
Bio
Kate Simpson is the Client Engagement Lead for Fireman, an Epiq Company. Simpson brings more than 20 years of experience leading Knowledge Management (KM) and practice innovation initiatives from strategy to implementation.
As Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Bennett Jones LLP, Simpson spent the last decade deploying KM and AI practice tools and driving adoption through change management and literacy programs. Prior to Bennett Jones, she led information and knowledge design with her own consultancy serving more than ten top law firms in both the UK and Canada. Kate is a key figure in the KM community, recognized for her thought-provoking leadership in next-generation knowledge systems and findability. She excels in designing practical, user-friendly workflows that engage and benefit lawyers.
Kate earned her Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice and LLB in London, before joining an online legal publishing startup and then began her KM career at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. She is a published author and regular presenter at industry conferences on topics such as content management and user experience, LegalTech adoption, innovation and process optimization, and findability. She is a Fellow-Elect 2025 at the College of Law Practice Management.
Work Experience
Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer – Bennett Jones
2014 – 2024
– Kate led a team of KM and Information Specialists and delivered tools and resources that leveraged the firm’s intellectual capital.
– Developed and implemented the firm’s knowledge management, library and practice innovation strategy and initiatives.
– Worked with the firm’s practice groups and business units to explore innovative technologies and processes that would enable efficiencies and continuous improvement at the firm and ultimately benefit both lawyer and client.
Columnist for Legal Technology & Innovation – Canadian Lawyer Magazine
2015 – 2020
– Authored a regular column on Legal Technology and Innovation for the Canadian Lawyer magazine.
Knowledge & Information Architecture Consultant – Tangledom
2007 – 2014
– Led information and knowledge design as a freelance consultant and served more than ten top law firms in both the UK and Canada.
– Advised firms on how technology could go from merely supporting lawyers in the ways they already practiced, to how it can be embraced and seamlessly embedded into legal services for the benefit of both lawyer and client.
– With her feet in both legal and design worlds, Kate had a unique toolkit of engaging techniques that brought fresh perspectives to the business of law.
– Collaborated with national and global firms that were committed to making the firm’s IT and KM investments deliver exceptional value every time.