On a beautiful sunny Friday, hundreds of attorneys, legal tech folks, law students, legal bloggers, and others interested in innovation in law gathered at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California to learn about innovation in law.

 

A Movement to ReInvent Law

While Innov8Social has been a platform to explore social innovation and startup social entrepreneurs, I was surprised to begin to learn about the emerging innovations in law and legal tech. Speakers focused on design and process-oriented practice of law and focused on taking a long, tough look at whether the legal industry today best meets the needs of clients and the legal profession.

Silicon Valley Conference, March 8th 2013: Rapid-Fire

In rapid-fire style, the conference featured over 40 speakers–many of whom presented in 6-8 minutes. The quick progression of speakers made the presentations more of a “pitch” than an in-depth view and allowed for many ideas to be presented in a short time. With numerous scheduled networking time, the organizers wanted to encourage discussion and debriefing with other attendees.

MSU Law Leads the Movement for Innovation in Law

Michigan State University College of Law (@MSULaw) has taken a leadership role in cultivating and growing this area of legal innovation. Organizers of the conference, Daniel Martin Katz and Renee Knake are faculty members at MSULaw and Co-Directors of ReInvent Law Laboratory that is actively pursuing building a platform to share and exchange ideas and innovation on how evolve the legal industry.

With funding from the Kauffman Foundation and MSULaw, the ReInventLaw Laboratory is focusing on building tools to address the R&D gap felt by law firms, legal departments, and other legal fields. Additionally, ReInventLaw Lab hosts Fellows to further the work and research in innovation in law. The core tenets of ReInvent Law Laboratory are: law + tech + design + delivery.

Twitter Recap of #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley 2013,  @Storify

Images from #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley 2013 by @margarethagan

#ReInventLaw a VC’s thoughts on the legal tech space, my #sketchnote http://pic.twitter.com/EQNsygiMXaMargaret Hagan

What is wrong with Law School? http://www.razblint.com/2013/03/law-students-on-law-school/ a Top 11 List from law students #reinventlaw http://pic.twitter.com/V2l7UxSOtVMargaret Hagan

Legal forms alone are not enough! #ReInventLaw Clients need wholly designed legal experience. http://pic.twitter.com/mCJV9WE8MHMargaret Hagan

Visualize the Law! #ReInventLaw let’s build legal maps… http://pic.twitter.com/hlnjsyYUlbMargaret Hagan

#ReinventLaw Where will good Legal Innovation come from? Good design process — some ground rules for brainstorms: http://pic.twitter.com/CMQlZeu3XwMargaret Hagan

#ReInventLaw To really design access to justice, we need to look beyond just making law publicly available. http://pic.twitter.com/gSzFAbOkSNMargaret Hagan

Set 1 #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley Speakers: 8 Talks, 6 Min

RT @lbridgesmith: #ReInventLaw Henry Jones notes that the GC’s at the top 200 companies control 80% of legal work. Meeting their needs…Axiom

Henry Jones from @Axiom_Law kicks off #reinventlaw Silicon Valley 2013! http://pic.twitter.com/tETCoKNFVuComp Legal Studies

VC looks at @Axiom_Law but as investor, does not see exit strategy given non-lawyers can’t own #ReInventLaw [RF: but Axiom not a law firm[ronfriedmann

Assumptions about lawyer advertising need to be rethought; impeding access to justice @StephKimbro #ReinventLaw #LegalRebelsRachel M. Zahorsky

@StephKimbro asks: why so many under employed lawyers AND such a gaping need for legal services? #ReInventLaw – Good Question.Ed Walters

#reinventlaw Silvia Hodges – lawyers need to focus on efficiency and numbers – use UTBMS codespracticePRO

Just did the 6 minute fast talk at #reinventlaw. Listening to CEO of Novus Law. Story telling increases learning.StephKimbro

“@ronfriedmann: #ReInventLaw Ray Bayley. Novus uses gamification to motivate workers” || Best thought legal business I’ve seen.Patrick Lamb

#reinventlaw Ray Bayley – groups always outperform individuals – get people working togetherDanPinnington

#reinventlaw Ben Gubernick: courts are like 10,000 independent burger joints – we need a McDonalds model for the courtsDanPinnington

Yes! Ben Gubernick: adoption, not technology, is our challenge to change the legal system. #reinventlawWeorce

#reinventlaw Joe Kelly from MSU Law: we need to make law more visual – think Google Maps and touch http://milaws.orgDanPinnington

Totally! “@agoldner: Why is law text only? Why not at least as pictures? Joe Kelly wins most interesting idea thus far at #reinventlaw”Jeena Cho

Show what the law says: present the law in more consumer friendly formats. UX/UI > text-make law more accessible. Joe Kelly #reinventlawFair Document

#reinventlaw Joe Kelly, real people need real time legal solutions they can understand and accessLarry Bridgesmith

#ReInventLaw Nicole from Valorem Law – 50% women coming into law for last 20 years but only 15% equity partners in top 200 firms! ShockingRiverview Law US

Nicole Auerbach of Valorem talking about why billable hour is detrimental to women lawyers.-That’s why I unbundle w/fixed fees. #ReInventLawStephKimbro

“The billable hour disparately impacts women.” @ValoremNic on why women should bash the clock @ReInventLaw @MSULaw http://pic.twitter.com/8pUIIbz7YDRenee Knake

Colin Rule takes the stage at #Reinventlaw to discuss Online Dispute Resolution. #ModriaLoic COUTELIER

#reinventlaw colin rule – 90% of 60 million disputes resolved by eBay through online dispute resolutionDavid Bohrer

Colin Rule – the EU will make ODR mandatory for all eCommerce vendors by 2015! #Modria #reinventlawLoic COUTELIER

Set 2 #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley Speakers

#ReInventLaw Ed Walters from Fastcase on who owns the law?Aric Press

#reinventlaw Ed Walters from Fastcase: Should big corporate publishers own the law? Audience answer: “Hell no!”DanPinnington

Law is a damn cool data set – Ed Walters of FastCase #ReInventLawR. Amani

Ed Walters: Law must be both free AND open; law is our code of ethics #reinventlawDonna Seyle

How to #ReInventLaw you asked? Data-driven contracts talk by Sol Irvine. Great stuff!Daniel W. Linna Jr.

#reinventlaw Sol Irvine – amazing value-add for lawyers – tell your clients about the data in their contractspracticePRO

#reinventlaw Sol Irvine has totally convinced me most contracts can be written as a dozen data points in ExcelDanPinnington

A pretty packed house tuning into co-founder of #ReinventLaw Lab, Daniel Martin Katz talking about the future of law http://pic.twitter.com/Km4XLCGHw5Neetal Parekh

#reinventlaw daniel katz-KEY “you can’t sell something to someone who does not want to buy it” Just cuz we build it . . .David Bohrer

Set 3 #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley Speakers

VC investor Jason Mendelson of The Foundry Group is interested in the legal space & would love to disrupt the AmLaw 10! #ReInventLawReid Trautz

Jason Mendelson: big data is nothing without insight #reinventlawDonna Seyle

Insightful talk by Jeff Mendelson of @foundrygroup—legal education is ripe for transformation #ReinventLawNeetal Parekh

Focus on consumer & work efficiency- impact driver of innovation-the consumersJason Mendelson @foundrygroup#reinventlaw @FairDocumentsJustin Yarmark

Sell margins not hours. Lawyers need to think strategically about creating profit and margins not # of hours. #reinventlaw @foundrygroupJustin Yarmark

Jason Mendelson “Great lawyers will buy things to make them more efficient” – very true. #ReinventLawThe Law School App

Thanks Andrew! “@agoldner: Josh Becker rocking #reinventlaw. @lexmachina delivers empirical value and saves companies money.”Josh Becker

#ReInventLaw josh Becker describing money ball techniques to predict judge or lawyer behavior.Aric Press

Raj Abhyanker talks how a dissatisfied associate became an entrepreneur taking on the legal industry #Trademarkia #LegalForce #ReinventLawRachel M. Zahorsky

RT @aricpress: #ReInventLaw Raj on trademarkia: 24k clients world’s largest trademark firm @legalforce @trademarkiaNeetal Parekh

Raj Abhyanker from @legalforce: Invest in retail access to law, not lobbies. #ReInventLaw Beautiful slide deck! http://pic.twitter.com/rizv70Dvr3Ed Walters

#ReinventLaw – Video, talk by #LegalForce CEO Raj Abhyanker, Silicon Valley, March 8 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxiSlG2Lcmw&sns=tw via @youtubeLegalForce

Dane Stangler, Kaufman Fdn: looks at how reinvention of law can affect other areas of economy, release entrepreneurial energy #reinventlawDonna Seyle

Dane Stangler of Kauffman Foundation: “How can legal sector help other sectors open themselves up to innovation?” #reinventlawGideon Grunfeld

#ReinventLaw Law can be a tool to encourage entrepreneurship. Almost an unbelievable truth from Dane Stangler, Kaufmann Foundation.Tweet The Debates

Set 4 #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley Speakers

Hearing the history of free law online from @Justia Founder/CEO Tim Stanley…not as much change as you would expect in 18 yrs #ReInventLawNeetal Parekh

Tim Stanley (@justia): We can’t rely on Google for everything…or maybe we can #ReInventLawDavid Kemp

Tim (@Justia) Stanley talking about origins of the #openlaw movement. He’s led effort for many years. #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/PaP0c31PWGEd Walters

#ReInventLaw @mjbommar up now. Law’s Future from Finance’s Pastronfriedmann

Value + risk management is what clients want, not hours. #ReInventLaw @mjbommarronfriedmann

.@mjbommar has posted slides of his #ReInventLaw presentation, “Law’s Future from Finance’s Past”: http://bommaritollc.com/2013/03/08/slides-from-reinvent-law-silicon-valley-talk/Robert Richards

#reinventlaw John Murdock brings process management to knowledge management in legal production like no one else! Well done John.Larry Bridgesmith

John Murdock illustrates what efficiency sounds like. #ReInventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/lUAeFAPn7MEd Walters

#ReInventLaw mark Sherman from fed judiciary on big strides by fed judges into 21st c. Includes iPads, apps, YouTube. Judges! Who knew?Aric Press

Federal judiciary follows gamification, leverages YouTube and nearly 60% employ iPads. #reinventlaw Mark Sherman federal judiciary centerJustin Yarmark

#reinventlaw Bend, flip, collaborate learn with content, interactivity and repeat. These words are the future of leaning. Mark ShermanLarry Bridgesmith

Why are we here at #ReInventLaw? It’s gotta be the (law)ntrepreneurship, explains Renee Knake of @ReInventLaw Lab @msulawNeetal Parekh

Lawentreprenuership -making legal industry affordable, accessible and focused on the users experience in law. #reinventlaw Renee KnakeJustin Yarmark

My slides from @ReInventLaw Silicon Valley on (Law)ntrepreneurship – why are you here? http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/reneeknake/knake-talk-on-lawntrepreneurship-re-invent-law-silicon-valley-march-2013Renee Knake

#ReInventLaw starting after lunch beak with Karning Kerkonian and Rudy Minasian @Velawsityronfriedmann

http://Velawsity.com launching now at #reinventlaw. LPM in the cloud.Elmer Masters

#reinventlaw Velawsity Integration of knowledge data communication and collaboration: best practices made perfect and data made real time.Larry Bridgesmith

The martini glass of legal services. @R_Amani @ReInventLaw @MSULaw http://pic.twitter.com/whQvBiHUBqRenee Knake

Does what we call ourselves matter? Lawyers need to rebrand ourselves. @R_Amani rocks the stage @ReInventLaw @MSULawRenee Knake

Show clients the guts of your process – Kevin Colangelo #ReinventLaw that’s a great way to set client expectationsSachin Bhatia

Law factory? Sounds ominous. RT @aricpress: #ReInventLaw Kevin colangelo on building the law factory.Gwynne Monahan

Very cool data viz tools – looking forward to seeing more from @ravellaw! #ReInventLawEd Walters

Blown away by the dataviz demos for legal info. @RavelLaw is awesome. #reinventlawmarcidale

Dan Lewis launching @ravellaw at #ReInventLaw. http://pic.twitter.com/2YfjXjolTxEd Walters

Sam Rysdyk a #ReInventLaw fellow on object oriented lawyering. Every law student should know some programming. Law as code. Rock on.Elmer Masters

#ReinventLaw Fellow Sam Rysdyk says successful law students will have programming skills. How many liberal arts grads will listen?Rachel M. Zahorsky

Because coders now get the ladies (or gents)! @reneeknake @rysdyk @reinventlaw @msulaw #CodingistheNewCoolLast Honest Lawyer

Set 6 #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley Speakers

RT @LawScribbler: @RocketLawyer Charley Moore: nearly ½ small biz operate w/o legal help, now, collaborating w/lawyers online #ReinventLawAlli Gerkman

After hearing from Charley Moore at #ReInventLaw I have to get a copy of the new @RocketLawyer consumer survey before #ABATECHSHOW in April.Reid Trautz

81% of small business owners expect 2013 to be better than 2012 #RocketLawyer #ReInventLawAJ

Hon. Ann Aiken, Chief Judge @ Federal District Court of Oregon

Hon. Ann Aiken – evidence based practice for reentry – #reinventlaw Silicon Valley 2013 http://pic.twitter.com/wmqFVzLyWUComp Legal Studies

Amazing presentation on reentry into society from the criminal justice system by Judge Ann Aiken (fed dist OR) at #ReInventLawR. Amani

Wow. Judge Ann Aiken (Fed-OR) has an ask (& a spec!) — an app to prevent recidivism. Hello, Silicon Valley! #reinventlaw #gov20marcidale

Judge Aiken: we’re losing geniuses to broken criminal justice system. #ReInventLaw #RememberAaronTweet The Debates

Judge Aiken talking about 3553(a) factors #ReInventLaw #SentencingGuidelinesJosh Blackman

David Estrada @googleXlabs makes the pitch to roomful of lawyers to support #selfdriving cars. Is Skynet around the corner #reinventlawJustin Yarmark

David Estrada – google x labs – discussing the inapplicability of existing laws to self-driving cars – more than I imagined! #reinventlawDonna Seyle

David Estrada, Legal Director of Google X. Time for Skynet automotive … err, self-driving cars. #ReInventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/nB47CgFP3wEd Walters

David Estrada – who is responsible if two self-driving cars crash in the woods #reinventlawDanPinnington

Kingsley – computer capacity will exceed lawyer capacity soon #reinventlawDanPinnington

@Kingsley_Martin building tools for quantitative legal prediction. #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/dAcU5xEPWfEd Walters

Kingsley Martin – machines will draft and review contracts #reinventlawpracticePRO

New post: Reverse Engineering Legal Logic (Live from #ReInventLaw) http://bit.ly/X4WE0F @Kingsley_Martin #KMronfriedmann

Ajaz Ahmed, founder of http://Legal365.com, based in the UK says “The legal market is too big for entrepreneurs to avoid.” #ReInventLawReid Trautz

@ajaz_ahmed: Great innovators do the obvious before it’s obvious to everyone else. #ReInventLaw #truth http://pic.twitter.com/0vChFDZmEREd Walters

@ajaz_ahmed @LEGAL365 We will see outsiders (like, Apple and Amazon) in the legal services space. #ReinventLawRachel M. Zahorsky

Chas Rampentahl, GC of @LegalZoom up at #ReInventLaw on Retail Lessons for the Legal Industry. Cites Quality Solicitors in UK as exampleronfriedmann

“If you can’t afford a solution it’s not a solution.” Chas Rampenthal @LegalZoom @ReInventLaw @MSULaw http://pic.twitter.com/uXI8X2jdsWRenee Knake

Great talk by Chas, @LegalZoom, our fellow traveler in retail legal innovation. Hope to visit Legalzoom in a @Target one day. #ReInventLawLegalForce

TargetLaw=solution? @ronfriedmann: Intrstng focus on those 2 poor to pay rack rates but don’t qualify for free aid #ReInventLaw @LegalZoomRachel M. Zahorsky

Sorry to say, but I haven’t met a person yet whose used @LegalZoom and had the “right” experience. #reinventlaw So be careful tagging TargetJason Wilson

#ReinventLaw the great and good bill Henderson on new approach to lawyer development.Aric Press

Bill Henderson talking about original Cravath development system: raw talent, salary, training, teamword, up or out #reinventlawDanPinnington

Love the pedagogical shift suggestion by Bill. Love the suggestions for legal ed. Love love love.We’re on the right track at UT #ReInventLawAaron Dewald

Bill Henderson’s clockworks #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/yWmHvzsNYaDanPinnington

#reinventlaw Bill Henderson, project management, systems engineering, knowledge management and system design: key legal education componentsLarry Bridgesmith

#reinventlaw Bill Henderson says that the leverage model of today’s law firms serves the partners very well. Not so much clients and assocLarry Bridgesmith

Love it. RT @DanPinnington: Deven Desai – Should law firms have a T-rex in the lobby? (a reminder to evolve or disappear) #reinventlawR. Amani

Deven Desai – “lawyer of the future should be preventative” (that means understanding the client’s business) #reinventlawDanPinnington

Lawyers shouldn’t help people do whatever they want, they should help people do whatever they want that’s legal. Deven Desai #ReInventLawTweet The Debates

#reinventlaw Andy Daws with Legal Services Act and ABS initiatives, UK has become the world’s legal laboratoryLarry Bridgesmith

Andy Daws of @RiverviewLaw captures a key trend in law firms adopting new technology. #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/vJYU4GueTcEd Walters

Andy Daws: Q: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?A: Hourly, or flat fee? #ReinventLawEd Walters

#reinventlaw With retail legal services, consumers can buy tea and legal services with loyalty points: Andy DawsLarry Bridgesmith

Richard Granat, CEO @DirectLawUSA

@rgranat up at #ReInventLaw. Richard has been working for decades to deliver affordable legal services to middle class.ronfriedmann

#ReInventLaw Richard Granat says US shouldn’t let UK be only legal lab in world. If lawyers can’t solve access to justice, let non-lawyers!Riverview Law US

Richard Granat – 75 million clients in $45 Billion latent legal market (and Big Law doesn’t serve them) #reinventlawDanPinnington

#reinventlaw Clients want transparency, price certainty and convenience. Richard GranatLarry Bridgesmith

Richard Granat (@rgranat) of @DirectLawUSA on private investment in legal services. #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/IYvp59p5uMEd Walters

@calbarlpmt ‘s own Ron Dolin presents on “Thinking Outside the Bar”. #ReInventLawPerry Segal – Charon

#ReInventLaw Stanford’s Ron Dolin asks what law really means. We need an attitude that thinks beyond current legal system and beyond the BarRiverview Law US

#reinventlaw Ron Dolin: let software do what it can do best (process) so lawyers can do what they do best.Larry Bridgesmith

Use legal technology to amplify human judgment rather than replacing it with inadequate short cuts. (Ron Dolin, Stanford) #reinventlawAlli Gerkman

Josh Blackman, Founder @HarlanInstitute, Asst. Prof. @ South Texas College of Law

Amazing @joshmblackman talk on potential of #bigdata in legal system. Nod to @aaronsw re: closed #PACER data. #reinventlawmarcidale

@JoshMBlackman: How we get from learning by precedent to learning by data, then to predicting w/data. #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/vZdBzFDxGnEd Walters

@JoshMBlackman is looking to liberate all the good data locked in PACER, to use it to change law, make predictions. http://www.fantasyscotus.net/Elmer Masters

@JoshMBlackman has crowdsourced outcomes of court cases w better results than most experts. #ReInventLawronfriedmann

@JoshMBlackman re: eventual effects of tech on law – we’re prob not far off from tools that aid justice, but what about equity? #reinventlawDavid Marble

At #ReinventLaw speakers read notes from smartphones, not index cards. #MineWasImpromptuJosh Blackman

Michael @Poulshock talks about the Hammurabi Project, to make law computable, like TuboTax for law. #ReInventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/y4kNp6WkmGEd Walters

@poulshock: why not publish the law in source code, a chunk of open logic? #ReinventLaw #codeislaw #lawiscode Big idea.Ed Walters

@marcidale of @popvox: How public participation changes lawmaking. #ReinventLaw http://pic.twitter.com/48sVet2C7FEd Walters

#reinventlaw Marci Harris, traditionally public policy making consisted of moving money or moving people. Now Congress is over capacityLarry Bridgesmith

Lobbying meets social media w/ @Marcidale and #PopVox #ReInventLawAJ

Andy Ninh (@_ninhja), Law Student @ MSU Law

#ReInventLaw Andy Ninh from MSU suggests augmented reality will transform future legal services. Must get a pair of those Google glasses!Riverview Law US

@A_Ninhja shares his recent visit to google and future of augmented reality within legal system #reinventlaw http://pic.twitter.com/q1AQoDC29WSam Hensley

@TonyKLai of @LawGives discusses why lawyers – humans – so important for legal services, even (especially?) today? http://pic.twitter.com/ahI6CTAuUsEd Walters

Seth McGrath, CTO @PropylonUS

Missed #ReInventLaw Silicon Valley conference on legal tech & services innovation? See tweets & resources here: http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/8-march-reinventlaw-silicon-valley-2013-conference/Robert Richards

Sean McGrath of Propylon is final #reinventlaw presenter; talking paperless using TimeArc software–product for legislative drafting.Reid Trautz