Lawyer Profile
Paul V. Saunders
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Overview
Paul is Stewart McKelvey’s first Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer and Partner. Paul is responsible for driving strategies for Firm growth through innovation, continuous improvement, change management, Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, business development, external consulting, financial data analysis and application development, and Partner coaching, compensation and knowledge transfer. This includes facilitating the development and execution of Stewart McKelvey’s strategic plans and staying up to date on legal industry trends and best practices.
Paul partners with lawyers, staff, and business professionals both internal and external to the firm, to solve problems by implementing strategies and developing new tools and processes. Paul’s work, and that of his team in the firm’s Practice Innovation team, results in streamlined processes, reduced costs, and increased profitability. Using his background in IT and an innovative approach to the practice of law, Paul applies his technical skills to offer clients greater efficiencies. He does so by leveraging cutting edge technologies and creative problem solving to maximize client value while minimizing costs and waste.
Paul is an expert in process improvement, legal project management, pricing, profitability analysis, data analytics, financial dashboards, law firm partner compensation redesign, database design, application development, MS Excel, SharePoint, automated document assembly, and other related fields and technologies. Ten years of corporate practice experience, specializing in M&A and coordinating large corporate transactions, combined with eight years as a member of the Firm’s senior leadership team in an innovation role, has enabled him to develop countless solutions that have had far reaching benefits for the firm and its clients.
Dalhousie University, LLB, 2007 Dalhousie University, MBA., 2003 Dalhousie University, BComm, 2002
Master Certified CPM Coach, Next Gen LPM, 2021 Change Management Practitioner, Prosci, 2017 Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, McGill, 2016
Member, Canadian Bar Association Chair, AI Task Force, Stewart McKelvey Task Force Member, Task Force for the Digital Transformation of the Courts of Nova Scotia Member, Technology Sub-Group, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, Law Office Management Standards Committee Member, Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, Law Office Management Standards Committee Past Instructor, Legal Aspects of Business, Dalhousie School of Business Administration Past Instructor, Legal Aspects of Business, Mount Saint Vincent University School of Business and Tourism
Lexpert® Rising Star: Leading Lawyer Under 40, 2019 Lexpert rating: Information Technology, 2026 Lexpert rating: Computer & IT Law, 2020
Practice Areas
Bar Information
Called to the bar: 2008 (NS)