfarth
With more than 900 lawyers across 18 offices, Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides top tier advisory, litigation, and transactional legal services to clients worldwide.
“With approximately 900 lawyers across 17 offices, Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides advisory, litigation, and transactional legal services to clients worldwide.”
Please visit the firm link to site
