Colleen Nihill is the firm’s chief AI & knowledge officer. In this role, she leads a multidisciplinary team of business professionals who support the firm’s 15 diverse practice groups and internal business functions to optimize the way work is accomplished through matter planning, process design, and document automation technologies. Colleen’s administrative experience spans a host of issues relating to pricing, profitability, project management, and business operations, earning her two consecutive commendations for pricing and project management from Financial Times.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Colleen served as the chief administrative officer at another global law firm. She is a frequent guest lecturer and author on law firm management topics. Notably, she was a contributing author featured in the Ark Group's 2011 book Project Management for Lawyers: Developing Best Practices in Legal Project Management, Ark Group’s 2012 book Buying Legal: Procurement Insights and Practice, and Buying Legal's 2015 Legal Procurement Handbook. Colleen was also featured in the 2015 Of Counsel Management Report: A Hiring Trend on the Rise in 2015, and in Legal Technology News: The Eureka Moment in 2012.
Since 2012, Colleen has helped develop and instruct a business of law operations module at her law school alma matter, Villanova University School of Law, where she served on the Law Review and graduated cum laude. Before serving in executive-level positions, Colleen worked as an attorney in the litigation and antitrust practices of two other law firms.
Member, Legal Industry Editorial Advisory Board, Law360 (2019, 2020)
Recipient, Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Commendation, Business of Law category (2011 & 2012)
Member, Villanova Law Review