Big Data Belfast 2025, presented by Analytics Engines has just announced another thought-provoking discussion taking place at this year’s event.
“The End of Lawyers? Or Just the Beginning?”
Artificial intelligence is transforming how legal work is delivered but what does that really mean for the future of law? This session brings together industry leaders from PwC, Citi, and Eversheds Sutherland to explore how AI is reshaping legal operations, governance, and client services.
READ MORE: Big Data Belfast 2025 – Session Spotlight: The Evolution of AI – An Opportunity or a Challenge?
Host - Michael Willis Partner, PwC UK
Michael leads PwC UK’s Legal Technology team, specialising in the design and deployment of AI-powered solutions that are redefining the delivery of legal work.
Over the past eight years, he has helped global clients harness technology for large-scale legal transformation and remediation programmes — spanning contract digitisation, regulatory repapering, and process optimisation.
Michael’s current focus is on agentic AI workflows, moving beyond experimentation to build production-ready systems that manage complex obligations, streamline regulatory risk, and scale legal operations with efficiency and precision.
Michael will be joined by an expert panel to discuss this topic:
Carla McGlynn Managing Director, Head of Markets Business Controls Technology & Tech Site Lead, Citi Belfast
Carla has been with the firm for 16 years. Since joining Carla has worked in a several Technology development and management roles, progressing to leading large-scale Technology programs of work including the MSS O&T Brexit strategy and Voyager, an FX and TTS JV, transforming the current Cross Border Payments Landscape.
In December 2020, Carla was appointed as the Head of Markets Business Controls Technology, a new Technology organisation supporting the Markets COO business under Paul Rayson. Her team now has approximately 375 staff globally and are responsible for building and supporting global applications that help meet our regulatory commitments. Most notably, she led the Technology delivery of the FXCO initiative and PRA trading controls programs across multiple teams to mitigate unauthorised / rogue trading risk; T0 booking controls to provide near real time alerts on adherence to trader and desk mandates; and preventative controls to block unauthorised booking on UK LEs, including remote booking as an example. She has also recently been appointed the UK, Europe & MEA Markets Tech lead, including Markets SMF24 delegate.
Locally, Carla is the Technology Belfast site lead supporting approx. 1700 workforce. She is the global program sponsor for various Inclusion and Diversity Initiatives and senior sponsor for Markets Technology Inclusion and Diversity. Carla is the Markets Lead for GenAI and her
team lead the rollout and user testing and enhancements of Citi Stylus across Markets paving the way for the firmwide rollout in December 2024.
In November 2024 Carla won the UK Women in Banking and Finance Tech Leader award for her contributions to Tech leadership and DEI initiatives across the UK.
Gareth Planck Senior Office Partner & Head of Real Estate, Belfast, Eversheds Sutherland
READ MORE: Big Data Belfast 2025 - Session Spotlight - AI in a 21st Century Media
Gareth is a commercial real estate lawyer with extensive experience advising institutional clients, private investors, and developers on complex property transactions including office and retail leasing, development land deals, mixed-use schemes, and joint ventures.
As Head of Real Estate in Belfast, Gareth is also passionate about how AI and legal technology are transforming the delivery of legal services in the property sector, creating new efficiencies and opportunities for innovation.
22nd October 2025| ICC Belfast Explore the full agenda & secure your tickets: www.bigdatabelfast.com
Sync NI's Summer 2025 magazine celebrates women in tech across Ireland as we continue to encourage more women to enter the thriving sector and address the current gender imbalance. Read the Summer 2025 Sync NI Magazine online for free here.
