David Malkinson: AI Strategy Is Business Strategy
David Malkinson, Founder at SIGNL, speaks with David Woolstencroft at ILTACON 2026 about AI strategy, data foundations and measuring ROI.
About this episode
"๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐. ๐๐'๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐." At ILTACON 2026, David Woolstencroft sat down with David Malkinson, founder of SIGNL, an independent AI advisory for law firms based in the UK. His message: rolling out a tool isn't a strategy, because your clients probably have the same one. ๐ฅฆ Eat your vegetables first. Measure and set incentives before rollout, not after. ๐ Your data was built for humans, not robots. AI needs structure and metadata to find its way around. ๐ธ Few firms can tie token costs to a matter yet, so they can't recharge them or prove ROI. ๐ฅ Start with the managing partner and CFO, not the tech.
Key takeaways
• AI strategy is really business strategy, because rolling out a tool is not a strategy when clients probably have the same one.
• Firms should measure and set incentives before rollout, not after.
• Firm data was built for humans, so AI needs structure and metadata to find its way around.
• Few firms can yet tie token costs to a matter, so they can't recharge them or prove ROI.
• Start with the managing partner and CFO rather than the technology.
Explore more
Legal AI ยท Document & Knowledge Management ยท Legal Tech Go-to-Market & Growth ยท ILTACON 2026