At Tuesday’s Awards Dinner at the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA)’s Annual Education Conference ILTA’s Distinguished Peers Awards Recipients recieved their statuettes and well deserved praise. Here is the complete list of winners.
During the conference, the Innovative Law Firm of the Year and the Innovative Law Department of the Year Award Nominees have presented their innovations as inspiring case studies.
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart presented its three innovative new projects IntelliCase, ODComply and ODConnect. IntelliCase is a web-based application that allows clients to manage their cases. ODComply and ODConnect are web-based applications that provides clients with subscription access to various tools and resources to assist with their employment law challenges.
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz presented its Client First approach, with inter alia the new online collaboration initiative BakerConnect. This onlice client service gives the client direct access to key firm data, tools and systems. Each practice area within the firm can also share precedents, news and current industry data with clients via this service. The firm has also created a new LPM tool called Budget Designer, which streamlines the creation of budgets for transactions and litigation.
Seyfarth Shaw (winner) presented its Lean Client Solutions. This project combines the core principles of Lean Six Sigma with robust technology, knowledge management, process management techniques, alternative fee structures and practical tools. Over the past year, the project group has implemented a number of customized, client-specific solutions that address key client concerns of risk management, human capital management, global trademark protection, litigation portfolio efficiency and more.
BMO Financial Group (winner) presented its project to establish a key KM team to address productivity and priority initiatives focusing on delivering great business value and transformational impact through innovations and implementations within the organization.
Deere & Company Global Law Services Group presented its new KM Council initiative, which as among other things delivered a new legal division portal.
PNC’s Legal Department presented the great strides made over the last 12 months to make technology a key differentiating factor.
During the conference many other inspiring legal innovation case studies have been presented or mentioned as good examples. Here are some of these:
Latham & Watkins Book of Jargon – Latham & Watkins has created apps collecting and demystifies legal and business jargon – the Book of Jargon app series.These apps have become the leading source for both lawyers and clients for financial jargon. In fact, the clients now refer to the app as just the “Latham & Watkins”.
Bryan Cave – the firm has created a process for innovation, an “innovation factory” within the firm, with three groups in a formal structure for creating innovation – the Client Technology Group, the Accelerated Review Team, and the Practice Economics Group – to take advantage of the opportunities to innovate in the legal sector. Margin on these innovations is estimated and projected to be in excess of $10 million. Please find more information in this report by David Hobbie: “ILTASession Report-Innovative Member of the Year Contest”.
IBM’s Watson – yes, I know, it is old news that the computer Watson won the TV show Jeopardy, but what is new, and should be a wake-up call for the legal industry, is that Watson now outperforms some of the best cancer doctors, not only on diagnosis, but also on aftercare for surgical patients. Watson’s ability to ingest enormous quantity of medical data, new medical research developments, trial-based evidence and to search through millions of patient records for further information gives it a breadth of knowledge no human doctor can match. The question is what Watson could do if it focused on the legal sector?
Morrison & Foerster – MoFo has created a courtroom dashboard that presents litigation cases in a visual and informative way, providing the involved team and the client with a good real-time overview of the case and the priorities. Please see thisillustration from Rohit Talwar’s key note presentation yesterday.
In addition to all educational session with case studies and examples, a large part of ILTA is also the exhibition hall with launches and displays of new technical products for the legal market. The exhibition hall was opened on Monday with the ILTA’s Exhibitors Bandstand Reception, a very pleasant way to meet the vendors and experience all hundreds of products, solutions and services. (A great approach that we definitely must try to copy for our upcoming VQ Knowledge and Strategy Forumin November.)
A good review of some of the vendors that have launched new products or releases at ILTA by Chicago Lawyer magazine is available here: “Create Something New at ILTA Las Vegas 2013”.