During the event, Litera CMO Julian Morgan introduced the newest edition of The Changing Lawyer, which discusses how successful legal professionals and law firms are innovating by leveraging technology in unprecedented ways and disrupting traditional approaches to legal services. The awards are an extension of that same idea, recognizing individuals and organizations that are creating new value for their clients.Winners named at The Changing Lawyer Awards 2019 demonstrate true innovation, entailing more than just new technology, but better processes and the effective involvement of their people in that process.Our distinguished panel of judges selected the following law firm, legal tech company, and legal professionals from the shortlist of fifteen finalists. Congratulations to the 2019 winners!Legal Innovator of the Year was presented to the individual who has driven the most significant change within their firm or legal department.
Michael Caplan, COO for Goodwin: As Goodwin's COO, Mike leads the firm's global operations team, which includes more than 825 non-lawyer professionals around the world. His focus on sharing innovative best practices with clients and bringing a corporate law department operational discipline to a law firm has made an impressive impact on Goodwin's bottom line.
The firm has grown by double digits across all its key financial metrics, added nearly 50 promoted or lateral partners, and marked a sixth consecutive year of record revenue and profits. However, it's not all numbers as one of the firm's clients said, 'Goodwin demonstrates that they 'get it' by empowering their COO, Mike Caplan, to build the operational bridge with their clients by partnering and consulting on new challenges.'
Law Firm of the Year was presented to the law firm that has most successfully reimagined the way they serve their clients.
Corrs Chambers Westgarth: Corrs has established a client-facing revenue generating practice called Client Tech Solutions. This practice developed a compliance solution for in-house teams known as 'Corrs Censure' which helps streamline compliance processes, providing transparency and greater insight into risky behaviors and non-compliant conduct. In one case study, the client previously used a manual compliance process involving eight employees and took three weeks. With the adoption of Corrs Censure, the client's compliance process now requires no human intervention and takes just 3 minutes to complete.
Disruptor of the Year was presented to the alternative legal service provider or legal tech supplier that has most successfully disrupted the broader legal profession.
Lex Machina: Lex Machina's Legal Analytics platform has created a new category of legal technology that fundamentally changed how law firms and companies compete in the business and practice of law.
One judge commented: 'Analytics is perhaps the most disruptive tech in law today, because of its direct impact on practice, and usefulness to attorneys and firms. Lex Machina pretty much invented this field. It wasn't the first analytics product, but it was the first to show the potential of this technology. As Lex Machina has grown over the last couple of years, it has inspired a slew of other analytics products. In this way, it is a true disruptor.'
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual independently nominated and judged by the panel to honor a visionary in the legal technology space.
Janet Day: In her career, Janet has been CIO, COO, and both at the same time. With over 40 years in the legal sector, her influence in legal technology and operations, especially in the UK, cannot be overstated. She has made and continues to make, the people and organizations that she engages with better. Following her retirement from a long career at Berwin Leighton Paisner, Janet continues to consult on law firm and legal department technology and operations. Janet has also helped launch ILTA in the UK and currently serves as ILTA's Regional Vice President for the UK and Europe.
Thank you to our panel of judges for the 2019 awards:- Bob Ambrogi ' Editor of LawSites Blog
- Jeffrey Brandt ' Editor of PinHawk Legal Tech Digest
- Caroline Hill ' Editor of Legal IT Insider
- Joy Heath Rush ' CEO of ILTA
- Avaneesh Marwaha ' CEO of Litera
Posted in Legal,Technology
