ILTA Awards
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/1536111
Finalist / I N N O V A T I V E L E A D E R O F T H E Y E A R I ris Skornicki, Director of AI Innovation Strategy at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, spearheaded the firm's generative AI (GenAI) testing, implementation, and adoption. Recognizing that clients increasingly look to law firms for AI guidance, Iris developed the firm's client- facing innovation advisory function. Her role has evolved from focusing on the internal adoption of legal technology to leveraging this expertise externally to advise clients on AI adoption, implementation, and change management. One of Iris's initiatives, the Client Portal Program, enables bespoke, client-specific digital workspaces. By integrating AI- powered review tools into M&A and financing transactions, her team reduced hours of manual diligence work. She ensured strategic rollout and adoption by initiating monthly AI training sessions, embedding AI-driven workflows in transactional due diligence processes, and developing best practices for AI- assisted contract review. Iris led the firm's document automation program, integrating cutting-edge legal automation tools for NDA generation and review, engagement letters, and fund formation documents, d e l i ve r i n g s i g n i f i c a n t e f f i c i e n c y g a i n s w h i l e e n s u r i n g standardization, accuracy, and compliance in firm-wide legal documentation. She launched comprehensive change management initiatives to drive technology adoption, including the Paul Weiss Pioneer Interview Series, a Knowledge & Innovation Resource Center, and hands-on AI training and Iris Skornicki Director of AI Innovation Strategy Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP LINKEDIN / iris-skornicki-7967a635 hackathons. Iris speaks regularly at industry conferences, including the Strategic Knowledge & Innovation Legal Leaders' Summit, Sandpiper Partners events, Legal AI Pathfinder's Assembly, Inside Practice, Hinshaw's Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, and ARK Knowledge Management. Her team was nominated for the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer awards and won a NY/NJ Legal Technology Award for their internal deal point database, DealSite. ILTA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2025 4 3