Headquarters:

19 Duncan Street, Toronto, ON M5H 3G6

Year founded:

25,000+

Number of employees:

25,000+

Phone:

+14166877500

Email:

customersupport.legaltaxcanada@tr.com

Websites:

thomsonreuters.ca

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/showcase/thomson-reuters-canada-legal

“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”

Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG

Steven Assie

Head of Canada

Lisa Ziegler

Sales Director, Legal Software Solutions

Francine Goldenberg

Sales Manager - Legal Online Solutions, Small and Mid-Law

Leadership

Steve Assie is head of Canada and general manager for Thomson Reuters, serving law firms, corporate, government, academic, and tax and accounting customers in the country. As Thomson Reuters plans to invest $100 million annually in generative AI, Assie and his teams are at the forefront of AI application to legal products in Canada. He has been with Thomson Reuters in strategy, product, and marketing roles for 12 years. Prior to his current role, he worked on the global launches of new versions of Westlaw, as well as the acquisition of Practical Law Company and HighQ.

Head of Canada

Steven Assie

At Thomson Reuters, Lisa leads the large law and government sales teams in Canada. With over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, she is passionate about sharing the voice of the customer to help drive efficiencies through the deployment of legal technology. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters 12 years ago, Lisa led sales and marketing teams in manufacturing technology.

Sales Director, Legal Software Solutions

Lisa Ziegler

Francine Goldenberg has been working in the legal software industry for over 20 years with the aim of helping legal professionals streamline their workflow. Currently, with Thomson Reuters, she manages a team of sales professionals across Canada which sell legal solutions to small and medium-size law firms. Formerly, she was head of sales for corporate division, responsible for driving revenue growth for their legal corporate entity management solutions into corporate legal departments and law firms of all sizes. She holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Sales Manager - Legal Online Solutions, Small and Mid-Law

Francine Goldenberg

BRETT BASTOW, IQUMULATE PREMIUM FUNDINGs

Leadership

“Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available”

GRAEME GORDON, IQUMULATE PREMIUM FUNDING

BRETT BASTOW, IQUMULATE PREMIUM FUNDING

Leadership

Jamie Northey

Director Sales - Corporations and Tax and Accounting Professionals

For over 20 years, Jamie has helped corporate CIOs, CFOs, CLOs/GCs, and legal operations professionals deploy technology to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters eight years ago, Jamie led customer teams at a number of global software providers. He has worked with hundreds of in-house legal departments to help assess the greatest opportunities for technology to solve problems in the areas of legal workflow, managing contracts and documents, and outside counsel spend management.

Director Sales - Corporations and Tax and Accounting Professionals

Jamie Northey

Zena Applebaum

Vice-President, Product Marketing

Zena Applebaum is an accomplished cross functional team leader with 20+ years experience in proposition strategy, competitive intelligence and product marketing. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Council of CI Fellows in 2015 and is an incoming Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management in 2023. Applebaum co-authored The Practical Guide to Competitive Intelligence (2022) and authored Business Intelligence for Law Firms (2012). She has been a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto iSchool and Rutgers University, as well as a guest lecturer at law schools across North America.

Vice-President, Product Marketing

Zena Applebaum

Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues. In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has: • experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year • improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40% • significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience • expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers. The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.

“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”

Wayne Tower, IQumulate Premium Funding

Mary Acimovic

Director, Product Management

Erica Kitaev

Senior Director of Product Management, Practical Law

Cemal Akgul

Head of Risk and Collections

Stephen McMillan

Commercial Manager

Mary Acimovic leads the Westlaw Canada product management team located in Toronto. Her team focuses on the development of the Westlaw Canada platform partnering closely with Thomson Reuters Labs and customers to deliver solutions to customers’ research problems. Acimovic has been involved with Westlaw Canada from its early days as eCarswell and through to its evolution to Westlaw Edge Canada.

Director, Product Management

Mary Acimovic

Erica Kitaev leads global innovation strategy for Practical Law product management, where a key part of her remit is applying technology, such as generative AI, to solve the most pressing problems of legal customers. Before joining the product leadership team, Erica was herself one of Practical Law’s 600+ attorney editors. Erica came to Practical Law from an AmLaw 100 firm, where she was a partner in the privacy and data security and litigation groups.

Senior Director of Product Management, Practical Law

Erica Kitaev

Cemal Akgul sees the head of risk and collections role as pivotal in guiding and influencing business decisions. He has more than 15 years of experience across financial and government services, most recently with the NDIS, where he was the leading consultant driving the Risk Management process’ nationwide. Prior to that, he served various roles at BMW Finance across the United States, Hong Kong, Germany and Australia. During Akgul’s tenure at BMW Finance, he predominately worked in risk management, guiding the organisation through seismic changes between 2016 and 2018. In his time prior, he was based out of New York, leading BMW Finance’s American subsidiary's market risk and data analytics teams between 2011 and 2016. Akgul values a balanced approach to business, encourages a positive work culture and is passionate about teaching and guiding the business and individuals at IQumulate.

Head of Risk and Collections

Cemal Akgul

Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager. As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view. IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance. “We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.

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Small business

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Turnaround time – claims

BDM support

Broker communication, training and development

Overall service level

BDM support

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.” “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

IQumulate invests in education and people, which are vital to attracting new business and talent to the company. “We have long tenures for several of our key staff, including some in leadership positions, and this sound working knowledge of our business, practices and industry provides great insights and a wealth of experience to offer our clients,” says Bastow. “Our new head of sales, Graeme Gordon, formerly manager for New Zealand, joins us in Australia to drive our sales strategy and lead our team to successful outcomes for our clients and our business. We look forward to great things ahead with Graeme as he continues to be active and present in the New Zealand market as well as building sound working relationships and new connections in Australia.” Clients can also expect a lot from working with IQumulate. “Through active engagement with our trusted broker network, IQumulate provides relevant information, education and training content,” says Graeme Gordon, head of sales. “Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available and how IQumulate can spread the cost of insurance and help borrowers get the right level of insurance cover to free up their cash flow for other expenses or business growth opportunities. Premium funding is often considered a tool for those who simply cannot afford to pay their premiums in full. While this is certainly a significant driver for many, it is also successfully used by profitable companies who use premium funding to manage their cash flows more wisely or better manage their liquidity.”

What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, creating a competitive advantage with the potential to allow IQumulate to command premium pricing or capture a larger market share. “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Similarly, brokers can expect:

Lisa Ziegler, Sales Director, Legal Software Solutions Francine Goldenberg, Sales Manager, Legal Online Solutions, Small & Mid-Law Jamie Northey, Corporations and Tax and Accounting Professionals Zena Applebaum, Vice President of Product Marketing Erica Kitaev, Senior Director, Product Management (Practical Law Canada) Mary Acimovic, Product Director (Westlaw Canada)

“We use technology to automate mundane tasks, provide valuable insights, and drive efficiencies with meaningful benefits, freeing our customers to focus on their customers”

Steven Assie Thomson Reuters

“We provide professionals and institutions the tools they need to solve complex problems and confidently make difficult decisions”

Steven Assie Thomson Reuters

•

Thomson Reuters is an industry-leading organization committed to offering trusted content and technology that professionals and institutions confidently turn to make well-informed decisions. Through its content, technology, and client partnerships, Thomson Reuters is modernizing the pillars of society. The organization is renowned for elevating how professionals and institutions work by digitalizing the tax and legal professions, free press, commerce, and the rule of law. Guided by its Trust Principles, Thomson Reuters is deeply dedicated to preserving independence, integrity, and freedom from bias in gathering and disseminating information and news. “We provide professionals and institutions the tools they need to solve complex problems and confidently make difficult decisions,” says Steven Assie, head of Canada. “We use technology to automate mundane tasks, provide valuable insights, and drive efficiencies with meaningful benefits, freeing our customers to focus on their customers.” Thomson Reuters has been harnessing AI and machine learning in its professional information products for decades, leveraging its unique, authoritative proprietary content and technology. This has positioned the organization to react fast to emerging AI applications and deliver solutions that augment its customers’ work so they can focus on what matters most.

•

making it easier for customers to do business with the company significantly modernizing and simplifying its product portfolio and product development groups reducing complexity across the organization and modernizing technology and services optimizing the organizational design and location strategy to increase speed to market, access to talent, flexible working, and better connectivity

When doing business with Thomson Reuters, clients can rely on its unwavering commitment to service excellence, reliable, authoritative content, increased revenue, and less time spent on labour-intensive tasks. On winning five prestigious Readers’ Choice awards for 2023, Assie remarks, “The award is a testament to Thomson Reuters’ constant innovation and experimentation and reaffirms our commitment to serve our customers and to help pursue justice, truth, and transparency.”

One of the organization’s crucial strategies recently was initiating a two-year change program to drive growth and efficiency by transitioning from a holding company to an operating, content-driven technology company. Thomson Reuters also strengthened its foundation and established a platform for the next phase of future growth by:

•

a 12-month branding and marketing campaign investment in digital assets and content that can support the marketing efforts of brokers strengthening their stable specialised insurance schemes to offer even better value for money for clients

In the 1990s, Thomson Reuters provided one of the earliest commercial applications for natural language processing search. Since then, it has leveraged increasingly sophisticated AI and ML capabilities to improve search and expand analytics through product advances, including WestlawNext, Westlaw Edge, Practical Law Dynamic, and Westlaw Precision. Acquisitions have also bolstered the company’s AI capabilities and talent. For example, its three-pronged, build, buy and partnership strategy will accelerate its ability to provide generative AI capabilities simultaneously across its portfolio and customer base. The leadership at Thomson Reuters hails from around the globe, with the executive team led by president and CEO Steve Hasker. In Canada, the head is Steven Assie, supported by his leadership team comprising of:

•

thomsonreuters.com