Legislation.com and Legaltech Information are proud to announce this yr’s winners for the Legalweek Leaders in Tech Legislation Awards, celebrating the achievements of legislation companies, authorized departments, suppliers and ALSPs main the authorized occupation into the longer term via expertise and innovation.
On Monday evening, ALM kicked off Legalweek 2024 by internet hosting an awards ceremony to have fun the fourth annual Legalweek Leaders in Tech Legislation Awards. These awards acknowledged probably the most revolutionary achievements of the previous yr from in-house authorized departments, legislation companies, and the tech supplier and repair associate group in 41 completely different classes.
This yr’s submissions had been probably the most spectacular we’ve seen but. All our nominees, finalists and winners ought to be happy with their accomplishments and recommended for the exhausting work they’ve dedicated to pushing the authorized trade into the longer term.
We additionally thank our exterior judging panel, in addition to the exhausting work of numerous individuals behind the scenes who helped to make this yr’s awards attainable.
We’re proud to current the 2024 winners of the Legalweek Leaders in Tech Legislation Awards beneath. Within the coming weeks, you’ll have the chance to learn extra about every of our winners in a sequence of Q&As.
We sit up for internet hosting these awards once more subsequent yr alongside ALM at Legalweek 2025, being held from in March in New York. Extra details about nominations for these awards will probably be forthcoming later this yr, and you may keep up-to-date with notifications through this link. If in case you have any questions or ideas for a class we must always embrace, drop us a line at [email protected].
Excellent Achievement in Authorized Expertise
Winner: Lori Cohen & Gerard Buitrago, Greenberg Traurig
![Lori Cohen, left, and Gerard Buitrago, right, with Greenberg Traurig. Courtesy photos](https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/397/2024/01/Cohen-Buitrago-767x633-300x248.jpg)
The Excellent Achievement in Authorized Expertise award was new this yr, and was not open for public submission. This award was created to acknowledge a very distinctive and trailblazing use of expertise within the apply of legislation. Lori Cohen is a profession trial litigator with a powerful observe document of 58 protection verdicts. In March 2022, with no warning, Lori misplaced her voice, and it has but to return. Whereas she continues to strive the whole lot attainable to get it again, she additionally teamed up along with her longtime buddy and trial technologist Gerard Buitrago (her “secret weapon”) to discover a answer that may finally get her again within the courtroom. Collectively, they discovered the best way to use synthetic intelligence to recreate Lori’s actual voice, permitting her to proceed pursuing the profession that she loves. I’ll depart it to Lori to say extra in her personal phrases.
Authorized Trade Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
Winner: Tess Blair, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Like many younger litigation associates digging via containers of discovery within the early 2000s, Tess Blair thought, ‘there needs to be a greater method.’ In contrast to many, although, she determined to do one thing about it. In 2004, she based Morgan Lewis’s eData apply that we simply heard about a little bit bit in the past, and he or she led it for 19 years, till stepping down very not too long ago. Whereas she was constructing and rising the eData Observe, Blair continued to run her personal apply as nation discovery counsel to among the world’s largest organizations.
Winner: Marla Crawford, Cimplifi
Marla Crawford might presently be in-house, however early in her profession she was one of many trade’s first e-discovery attorneys, having labored on the Enron litigation at Jones Day on behalf of Lehman Brothers. After 22 years as a discovery legal professional and early authorized expertise adopter at Jones Day, she went on to construct and handle the e-discovery program at Goldman Sachs, earlier than taking her present function as Common Counsel of Cimplifi. Many in e-discovery discuss with Marla by first identify solely, like Oprah or Madonna, and he or she’s formally received awards for being “the lifetime of the get together.”
Winner: Wendell Jisa, Reveal
Wendell Jisa began on the floor stage of the authorized trade, delivering containers to legislation companies throughout Chicago. From there, he launched into a private mission to disrupt an antiquated authorized market with expertise. Practically 15 years after founding his first firm, Reveal, in his hometown, he has grown it into a significant international enterprise.
Winner: Barry Solomon, Litera
Barry Solomon first realized the potential of expertise to enhance the effectivity of each the apply and enterprise of legislation whereas working towards legislation at Sidley Austin within the late 80s and early 90s, and was the primary lawyer to request and be issued a pc there. Earlier than assuming his present function at Litera, Solomon was the co-founder and chief of two completely different authorized tech firms—InterAction and Basis.
Winner: Carla Swansburg, ClearyX
Carla Swansburg has been a trailblazer in authorized expertise for over three many years. In 2021, she took on the function of CEO of a brand new, wholly owned subsidiary of Cleary Gottlieb, tasked with constructing and scaling a totally distant, tech-forward crew targeted on reimagining how authorized providers may be delivered by attorneys positioned throughout the globe to shoppers additionally positioned throughout the globe.
In-Home Classes – Finalists
Greatest Use of Synthetic Intelligence: Ford Motor Firm
Ford Motor Firm has efficiently produced vital productiveness beneficial properties whereas constructing the authorized ops perform on the fly from the bottom up, whereas persevering with to foster machine-learning functions, pioneering using gen AI in-house, establishing authorized expenditure dashboards, and growing superior predictive analytics platforms. The ensuing metrics point out vital time and value financial savings and supply precious info to tell future success.
E-Discovery and Litigation Expertise: Uber Applied sciences, Inc.
With a lean, four-person in-house e-discovery crew, Uber applied sciences has developed customized information processing instruments in addition to proprietary options for the gathering, manufacturing, and safety of delicate information from quite a few sources.
Innovator of the 12 months (Particular person): Darth Okay. Vaughn, Ford Motor Firm, Workplace of the Common Counsel
With a background as a profitable trial legal professional and a enterprise expertise marketing consultant, Darth Vaughn brings a novel perspective and expertise to his present in-house function in authorized ops and litigation. Up to now yr, he has acquired continuous approval from management to broaden his crew and be an early mover on implementing generative AI to ascertain greatest authorized practices and create a strategic imaginative and prescient for the corporate.
Finalsists:
- Jay Choi and the Patent Authorized Workforce, Uber Applied sciences, Inc.
- Mohammad Totonchian, Altus Group
Most Revolutionary Authorized Division of the 12 months: Uber Applied sciences, Inc.
From negotiating strategic partnerships with key trade gamers to counseling product, engineering and regulatory groups, Uber Applied sciences has needed to navigate novel pathways and, in some circumstances, develop new ones previously yr. The end result was the profitable launch of autonomous autos to the general public, which concerned making use of subtle ML and AI to make real-time choices and establishing trade requirements for client security with radically new expertise.
Finalist:
Most Revolutionary Authorized Operations Workforce of the 12 months: Ford Motor Firm
When Ford Motor Firm’s present Common Counsel took the reins in 2021, he introduced an much more bold imaginative and prescient to an already revolutionary authorized ops apply. Up to now yr, Ford has been pioneering using generative AI in-house. One yr into generative AI, the division has applied 25 GenAI use circumstances, leading to early productiveness beneficial properties of over 30% throughout varied apply areas.
Finalist:
Legislation Agency Classes – Finalists
Greatest Use of Synthetic Intelligence: DLA Piper
In March 2023, DLA Piper considerably expanded its Synthetic Intelligence and Knowledge Analytics apply, and now has 14 information scientists and greater than 100 attorneys, coverage consultants, and technologists globally who advise on AI adoption, testing shoppers’ AI for bias and compliance, create AI authorized and compliance tech for shoppers, and extra.
Finalists:
- Cleary Gottlieb
- Goodwin
- Reed Smith
- Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Greatest Use of Rising Expertise (Non-AI): Munger, Tolles and Olson — Reanna Martinez
At Munger, Tolles and Olson, Reanna Martinez undertook a groundbreaking undertaking targeted on leveraging Microsoft Dynamics 365, the Energy Platform, and Azure Knowledge Lake to create a knowledge hub that effectively feeds info to downstream methods and permits customers to leverage consumer, matter, and other people information successfully and develop tailor-made options and instruments to carry out higher authorized work.
Finalists:
- Latham & Watkins – Decentralization Matrix
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
- SixFifty, Powered by Wilson Sonsini
E-Discovery Expertise and Innovation: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
The eData apply at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius helped its attorneys with time-consuming e-discovery duties by growing an eData Tech Stack made up of three instruments geared toward fixing discrete issues: a Search Time period Validator; a Microsoft Groups Chat Sorter; and a Coaching and Abilities-Evaluation Platform that gives custom-made e-discovery coaching for agency workers.
Finalists:
- Arnold & Porter
- King & Spalding – Rose J. Hunter Jones
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Reed Smith
Enabling Begin-Up Success: NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers
NEXT launched an initiative to assist entrepreneurs with a brand new, holistic strategy to facilitating entry to seed to Collection A capital through quite a lot of occasions and instruments, together with investor readiness options, pitch prep workshops, investor connections, investor showcase occasions and extra.
Finalists:
- Goodwin
- Latham & Watkins – Pre-Incorporation Questionnaire
ESG Enablement By means of Expertise: Ropes & Grey
Ropes & Grey has been specializing in the realm of ESG for 3 years and not too long ago developed a novel on-line interactive device that permits asset managers to successfully and effectively navigate the complicated internet of state and federal ESG legal guidelines particular to their trade, enhancing compliance outcomes and decreasing attendant prices.
Finalist:
Improvements in Range and Inclusion: Baker McKenzie
For 3 years operating, Baker McKenzie has hosted an eight-week Summer time Internship Program for undergraduate college students eager about enterprise improvement, advertising and marketing or authorized careers and who search to create a extra inclusive authorized occupation. This yr’s internship program added a nonprofit aspect via a partnership with The Middle on Gender Justice & Alternative at Georgetown Legislation.
Finalists:
- Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC (“CSG Legislation”) – George Spadoro
- Eversheds Sutherland
Improvements in Hybrid/Distant Work: Akin
Akin’s inside Staffing Hub program developed a role-based dashboard that gives visibility into the agency’s data-driven staffing course of geared toward guaranteeing equitable work allocation and optimum alignment of human capital to fulfill consumer wants.
Improvements in Data Administration: Fisher Phillips
The KM crew at Fisher Phillips was instrumental within the early rollout of generative AI in authorized, helping Casetext develop and check their Co-Counsel AI authorized assistant, after which changing into the primary agency on the planet to deploy it worldwide. Afterward they continued to evangelize for authorized gen AI and the way legislation companies can use it responsibly for KM and thrive.
Finalists:
- Fragomen
- Morgan Lewis – ML Shopper Intel
- Morgan Lewis – VizBridge
- Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison
Improvements in Professional Bono: Reed Smith LLP
Reed Smith undertook an bold initiative to supply ladies refugees who’re at excessive threat of additional damage with end-to-end safety throughout profitable resettlement. Along with the Canadian authorities, the Lamp Lifeboat Ladder program is offering a secure pathway to relocation in Canada for at the least 90 refugee households.
Finalists:
- Baker McKenzie – Justice in Motion
- Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
- SixFifty, Powered by Wilson Sonsini
- Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Innovators of the 12 months – Legislation Agency (Particular person): Danielle Benecke – Baker McKenzie
Danielle Benecke based the Machine Studying apply at Baker McKenzie years earlier than generative AI grew to become well-liked. Underneath her management, the agency grew to become the primary mover in capitalizing on AI and machine studying to revolutionize workflows and higher serve the agency’s shoppers. One in every of our judging panel merely mentioned, “She’s a famous person!”
Finalists:
- Jeremy Burdge – Hogan Lovells
- Carmen Brun – Eversheds Sutherland
- Rachelle Dubow – Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
- William Gaus – Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
- Ghaith Mahmood – Latham & Watkins
Regulatory, Governance and Compliance Expertise: Hogan Lovells
Hogan Lovells created a holistic info governance answer to sort out the challenges introduced by exponential information progress that securely shops crucial information in categorized and accessible type, places computerized triggers in place to purge information, and permits for information tagging.
Finalists:
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Eversheds Sutherland
- Fragomen – Nomadic
- Reed Smith – Gender-Affirming Care Tracker
- Polsinelli On-line Options for House Care (POSH) – Angelo Spinola
- Spencer Fane – Allen Darrah, CIO
Tech-Enabled Transactional Observe of the 12 months: Orrick
Orrick reengineered the M&A transaction by launching a brand new course of and platform that options 14 interconnected tech instruments, new authorized roles, workflows and course of adjustments to assist M&A groups execute extra effectively, prioritize strategic points and arrange a profitable post-acquisition integration.
Finalists:
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Thompson Hine LLP
Supplier Classes – Finalists
Greatest Use of Synthetic Intelligence – E-Discovery & Litigation: Casetext
Casetext led the cost in making use of LLMs to substantive authorized work within the type of an AI assistant known as CoCounsel that replicated attorneys’ greatest workflows in a dependable, scalable, safe and hallucination-free method, because of early entry to OpenAI’s most superior fashions. One in every of our exterior judges famous that the breadth & scale of what Casetext achieved with a decent deadline is spectacular
Finalists:
- Altumatim
- Clearbrief
- Everlaw
- Lex Machina
- LexisNexis
- Paxton AI
- Relativity
- Reveal
Greatest Use of Synthetic Intelligence – Contract, Doc & Venture Administration: NetDocuments
NetDocuments approached the event of AI capabilities not as a single answer or product, however a expertise that ought to be used to complement the whole doc lifecycle and each single authorized workflow. The end result was a collaboration with Microsoft and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to create an answer that may extract intelligence from a corporation’s total corpus of paperwork.
Finalists:
Greatest Rising Expertise (Non-AI): CloudNine
CloudNine created a platform for managing trendy information like textual content messages, chat, geolocation, social media, monetary transactions and each logged exercise on a tool, internet utility or laptop, ingesting all sorts of information and displaying it as one would see it on a cell machine.
Finalists:
- BARBRI, Inc.
- Fulcrum GT – RAPIDx
- UniCourt
- Western Alliance Financial institution Digital Disbursements
Championing Range in Tech (Particular person): Catherine Krow, BigHand
After founding a ground-breaking cost-analytics firm, Catherine Krow now oversees DEI success at her present employer, implementing the info & price analytics platform they designed to assist legislation companies rework authorized billing information into DEI success and discover extra equitable work allocation.
Finalist:
- Johnathan Hill, Relativity
Knowledge Privateness & Cybersecurity: HaystackID
HaystackID created an AI-enabled platform to determine greater than 140 numerous, internationally delicate information varieties with a view to assist their globally dispersed shoppers classify and deal with their delicate information extra successfully throughout a whole lot of engagements. Referred to as Shield Analytics AI for Relativity, the answer presents a delicate information density rating to instantly concentrate on probably the most delicate paperwork inside a dataset.
E-Discovery Expertise: Relativity
To deal with complicated challenges posed by the exponential progress of quick message information, Relativity took a two-pronged strategy that concerned creating a totally new, platform-agnostic quick message file format, together with an accompanying quick message answer to convey quick message information into an e-discovery platform.
Finalists:
- FTI Expertise
- HaystackID
- Web page Vault
- UnitedLex
Enabling Entry to Justice: Relativity
In 2020, Relativity launched a program devoted to supporting organizations doing authorized work on behalf of worldwide marginalized communities by providing their product free of charge and pairing them with legislation companies or different companions that present information internet hosting, undertaking administration, assist, and coaching. The initiative known as Justice for Change, and it continues to broaden to assist extra individuals across the globe.
Finalists:
- Casetext
- Clearbrief and Elder Legislation & Incapacity Rights Middle
- descrybe.ai
- Reveal
Enabling Hybrid/Distant Work: Maptician
Maptician developed an automatic and proprietary web protocol-based integration that delivers visibility into attorneys’ in-office presence to different workers, together with location information on particular seat areas on a given day, permitting agency workers to maximise interplay on the times they’re within the workplace, and companies to higher perceive workplace wants
Finalist:
Innovating Data Administration: eDiscovery Assistant
eDiscovery Assistant included generative AI to fulfill a long-time request of its customers: creating summaries of all 32,000+ choices in its case legislation database to give customers higher, quicker perception into circumstances with a view to assist meet quick briefing deadlines on key discovery points.
Finalists:
Innovation in Hiring, Staffing & Recruitment: Baretz+Brunelle – Expertise Intelligence & Analytics
Baretz + Brunelle created another strategy to the lateral hiring course of that offers legislation companies entry to experiences primarily based on open-source and human intelligence on a candidate’s true market status, in addition to an outlined metric that higher permits companies to make apples-to-apples comparisons of lateral candidates.
Finalists:
- Lateral Hub / Summer time Affiliate Hub
- TRU Staffing Companions, Inc.
Improvements in Contract Expertise: Luminance
Luminance labored with a California-based IT service administration firm to implement its AI-powered contract drafting and negotiation device for over 50 attorneys unfold all over the world, growing productiveness and effectivity throughout the corporate.
Finalists:
- Evisort
- LexisNexis
- LinkSquares
- Summize
Innovators of the 12 months (Particular person): Jake Heller & Pablo Arredondo, Casetext
Bringing each authorized and technical expertise to the corporate they based greater than a decade in the past, Jake Heller and Pablo Arredondo got down to implement neural nets and LLMs in a method that may have an precise affect on authorized work, biding their time earlier than leaping on the “AI hype practice.” They’ve been known as a ten-year in a single day success story, and Heller has summarized the key to their success with a quote from Jay-Z: “The genius factor we did was, we didn’t surrender.”
Finalists:
- Tim Parilla, LinkSquares
- Vishal Rajpara, Casepoint
- Basha Rubin & Mirra Levitt, Priori
Authorized Operations: Priori
This yr, Priori acknowledged that the authorized operations perform is extra vital than ever to the authorized division. That’s why they opened up their international community of attorneys, legislation companies and ALSPs to authorized operations professionals for the primary time. By utilizing and increasing the infrastructure of their market, Priori efficiently piloted the flexibility to supply authorized operations initiatives on their platform earlier than making it a stay characteristic for all customers
Finalists:
- Epiq
- Fulcrum GT – RAPIDx
- LexisNexis® CounselLink®
- Thomson Reuters
Litigation Expertise Finalists: UnitedLex
UnitedLex included pattern-attribution expertise in a brand new digital litigation device that leverages information and insights throughout a person’s litigation portfolio, permitting them to seize, consolidate, and reuse reality units and work product throughout litigation portfolios, figuring out patterns and insights from earlier choices to develop data-driven authorized methods.
Finalists:
- Benchly
- LexisNexis Lexis+® Pinpoint
- Lighthouse
- Trellis
M&A and Transaction Innovation: Lexis+ Settlement Evaluation
In September 2023, LexisNexis launched an analytics device that transforms the M&A timeline by leveraging proprietary AI expertise to cut back the handbook duties inherent in analyzing, composing, and negotiating authorized agreements, focusing first on inventory buy, asset buy and merger agreements.
Finalist:
New Legislation Firm of the 12 months: New Period ADR
New Period ADR got down to repair a dispute decision system that was unnecessarily time-consuming and costly by constructing a platform that may lower common dispute decision instances from a whole lot of days for small claims, or a number of years for multimillion-dollar litigation, to fewer than 100 days.
Finalists:
- Lateral Hub / Summer time Affiliate Hub
- Paxton AI
- Priori
Observe Administration Innovation: UniCourt
In March 2023, UniCourt launched an API-first suite to automate the seize and supply of state and federal courtroom information for enterprise improvement, litigation technique, expertise administration, docket administration, and different data-centric capabilities to have interaction new shoppers, develop current engagements, and ship higher litigation outcomes.
Finalists:
- Fulcrum GT
- Lawmatics Battle Checking
- Society Tech: INform
- ZenCase
Regulatory, Governance and Compliance Expertise: Winnow
Winnow developed a platform for monetary providers professionals to trace fast-moving state and federal compliance. Up to now yr, they enhanced their protection to incorporate federal and banking protection, in addition to offering re-designed surveys and notifications.
Finalist:
- Wolters Kluwer Authorized & Regulatory U.S. – VitalLaw®