Interdisciplinary collaboration and digital tools as drivers for modern legal advice

Carolin works at the intersection of law and technology and shows how strong teams are using AI and low code to make legal work smarter.

Carolin, what is your role at the interface between law and technology and what led you down this path?

Early on, I was fascinated by how legal work could be made smarter. Today, I am something of a translator between lawyers and technical experts. My job is to prepare complex legal concepts so that data scientists and developers can translate them into digital solutions.One example: We have developed a tool that filters out relevant information from large files. To prevent lawyers from drowning in a flood of information, we prioritize metadata, such as police reports or witness statements in criminal law and legal assessments or questions of the burden of proof in civil law.

What makes the interdisciplinary collaboration at KPMG Law special for you and how does the exchange between lawyers and tech experts work?

What inspires me is the openness. When we work on projects, lawyers, data scientists and developers really do sit side by side. We explain our ways of thinking to each other, bring in our perspectives – and that’s where the best ideas come from.We often use pair programming: one person writes, the other comments, so our understanding of each other grows automatically. This form of collaboration is intensive, but also incredibly enriching.

For this to work, mutual understanding is crucial. I explain the legal basics to my technical colleagues – for example, what a burden of proof means or how criminal proceedings work – and vice versa, I learn from them how models are trained or the logic behind certain codes. This exchange at eye level ensures that we can really dovetail legal requirements and technical implementation. This results in solutions that are both technically precise and technologically innovative.

How do you organize your day-to-day work in the digital team and what provides connection and structure?

My day usually starts with a quiet hour for emails and research before the first consultations with the team begin. We talk about project progress, review feedback and prioritize tasks. This is followed by my first deep work phase, often data preparation for AI applications or testing prototypes.
At lunchtime, we usually have our jour fixe with the data scientist, where we work on code together and exchange ideas. In the afternoon, I test new functions, evaluate results and conduct training sessions for citizen developers. This keeps my day varied and also keeps me very connected digitally thanks to regular exchanges within the team.

How do you work on LegalTech projects as a team and which project do you think demonstrates the potential of these projects particularly well?

Our projects are dynamic and interdisciplinary, we plan in sprints, work iteratively and review results together. One project in particular sticks in my mind because it shows how strongly teamwork and technology can work together: We were able to save around 40 percent of lawyers’ working time by using AI to set up automated contract reviews. The AI evaluates content in advance and thus speeds up the initial review considerably.

We developed this together as a team: lawyers, data scientists and developers literally sat around a table to compare practical requirements with technical possibilities. These phases are particularly intense because you realize how much you can learn from each other. When things get stressful, that’s exactly what helps me the most: the team spirit. You know that no one is alone, someone will take over if you need a breather, someone will ask if you need help. This creates a culture in which there is room for both performance and humanity.

What characterizes your team and how do you stay motivated and keep your finger on the pulse?

Our team thrives on a strong mix of expertise, curiosity and a willingness to learn. We try out a lot, share experiences openly and are constantly learning from each other. I find it particularly impressive how naturally people from completely different disciplines work together with us, without hierarchical thinking, but with genuine trust and humor.

It motivates me when we solve seemingly unsolvable tasks together. At the beginning, we often say “That won’t work” and then we find a way as a team. It is precisely these moments that show what interdisciplinary collaboration can achieve. It’s particularly nice when our citizen developers build their own solutions and you can see how proud they are of their results. This motivates us all and shows that teamwork at eye level works best.

I find it fascinating how tools such as process mining or AI can support our work. Not because they replace people, but because they create space for what is really important: legal excellence, creativity and collaboration. This mix of challenge, innovation and collaboration is what makes my work so exciting.

Where do you want to go on your professional journey at KPMG Law and how would you like to help shape the future of data-driven legal advice?

I would like to further expand my role at the interface between law and technology: professionally, communicatively and strategically. It is important to me that we share our knowledge as a team and learn from each other rather than keeping it in individual heads. This cooperation is the basis for quality and trust, both internally and with our clients.

At the same time, I want to help ensure that data-driven legal advice continues to take shape at KPMG Law. I am excited to create structures in which legal excellence and technological innovation go hand in hand. I am very happy in my role because I feel I can really make a difference for our clients and in the world.