Leading in the AI Era

Leadership in the Age of AI: Culture First, Code Second

Prof. Dr. Madeleine Bernhardt delivers the opening keynote at the Legal Management Forum 2025 in Madrid

At the Legal Management Forum 2025 in Madrid, Prof. Dr. Madeleine Bernhardt set the tone for the global debate on AI and leadership in law firms.
Her message was clear: true transformation begins with culture, not with code.

Setting the Scene

In her opening keynote, “The Hidden Algorithm of Leadership in the Age of AI – Start with Culture, Not with Code,” Prof. Dr. Madeleine Bernhardt challenged law-firm leaders to rethink the foundations of transformation.

“True change is not about AI itself,” she explained, “but about our human capacity to adapt, collaborate, and create value in times of technological disruption.”

She emphasized that organizational culture—not technology—is the decisive factor in whether AI initiatives succeed.
“Culture defines behavior. And behavior determines transformation,” Bernhardt noted.

Highlights from the Forum

The Legal Management Forum 2025, held at Madrid’s Mutua Madrileña Auditorium, gathered leading law firms from Spain and across Europe under the theme “Think AI, Rethink Law.”
Bernhardt, internationally recognized for her research on leadership in the legal profession, opened the event with a keynote that drew wide attention from both in-person and online audiences.

She urged leaders to see culture as a strategic asset—one that requires intentional design and alignment between desired behaviors, systems, and incentives.

“If you say you want collaboration but only reward individual performance,” she warned, “you will inevitably create competition instead of trust.”

Her address resonated deeply with the audience, emphasizing psychological safety as a foundation for high-performing legal teams.

International Coverage

Spanish media outlets such as Lawyerpress and LegalToday highlighted Bernhardt’s keynote as one of the defining moments of the conference.
They described her approach as “a human-centered framework for digital transformation”, bridging law, leadership, and psychology.

The Legal Management Forum — organized by Fundación Aranzadi LA LEY and Inkietos — has become one of Europe’s most influential gatherings for legal leaders, supported by Santander and Mutua Madrileña.

Read the full coverage

LegalToday Interview (Spanish)
LegalToday Report (Spanish)
Lawyerpress Article (Spanish)