Esther D. Bowers

Esther Bowers is the firm's Chief Practice Innovation Officer, serving in key leadership roles on the firm's Operating and Practice Technology Committees. As part of her work with the Practice Technology Committee, Esther focuses on the strategic, ethical, and secure use of AI across the firm's practices, as well as advancing the adoption of technology to enhance the client delivery model. In this capacity, Esther drives strategic initiatives to improve the firm's operations and elevate its brand across key practices. She is responsible for the design, implementation, and coordination of cross-departmental and multidisciplinary task forces involving attorneys and executive teams, ensuring the delivery of innovative solutions that enhance client service and operational efficiency.

Esther leads the firm’s award-winning FOCUS program, which integrates cutting-edge practice technologies, legal project management principles, knowledge management and tailored staffing models to deliver efficiency, value, and client-focused outcomes. Under her leadership, the program has been recognized as a trailblazer in legal service delivery innovation.

Before joining Honigman, Ms. Bowers was the Director of Client Service Initiatives at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, where she led the firm’s client-facing services, including value-added offerings, legal project management, and client feedback programs. Esther co-created and implemented the firm’s legal project management program, training and advising attorneys on process improvement and client value. She also spearheaded the firm’s client service program, designing and implementing customized service plans for key clients and driving initiatives to enhance client satisfaction and engagement.

An active participant in the legal innovation community, Ms. Bowers serves as Co-Chair of the 2025 and 2025 LVNx Conferences for the Legal Value Network (LVN) and is a member of multiple advisory boards. Esther regularly presents at industry events and authors topics including generative AI, legal project management, and client value strategies, having presented for organizations such as the American Bar Association (ABA), Practising Law Institute (PLI), Legal Value Network (LVN), Legal Marketing Association (LMA) and more. Her thought leadership has been featured in publications such as Law360, The American Lawyer, and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute.

Esther earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She holds certifications in Legal Project Management from LawVision and a White Belt from the Legal Lean Sigma Institute LLC, and she has completed advanced training in generative AI technologies.

Education

News

Press Releases

Events

Legal Value Network Annual Conference, The Future Ready Lawyer 2022: Key Industry Trends & Insights (September 2022), Presenter

Autologix, Life Beyond LPM: Practice Management (July 2022), Presenter

Above the Law, What About the Client? Leveraging Legal Tech to Deliver Concrete Value (October 2021), Presenter

Sandpiper Partners, Managing Profitability, Pricing and Data Analytics (June 2021), Presenter

Leveraging Latitude Podcast, Legal Operations (June 2021), Speaker

Global LPM Summit Using Project Management to Drive Better, More Accurate Data, Legal  Strategy and Lower Costs (June 2021), Presenter

Legal Value Network, Intrapreneurship in Legal (May 2021), Moderator

Legal Value Network, Off The Clock Podcast (May 2021), Presenter

LiteraTV, Future of Law Bootcamp (April 2021), Speaker

Practicing Law Institute Project Management for Lawyers (February 2021), Presenter

Project Management for Lawyers, Practicing Law Institute (February 2021), Presenter

The Road Ahead in 2021: Furthering Collaboration Across the Legal Ecosystem, Legal Value Network (February 2021), Presenter

Creating a Client-Centric Culture, LMA Annual Midwest Regional Conference, Presenter (June 2019)

Project Management for Lawyers, Practicing Law Institute, Presenter (February 2018)

Case Studies in Implementing Legal Project Management, LawVision Legal Project Management Roundtable, Presenter (November 2017)

Reducing Mistakes and Satisfying Ethical Requirements with LPM, ABA Law Practice Division – Innovative Law Webinar Series, Presenter (November 2017)

Practically Speaking: Implementing Project Management at Your Firm, ALAS Annual Firm Administration Conference – Opening Session, Presenter (August 2017)

Client Engagement, LMA P3 Podcast Series, Presenter (April 2017)

Publications

Practice Innovations: Law Firm Pricing as a Strategy, Not a Utility, Thomson Reuters Legal Practice Management (October 2022), Co-Author

Legal Project Managers: Where to Find These Unicorns (August 2019), Co-Author, LPM Institute Advisory Board Blog

Sell! –Driving LPM Adoption Using Proven Sales Tactics (March 2019), Author, LPM Institute Advisory Board Blog

The Power of Legal Project Management, (August 2018), Contributing Author, ABA Second Ed.

Client-Centric Service Means Business Solutions (July 2018), Contributing Author, Kate Harry Shipman Blog (re-published by Chicago Law Daily Bulletin and Akron Legal News)

LPM and the Millennial Lawyer (May/June 2018), Contributing Author, LMA Strategies Magazine