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Husch Blackwell has officially launched its new Transformation Office and named Joanna Penn as chief transformation officer. FILE PHOTO.
Posted March 12, 2026
Kansas City-based Husch Blackwell LLP announced the creation of the Transformation Office, a firmwide division focused on technology adoption and capabilities across the company.
Joanna Penn has been appointed as the Chief Transformation Officer and will lead the newly established office. Before taking on her latest role, Penn served as a managing director who led Husch Blackwell’s Integrated Client Services team. She joined the company in 2022.
Prior to joining Husch Blackwell, Penn served as U.S. Director of Business Development for Eversheds Sutherland as well as other leadership positions, according to her LinkedIn profile. Notably, Penn also served as the client relationship executive for Bloomberg’s legal division and as the business development director at Lawyer Metrics, LLC.
She received her B.A. from Indiana University and her J.D. from its Maurer School of Law.
“As our firm continues to grow, we must ensure our operating model scales with us so we can achieve those goals. The Transformation Office is designed to help us do that,” Chief Executive of Husch Blackwell Jamie Lawless said in a release. “Joanna will work closely with firm leadership and clients to redesign our operating model, processes, and capabilities and help turn our strategic vision into reality.”
The Transformation Office will have three core verticals: practice innovation, strategic delivery, and data science and AI to allow for process improvements across the firm’s strategic priorities, according to a release. The office will also implement firmwide AI tool adoption to reduce non-legal administrative burdens.
“AI and data science are not standalone initiatives; they are accelerators of transformation. By using data-driven insight, our team will help the firm anticipate industry trends, modernize how we deliver legal services, and ensure our strategic plan is not just a document, but a roadmap that every team and every individual can use for their daily work.”
Last year, Husch Blackwell announced Jeff Le Riche had joined the firm as a partner and member of the Financial Services & Capital Markets industry team in Kansas City.
