Torkin Manes is putting artificial intelligence and legal innovation into a formal leadership seat.
The Toronto law firm has welcomed Sondra Rebenchuk as Director, AI & Innovation, a newly established role that will see her lead firm-wide initiatives spanning artificial intelligence, legal technology, process innovation and AI-enhanced service delivery.
In the role, Rebenchuk will work with lawyers and business professionals across the firm to evaluate and implement emerging technologies designed to improve operational efficiency, streamline workflows and support client service.
The appointment comes as Canadian law firms continue to move from AI experimentation toward more structured adoption, with firms increasingly focused not only on which tools to use, but how to integrate them into everyday legal practice responsibly and effectively.
Torkin Manes Managing Partner Jeffrey Cohen said Rebenchuk’s experience will help the firm remain “at the forefront of innovation” as technology continues to reshape the legal profession.
Rebenchuk brings experience across legal innovation, artificial intelligence strategy and technology adoption. Before joining Torkin Manes, she led practice innovation at a national law firm, where she oversaw legal technology initiatives and the implementation of generative AI solutions across the firm.
She previously advised law firms across North America as an AI consultant, helping organizations assess and integrate emerging technologies into their practices. Rebenchuk began her career as a corporate lawyer, with a background in mergers and acquisitions and securities, giving her a practitioner’s perspective on where technology can improve the delivery of legal services.
Her new mandate at Torkin Manes includes the evaluation and implementation of emerging legal technologies, AI strategy, process improvement and AI-enhanced service offerings.
For Torkin Manes, the move signals a continued investment in the people and infrastructure required to make legal AI more than a collection of pilots. As firms look to apply AI to knowledge work, matter management, document workflows and client service, dedicated leadership roles are becoming increasingly important to translate emerging tools into practical improvements inside the firm.
Rebenchuk’s appointment reflects that shift: legal innovation is no longer sitting at the edge of firm operations. It is becoming part of how law firms compete, deliver value and prepare for the next phase of technology-driven legal service.