In an industry often defined by tradition and caution, Joy Saphla is rewriting the rules of legal transformation. With over three decades of experience at the intersection of law, strategy, and innovation, she has become a trusted advisor to some of the world’s most respected corporate legal departments and law firms.
As Senior Managing Director of Legal Solutions at Epiq, Joy leads with a rare blend of operational rigor and visionary thinking—helping clients reimagine how legal services are delivered through the power of people, process, technology, and data. Named among the Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy and Consulting and honored as one of the Top 20 Most Successful Women Leaders, she’s not just shaping the future of legal operations—she’s inspiring a new generation of changemakers to lead with purpose and precision.
From Pioneer to Powerhouse
“My career has been a continuous evolution of purpose and possibility,” says Joy, reflecting on a path that began in the mid-90s at Arthur Andersen, where she and her partners were early champions of running legal like a business as a strategic imperative. When Andersen closed its doors, they carried forward their vision by founding Huron Consulting Group—ushering in over a decade of transformative growth and industry-wide influence. At Huron, Joy helped commercialize and standardize legal business transformation practices, laying the groundwork for what would become a defining theme of her career.
Her next chapter unfolded at Morae Global, where she led the firm through seven years of rapid expansion, once again proving that legal innovation thrives when anchored in client-centricity and operational excellence. Today, as Senior Managing Director at Epiq, Joy continues to push boundaries—leveraging broader capabilities to meet the evolving needs of legal departments and law firms worldwide. Her journey is not just a timeline of roles—it’s a blueprint for how vision, resilience, and strategic foresight can reshape an entire industry.
Drawn to Scale
With three decades of experience building and leading legal transformation services, Joy has partnered with some of the world’s largest corporations to reshape how legal services are delivered and consumed. What drew her to Epiq was its unmatched scale and capability — it’s the most comprehensive legal services organization she has encountered in the industry.
“What truly sets Epiq apart is its unwavering, solutions-oriented client service mindset. Time and again, I’ve seen the team bring forward thoughtful, effective answers to the very challenges my clients face. The depth and quality of Epiq offerings not only impressed me; they’ve resonated with my clients, delivering real impact for today’s needs and tomorrow’s demands,” says Joy.
As the Senior Managing Director, Legal Solutions, Joy’s role centers on partnering with clients and industry leaders to deeply understand current challenges while also helping them anticipate what’s coming in three to five years.
As part of that mission, Joy collaborates across Epiq’s legal services business to orchestrate comprehensive, integrated solutions. “It’s about aligning innovation with real-world needs and ensuring our clients are ready for what’s next,” she says. She is also responsible for client acquisition, for which the most effective way, she understands, is to earn and retain client relationships by consistently delivering high-quality work. She has invested deeply in building a reputation for excellence, and Epiq shares that same commitment. Most of her new client relationships come through referrals, a reflection of the trust she has earned by staying focused on results and providing exceptional service time and again.
Understanding Legal Transformation
At its core, legal transformation is about reimagining how legal services are delivered and consumed. Today’s Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel are no longer focused solely on legal matters; they’re increasingly responsible for areas like HR, corporate security, and enterprise risk.
We may call it “legal,” but the real transformation lies in how legal enables businesses through technology, AI, people, processes, and data. It’s the intersection of all these elements that drives meaningful change.
Epiq is uniquely positioned to deliver comprehensive, sustainable solutions across this spectrum. What Joy values most is Epiq’s results-driven mindset. It’s not about how much effort it takes — it’s about helping the clients succeed. That’s how they measure their impact.
The Epiq Edge
Epiq provides a comprehensive range of legal and business services to corporations, law firms, financial institutions, and government agencies. These services span eDiscovery and litigation support, regulatory and compliance, flexible legal talent, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), and advanced technologies, including Epiq AI Discovery Assistant™.
When you work with Epiq, you gain access to a team of experts with years of experience in every solution offered. Epiq AI Discovery Assistant™ is the first tool of its kind to introduce agentic AI and chat capabilities to streamline existing workflows in an unprecedented way. These tools automate document review, classify privilege and responsiveness, and provide conversational interfaces for legal research — delivering faster, more accurate outcomes while cutting costs and time spent on manual review.
Another differentiator is the Epiq Service Cloud, a unified platform with centralized access and a user-friendly interface for clients. It offers tools such as SSO integration, cross-application reporting, and more to enhance both security and user experience.
“We are the only Gold-level global distributor of RelativityOne, with 25 global instances and over 2,000 users. Our expertise includes 200+ certifications and 17 client-dedicated environments,” shares Joy.
With offices worldwide, Epiq ensures consistent service quality across jurisdictions. Whether in New York, London, or Tokyo, clients receive seamless support globally. Each of its solutions emphasizes early insight, flexibility, and measurable outcomes. They are designed not just for compliance, but for strategic advantage — helping clients avoid significant costs and improve outcomes.
Epiq recently earned Band 1 rankings in Chambers and Partners’ NewLaw Guide, which reflects its continued focus on real-world use cases, helping legal teams review documents faster, build AI into workflows, and get more done without working longer hours.
Legal’s Toughest Challenges
Legal departments today are navigating a perfect storm of rising workloads, constrained budgets, and the urgent need to retain top talent. Add to that the complexity of adopting new technologies — and it’s clear that transformation isn’t optional, it’s essential.
Epiq steps in as a strategic partner, helping legal teams align tech adoption with operational goals, streamline processes for measurable ROI, and build resilient systems that support both performance and people. In a landscape, where doing more with less is the norm, Epiq offers the clarity, tools, and expertise to make that possible.
Tech Smart Legal Ops
At the heart of Epiq’s technology strategy is the Epiq Service Cloud, a centralized platform that orchestrates legal service delivery across people, processes, and technology. It integrates proprietary tools like Epiq Access, Epiq Discovery, Epiq AI Discovery Assistant™, Epiq Chat, and EpiqTMX into a seamless SaaS ecosystem.
The Epiq Service Cloud includes a data and analytics layer that transforms legal data into actionable insights using predictive analytics, machine learning, and business intelligence tools. It’s built to meet stringent legal industry standards and to ensure secure data ingestion and storage while processing across global jurisdictions.
Epiq AI Discovery Assistant™ is a standout innovation in litigation support:
· It’s used for automated document review, fact interrogation, deposition prep, and Early Case Assessment.
· In less than a year since its introduction, over 21 million documents have been analyzed, saving clients over $10 million in review costs.
· Accepted by regulators like the SEC and DOJ, it’s trusted for high-stakes legal work.
Epiq’s approach reflects a broader industry transformation, where legal teams are becoming strategic business partners. AI is reshaping how legal work is done, from research to due diligence, while data governance and ethical AI use remain top priorities for its clients.
Reinventing the Industry
The legal industry is currently undergoing a significant transformation, driven by a combination of technological, regulatory, and cultural shifts. That includes the advancement of AI, combined with changing client expectations and compliance standards. AI is changing how legal work is done — from drafting to research and due diligence.
As a result, corporate legal departments are considering new, innovative business models and outsourcing many legal processes to Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) as they offer cost efficiency and scalability.
At the heart of this transformation is AI and automation. AI enhances legal research, workflow automation, and self-service. Automation leads to more comprehensive and accurate legal insights that have critically supported legal teams. With streamlined research comes the automation of tasks like document review, first drafts, contracts analysis, and compliance checks, which, we know, frees up legal teams to focus on higher-value work, along with enabling businesses to be self-sufficient.
“One negative trend, I will say, is that AI holds bias, and while it can reduce error, it can also perpetuate these biases if they’re trained incorrectly. Working with an ALSP strategically evaluates AI recommendations,” shares Joy.
Overall, she feels, one of the biggest pros of AI automation is cost reduction. Reducing manual labor and external counsel costs lowers operational spend dramatically.
“At Epiq, I’ve personally seen this happen for several clients who are shocked at the cost savings upon AI implementation,” she says.
Emerging Trends in ALSPs
Joy has observed that this industry is being shaped by explosive market growth and a high demand for AI tools. It has become ‘mainstream’ for law firms to integrate with ALSPs, with over 50% of corporate legal departments now leveraging outside services for eDiscovery, litigation support, and contracts management. ALSPs that lead in AI adoption are seen as more attractive to corporate legal departments and law firms; new software that integrates with AI is the primary differentiator for competitive legal departments and firms.
In collaboration with an ALSP like Epiq, AI is used to streamline document review, automate workflows, and enhance legal research. Clients also seek more value-based pricing and predictable costs, which ALSPs are well positioned to deliver. This trend is only accelerating as automation with AI reduces the need for time-based billing.
Of the firms embracing ALSPs and more traditional organizations that resist change, Epiq has found that those leveraging ALSPs gain that competitive edge in this industry, with more room for efficiency and innovation. ALSPs are moving beyond commoditized tasks into high-value service areas like legal consulting and compliance advisory. This evolution is blurring the lines between ALSPs and traditional firms, a trend that is seen emerging in each of these categories.
Strategy, Skills, and a Future-Ready Legal Industry
As legal departments face mounting pressure to deliver more with less, strategic adoption of AI is no longer optional — it’s essential. From automating routine tasks like billing and document review to streamlining workflows, AI empowers legal teams to focus on higher-value work and deliver superior client experiences. But technology alone isn’t the answer. Success hinges on transparent communication, proactive feedback loops, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Optimizing business strategy also means expanding your ecosystem. Collaborating with ALSPs, consultants, and tech vendors ensures you’re aligned with the latest legal tech, regulatory shifts, and market trends. As automation becomes second nature, legal professionals must prioritize skill development in project management, data literacy, and client relations—building teams that are not just tech-savvy but strategically agile.
Looking ahead, Epiq is doubling down on innovation. Over the next five years, the organization will continue to evolve its AI solutions to meet the dynamic needs of legal departments worldwide. With a proactive mindset and a client-first approach, Epiq is committed to delivering cutting-edge tools that streamline legal workflows, enhance operational performance, and redefine what is possible in legal service delivery. The future isn’t just about technology — it’s about transformation, and Epiq is ready to lead the way.
To know more about Joy Saphla and Epiq, please visit:
- Joy Saphla LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-saphla-9934295/
- Epiq Website: https://www.epiqglobal.com/en-us
Read her inspiring interview and explore the full edition here
