Programm
The Liquid Legal Summit 2026
Legal Foresight · Transformation Architecture · Digital Sovereignty
The legal profession is being rewritten. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how legal work gets done. Geopolitical shifts are forcing new questions about data, sovereignty, and trust. And the pace of organisational change has become permanent rather than episodic.
The Liquid Legal Summit 2026 is where legal leaders, in-house counsel, transformation specialists, and legal-tech innovators come together to make sense of this moment — and to design what comes next.
Two days. Three areas. One question: What does the legal profession need to look like to remain trusted, effective, and resilient in the years ahead?
Format
The Summit unfolds across two days in Düsseldorf:
6 July 2026, 14:00 – 18:30
Workshop Day.
A focused day of hands-on working sessions, designed for direct dialogue and applied learning. The Workshop Day will open with a keynote address by Georg Eisenreich, Bayerischer Staatsminister der Justiz. The detailed Workshop programme will be announced shortly.
6 July 2026, 18:30 – 22:30
Liquid Legal Night powered by Libra
7 July 2026, 09:00 – 19:00
Conference Day
Keynotes, track sessions, and plenary conversations across three thematic tracks. During the Conference Day we’re looking forward to a keynote address by Dr. Benjamin Limbach, Minister der Justiz des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen.
Liquid Legal Summit 2026 · Agenda
Main Stage
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Welcome Coffee & Registration
Welcome & Opening
Liquid Legal Institute e.V.,
Impuls
Georg Eisenreich, MdL
Keynote: Der missing link zwischen Anspruch und Wirkung: Gedanken zu einer wirksamen Transformationsarchitektur für einen starken demokratischen Staat
Dr. Julia Borggräfe
Changing rooms
Legal 360°: Capability Mapping für die KI-fähige Rechtsabteilung
Martin Clemm, Carolin Kothe, Klaus Gresbrand
Legal Foresight Workshop Exploring Future Scenarios Deriving Implication for Legal Actors (Part 1)
Felix von Held, Lina Keßler
Co-Creating Laws & Policies – Wirksame, zugängliche Gesetze für eine krisenfeste Gesellschaft (Part 1)
Julia Fitzner, Rainer Markfort, Clara Grunwald
Vom Use Case zur Roadmap: Reifegrad- und Umsetzbarkeitsmatrix
Martin Clemm, Carolin Kothe, Klaus Gresbrand
Legal Foresight Workshop Exploring Future Scenarios Deriving Implication for Legal Actors (Part 2)
Felix von Held, Lina Keßler
Co-Creating Laws & Policies – Wirksame, zugängliche Gesetze für eine krisenfeste Gesellschaft (Part 2)
Julia Fitzner, Rainer Markfort, Clara Grunwald, Matthias Schmid
Von der Capability zur Architektur: KI-Fähigkeiten technisch umsetzen
Stefan Weber, Carolin Kothe, Klaus Gresbrand
Future of Work: Drunk Drafting, sober review
Sybren Raaijmakers
Co-Creating Laws & Policies – Wirksame, zugängliche Gesetze für eine krisenfeste Gesellschaft (Part 3)
Julia Fitzner, Rainer Markfort, Clara Grunwald
Start: Liquid Legal Night powered by Libra
Impuls
Megan Ma, Viktor von Essen
Networking @ Liquid Legal Night powered by Libra
Main Stage
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Welcome Coffee
Conference Opening
Liquid Legal Institute e.V.: Eva Gardyan-Eisenlohr, Dierk Schindler
Introduction to Legal Foresight
Mark A. Cohen (virtual)
Reading the Weak Signals: How Legal Foresight Prepares Us for What's Next
David Bloch, Astrid Kohlmeier, Lina Keßler, Felix von Held, Johannes Kleske
The Future Literacy - Podcast (Live)
Dr. Kamilla Tekautschitz, Quentin Peltier, Dr. Yanneck Wloch, Alexander Vielhaber, Moderation: Sybren Rajimakers
Mapping Legislation: Strategic and Productive Opportunities Through Visualizations
Philipp Cartier
Deciding in the Dark: Making Sound Choices Under Future Uncertainty
Jens Wagner
Coffee Break
Predatory Design on Trial: Mapping the Legal Violations and Building the Evidence
Marie Potel-Saville
Wired for Vulnerability: Tech Dependencies, Cyber Risks, and the Path to Resilience
Dr. Alexandra Paulus
Short Impuls
Benjamin Limbach, MdL
Lunch break
The Sovereignty Talk
Paula Reichenberg, Matthias Schmid, Prof. Dr. Max Senges, Jürgen Erbeldinger, Birgit Hess, Moderation: Martin Clemm
Digital Sovereignty: Where Law Meets Technology and AI
to be announced
Digitale Souveränität durch Notfall‑Systeme – Strategie und Cloud-Tools
Mathias Espeloer, Marc Schneider, Hubert Jäger, Moderation: Georg Anders
Embedding equity into matters of law and justice
Sofie Dideriksen, Joaquín Santuber, Aaron Leakey, Moderation: Dr. Roger Strathausen
Coffee Break
Designing the Future of Legal
to be announced
Built for Tomorrow: Leading through continuous evolution.
Charlotte Kufus, Max Wörner-Schönecker, Eva Pottkämper, Elisabeth Hueck, Moderation: Daniella Domokos
Trusted vs. Open: Knowledge Access in an Autonomous Legal Research World
to be announced
Transforming the Law Firm
Rupprecht Graf von Pfeil, Jana Garcia, Jolanda Rose, Stefan Morsch, Moderation: Olivia Engels
The Innovator's Dilemma: The Role of Start-Ups in Transforming the Legal Market
Franziska Röhr, Alexander Laprell, Celia Geering, Thomas Barothy, Moderation: Clara Grundwald
Closing Remarks
Jens Wagner
Liquid Legal Summit Venue
Deloitte Legal
Erna-Scheffler-Straße 2
40476 Düsseldorf
Legal Foresight
Anticipating what comes next.
This track explores how legal professionals can identify early signals, work with uncertainty, and turn foresight into a strategic capability — moving from reactive to anticipatory.
Featured sessions include:
- From Signals to Strategy — How early indicators become better decisions.
- Reading the Future Before It Arrives — Tools, trends, and methods for legal foresight.
- Foresight in Practice — How legal teams build a sharper radar for change.
Impulses & deep dives:
- Impulse: Turning trend signals into action.
- Deep Dive: Scenario thinking for legal leaders.
- Impulse: What today’s weak signals tell us about tomorrow.
Digital Sovereignty
Trust, control, and resilience in a connected legal world.
This track focuses on AI, data, and digital infrastructures — and on how legal organisations can remain independent, trustworthy, and future-ready in an environment where dependency is the default.
Featured sessions include:
- Who Controls the Legal Stack? — Strategic choices in a digital legal ecosystem.
- Sovereignty by Design — How legal organisations protect trust, data, and decision-making.
- Building Trust in Digital Infrastructure — What independence means in an AI-enabled legal world.
Impulses & deep dives:
- Impulse: Governing AI, data, and dependency.
- Deep Dive: Digital sovereignty in practice.
- Impulse: What resilience looks like in a connected system.
Transformation Architecture
Designing change that lasts.
This track looks at how legal organisations build structures, capabilities, and cultures that remain resilient in permanent change. It is for legal leaders who are tired of transformation theatre and want to focus on what actually moves the needle.
Featured sessions include:
- The Architecture of Legal Change — What it takes to make transformation stick.
- Beyond Transformation Theatre — From strategy decks to real organisational impact.
- Building the Next Legal Operating Model — Structures, skills, and governance for a changing world.
Impulses & deep dives:
- Impulse: Designing transformation with measurable outcomes.
- Masterclass: Operating models for the next phase of legal.
- Practice Talk: Lessons from organisations already in motion.
The Liquid Legal Summit is curated by the Liquid Legal Institute e.V., a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the transformation of the legal profession. The Institute brings together practitioners, academics, and innovators to develop ideas, frameworks, and practical tools for a legal profession fit for the future.
Learn more at https://liquid-legal-institute.com.
Questions?
For questions about tickets, invoicing, or group bookings, please contact us at
event@liquid-legal-institute.org.