Legal Industry Highlights from Dreamforce 2024

After months of preparation, it’s hard to believe that Dreamforce 2024 is now behind us. Our team went all out this year, bringing ambitious plans to life at the HIKE2 Lodge—a curated space that became a Salesforce legal hub just steps from the Moscone Center. Now that the whirlwind has passed, we at HIKE2 couldn’t be more satisfied with how everything came together.

With over 45,000 Trailblazers gathered in San Francisco and millions more joining virtually via Salesforce+, the energy was electric as the global Salesforce community gathered for the annual event. The atmosphere was buzzing, and it was incredible to be a part of it all.

Now that we’ve had time to rest and reflect, we’re excited to share some of our favorite moments from this unforgettable experience. Let’s dive in!

Agentforce: A New Era of AI

Agentforce was absolutely the belle of the Dreamforce ball, making a spectacular debut during the keynote. This new suite of autonomous AI agents is poised to revolutionize how companies approach service, sales, marketing, and commerce. 

HIKE2 hosted a very popular session entitled Legal Operations Excllence and were honored to have the esteemed Léo Murgel, SVP, Office of Legal and Corporate Affairs Tech, Data, Ops Innovation & Enablement, join us.

When asked about how AI will tangibly affect our near-future legal world, Léo remarked with excitement: “Opportunities are very practical, they are here and they are now. They are not crazy transformative, but they are super helpful.” 

The possibilities of what Agentforce could bring to our legal clients, especially those larger organizations with sizable customer-facing support teams, are very exciting. As more details roll out from Salesforce in the coming weeks, we’re keeping a close eye on how this innovation will transform service interactions and operational efficiency in the legal industry. 

“Where’s the Win” with Legal + AI?

One of our favorite HIKE2 Lodge sessions featured Danielle Benecke, Founder and Director of Baker McKenzie AI/ML.

In the talk How AI Can Transform Cost Centers to Profit Centers, Danielle shared the real truth: “Let’s face it, law firm clients don’t actually want AI. They want what they’ve always wanted: faster, better, cheaper legal services. They want to help their businesses better navigate the increasingly complex, interconnected, existential, fretful world we all find ourselves in. That’s the new value. Concretely that means new services that tackle the problems we haven’t been able to tackle without this technology.”   

We love this reminder that, as we guide our clients to build new solutions, the true intention of the end user should never be far from minds. It is an exciting time in legal innovation, with key stakeholders taking their front-row seat for transformational change.

Dreamforce Legal Executive Roundtable

HIKE2 had the privilege of attending an exclusive, closed-door Dreamforce Legal Executive Roundtable event, which brought together just 25 top legal industry experts for an intimate and insightful discussion.

Led by Sabastian Niles, President and CLO at Salesforce, the roundtable covered a range of pressing legal industry topics, including the evolving landscape of legal talent, workforce challenges, and the role of technology and innovation in transforming the field.

One of the key discussions at the Executive Roundtable centered on the difficulties posed by a “cobblestone” approach to innovation—where piecemeal solutions and tech sprawl create inefficiencies and hinder user adoption. However, despite these challenges, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the room.

Overall, the event highlighted the legal community’s openness to learning from each other and embracing what’s working in the tech space. The enthusiasm for adopting new technologies and rethinking traditional legal practices was clear. All in, this session underscored the industry’s collective readiness to evolve and expand. 

The HIKE2 Lodge at Dreamforce

The HIKE2 Lodge at Dreamforce was truly a standout amid the noise, attracting 700+ registrants and creating a vibrant, engaging atmosphere that welcomed everyone. We hosted two lively “Taste of San Francisco” happy hours, eight thought leadership sessions featuring top experts in legal and other highly regulated industries, plus breakfast and lunch roundtables with the freshest food and drinks in town (a far cry from the boxed lunches at Moscone). We offered premium swag, with HIKE2’s soft-as-butter hoodies and signature s’mores Squishies that quickly become coveted items among attendees. 

We are confident that we accomplished what we set out to do: create a not-to-be-missed homebase for the legal Salesforce community that provided excellent opportunities for learning and leisure. 

So, What’s Next From Here?

With our collective company foot remaining firmly on the gas, we are already ideating on what next year’s Dreamforce will bring. In the meanwhile, we are intently focused on how we can use Salesforce, and other emerging technologies, to solve our client’s business problems. 

It was great to see just how much growth there is in the legal technology space. The world is evolving, and the legal industry is becoming increasingly involved in these important conversations. 

There is a great amount of work to be done and we at HIKE2 intend to be at the forefront of legal innovation in 2025 and beyond. 

Missed one of our sessions? Watch the videos here

If you have a business problem that needs solving, we welcome you to contact us to get a conversation started.