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Crowell & Moring’s June hiring of Andrea Markstrom as chief information officer is more than a routine personnel move — it’s a signal that one of America’s law firms is trying to get ahead of a technological tidal wave rather than be swept under by it. The firm formally announced her appointment on June 22, 2026, and the pick of a seasoned CIO with deep sector experience speaks to a leadership that understands talent and experience matter when stakes are high.
Markstrom’s message is straightforward and unapologetic: adopt technology around people, not the other way around. She’s pushed a “people-first” AI strategy that insists CIOs start with the user, build the right teams, and lean on networks to move faster without courting catastrophe — a practical, conservative approach that favors competence over technocratic flash.
On the ground that looks like concrete deployments, not buzzword theater: an internal AI assistant for secure access to proprietary data, a partnership with legal AI provider Legora for research and process efficiency, and Microsoft Copilot rolled out across finance, HR, and marketing. Those are the kinds of real-world tools that help lawyers and staff do their jobs better while keeping client work protected — exactly the middle path between stagnation and recklessness.
Nobody should pretend AI is risk-free; the legal profession knows better than most how a single mistake can become front-page damage. Industry surveys show a majority of legal professionals expect AI to reshape work, and that makes the cautious mantra Markstrom voiced — “go fast, but go safely” — a necessary credo for any firm that values client confidentiality and reputational capital.
Patriotic conservatism demands we cheer innovation that strengthens American institutions while calling out soft-headed fads and regulatory grandstanding that would hamstring practical progress. If Washington spends its energy chasing ideological purity tests instead of backing clear rules that protect data and punish bad actors, we’ll lose American leadership in legal services and technology to whoever is willing to be practical and disciplined.
Hiring leaders with track records matters. Markstrom arrives with roughly three decades in IT leadership and a recent CIO role at Cadwalader, credentials that matter when you’re asking firms to modernize without risking client trust. Other firms would do well to follow Crowell’s example: recruit experienced stewards, deploy technology to serve people, and let common sense — not virtue signaling — set the pace.
