C. Peter Hitson

Peter Hitson is an experienced trial attorney and legal industry management executive with legal, claims, and financial services experience. He brings deep practical knowledge of Lean and Six Sigma disciplines to drive Carlton Fields’ innovative legal project management (LPM) and practice management objectives. As director of legal project and practice management, he collaborates with firm leadership, attorneys, and clients on cutting-edge project management tools and techniques to improve project scoping, planning, budgeting, and matter execution.

In this role, Peter leads legal project management, value-based pricing, and legal technology innovation. He helps design and implement matter scoping frameworks, staffing models, and fee structures that align client objectives with the firm’s financial goals, with a particular emphasis on predictability, transparency, and profitability. He works closely with client teams on high-stakes matters and portfolios, building and monitoring budgets, tracking performance against plan, and using data to identify trends, manage risk, and drive continuous improvement.

Peter also plays a central role in the firm’s pricing strategy and financial management of legal services. He partners with lawyers and clients to develop alternative fee arrangements and other value-driven pricing models, supports pitches and RFPs, and helps shape the firm’s approach to rate management and financial reporting. By combining financial analysis with practical, matter-level insight, he helps the firm deliver better outcomes and clearer communication around cost and value.

An active champion of innovation, Peter leads initiatives that leverage data, analytics, and legal technology — including artificial intelligence and modern budgeting and reporting tools — to improve the way legal work is delivered. He serves as a business lead and power user for LPM and budgeting platforms, and helps design templates, playbooks, and dashboards that make project management disciplines accessible to lawyers and legal professionals across the firm. He also provides training and coaching to support adoption of LPM skills and tools and to embed a culture of disciplined, client-centric project management.

Previously, Peter was director of legal process innovation at Wilson Elser. In that role, he led strategic innovation initiatives, making sophisticated use of data and market knowledge in pursuit of operational excellence and more efficient, predictable legal service delivery. Prior to joining Wilson Elser, he was assistant vice president, legal practices, support and audit for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., where he was charged with selection, retention, evaluation, and management of outside counsel and other legal vendors. He also oversaw The Hartford’s legal invoice review services and legal e-billing initiative and was national manager of panel counsel and managing attorney for claims. Before his work at The Hartford, Peter was in private practice.

Peter has earned and received numerous awards and distinctions for his work. He has been recognized by the True Value Partnering Institute as an accredited legal project manager (ALPM) and accredited legal pricing professional (ALPP). He holds a Legal Lean Sigma White Belt and has completed a Six Sigma Green Belt training program. He earned the CLM Certified Litigation Management Professional certification and has completed the National Institute for Trial Advocacy training program.

• Accredited Legal Project Manager (ALPM) by the True Value Partnering Institute
• Accredited Legal Pricing Professional (ALPP) by the True Value Partnering Institute
• Certified Claims Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) by the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
• Legal Lean Sigma White Belt
• Six Sigma Green Belt Training Program
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy Training Program
• Artificial Intelligence Certification in Advanced Prompt Engineering Techniques

• Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
  • Advisory Board (2007–2015)
  • Chair (2010–2011)
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Legal Value Network
• True Value Partnering Institute

• “Mastering the Basics: Legal Project Management for Better Efficiency and Outcomes,” Legal Value Network LVNx 2025 Conference Experience, Chicago, IL (September 26, 2025)
• “The ABCs of Legal Products: From (A)lternate Legal Service Providers to (B)uilding New Solutions and Meeting (C)lient Expectations,” Future Lawyer USA, Boston, MA (May 30, 2024)
• “How to Leverage Technology Effectively for LPM and Pricing Professionals,” LawVision Legal Project Management Roundtable (February 1, 2022)
• “Deploying Automation Solutions,” Neota Network Global 2021 Conference, New York, NY (October 12, 2021)
• “Getting Started in Your App Building Journey,” Neota Network, Neota Logic User Group Annual Conference, New York, NY (October 24, 2019)
• “Law Firm Innovation” The CLM Litigation Management Symposium, Chicago, IL (October 17, 2019)
• “Litigation Discovery Practices,” Zurich American Insurance Company, Hartford, CT (September 11, 2019)
• “Legal Project Management in the Modern Firm,” LMA Strategies Live Podcast (June 25, 2019)
• “Legal Project Management: Avoiding Malpractice and Bar Complaints,” Carlton Fields CLE Presentation, Tampa, FL (March 7, 2019)

• Wilson Elser
• The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.