Best brains in ...

Working with in-house legal teams to help with key issues affecting them. Also helping them to use technology to make them more efficient, save money and reduce risk.

Highlight of your career so far?

Our success in the first FT Innovative Lawyer Awards in 2006 and 2007. Being judged as one of the UK's top three leading individuals in the FTs first study 2006 and then as the leading innovative legal technologists in the first Europe study in 2007 gave the team and me a real buzz. Dealing with the United Nations on agreeing an international eBilling standard and being chairman of the Legal IT Innovators Group (www.litig.org) have been great too.

Hardest decision you've ever made?

Taking a decision not to invest in dot.com products for the firm when the market thought this was mad - this took real will power.

What's the biggest international job you've done?

I worked with a large in house legal department, some 500-plus people, on the global procurement and installation of a matter and document management system including eBilling.

What about commercial rather than legal advice?

We have given clients strategic feedback and understanding on the market positioning of potential technology investments, allowing them to get to the point of decision quicker than competing bidders.

What's your team's single greatest contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?

As a department, we sent some toys, computer equipment and pens and paper to the Joshua Foundation in Tanzania. Many schools have few, if any, resources and the children sit on dirt floors with huge numbers of children in each class. The foundation teaches and, importantly, also trains teachers so the benefits this brings can be huge. We were really careful not to send things which would not be useful and we really listened to what they needed. The firm also made a financial contribution and even those in the department with nothing appropriate to donate collected money and bought paper and pens. The container transporting the equipment will even be turned into a building (as others have in the past). We have just made a further donation of furniture.

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

"Derek is one of the brightest sparks in legal IT. He shapes and moulds understanding and stands out from the crowd. With his help, Wragge & Co have elevated their firm from one of the pack to a leading, tech-aware law firm. Competes with the magic circle with his business thinking". Citytech Magazine 2006