Fastcase 50 Honorees
Awarded by vLex. This award honors the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, lawyers, and leaders.
Awards
2024 vLex Fastcase 50 honorees
Andres Jara
Founder & Partner, Alster Legal
Andrés is an accomplished lawyer and entrepreneur, specializing in business law, venture capital, and legal operations consulting. With a focus on legal innovation, this professional integrates technology and entrepreneurship to enhance legal services. As the founder of successful companies and advocate for legal transformation, they empower legal teams to streamline operations and regain control over their professional lives.
Angela Lozada
Lawyer, and Teacher of Law, Technology and Innovation
Angela is an organizational consultant, and talent and leadership development strategist. With an educational background in anthropology (MA) and anthropology and sociology (BA), she is passionate about bringing her expert knowledge of human behavior to her roles as entrepreneur, coach, facilitator, and speaker with more than 15 years of experience. She has extensive experience in human development and transformational leadership, working with more than 30,000 people and hundreds of public and private organizations in Colombia and Latin America.
April G. Dawson
Associate Dean of Technology & Innovation and Professor of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law
April is a renowned expert on the role of technology in legal education and a well-known presenter on legal pedagogy. In addition to overseeing the North Carolina Central University Technology Law & Policy Center, she has engaged in numerous initiatives and projects at the intersection of law and technology. April has done several American Association of Law Schools presentations and webinars, including The Paperless Law Prof, and also presented at the ABA TECHSHOW, among other appearances. Her law school classes include AI Foundations and the Law, and Legal Technology Equity & Leadership, and she also authored the book ‘Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity’. April is a member of the ABA Center for Innovation Governing Council, co-host of the ABA Innovation Network Podcast, Vice Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Future of Law Committee, and immediate past Chair of the AALS Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education. On top of all this, April finds the time to co-host the Legal Eagle Review, a weekly radio show with live interviews that shed light on law-related concerns. She has received numerous honors for her visionary leadership and contributions to the field of legal technology, including as a 2022 ABA Women of Legal Tech Honoree.
Bruno Queiroz Cunha
Head of Data Engineering, Expert Institute
Bruno is a talented developer in the legal tech industry; revolutionizing every company that he joins. At the Expert Institute, where he is the Head of Data Engineering, he scales analytics on litigation data. Before joining the Expert Institute, Bruno was at the cutting edge of legal AI at Gavelytics, a company that provides AI-powered state court reports and judicial analytics that help lawyers win more cases. He was responsible for pioneering judge analytics at Gavelytics. Bruno holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from UniCEUB – Centro Universitario de Brasilia, and an MBA from IGTI.
Camila Andrade Dangond
Lawyer and Legal Design Consultant
Camila is a creative lawyer graduated from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, with a keen interest in legal innovation. Their expertise includes Intellectual Property, complemented by a background in Art and Photography, merging artistic expression with legal practice. With 6 years of diverse experience across law firms and independent projects, they advocate for creativity in the legal profession, offering unconventional solutions tailored to clients' needs. Fluent in Spanish, English, French, and German, their international exposure enriches their global perspective and approach to legal challenges, applying techniques like design thinking to drive innovation in their practice.
Catherine Bamford
Founder & CEO, BamLegal
Catherine is a Legal Engineer and founder of BamLegal. Her consultancy focuses on providing value to law firms through streamlining legal processes with technology, such as through automation. Among many other accolades in recent years, Catherine is a longstanding leading figure in LegalTech. She was named a Top Ten Legal Technologist by the Financial Times.
Charity Anastasio
Practice and Ethics Counsel, American Immigration Lawyers Association
Charity is a true legal tech evangelist - always on the cutting edge of how the latest innovations can be used to help lawyers succeed. A lawyer by trade, since 2013 she has been advising lawyers on legal technology and practice management issues, first with the Washington State Bar Association, then with the Maryland Bar Association, and now with AILA. Charity is also active in the American Bar Association Law Practice Division and has chaired the Professional Development Board, which provides at least 36 hours of CLE programming each year - many of which cover legal tech or practice management. She is a leader in the adoption of legal tech, and a true inspiration to the 15,000 AILA members who benefit from her passion for researching and teaching ways that they can improve their working lives and practices.
Christina Wojcik
Managing Director of Corporate and Legal Operations, LexFusion
Christina is renowned for building innovative solutions that solve critical and complex legal and business challenges with cutting-edge technology. Her focus is on legal innovation in the transactional space, which includes an impressive knowledge of Generative AI and its applications. Before joining LexFusion in 2023, she spent a number of years leading innovation, technology strategy, and process improvement at Citi, including launching their ‘AI for Legal’ program, building the bank’s first Legal Innovation Lab, and supporting the diligence process for investment opportunities being pursued by Citi’s Ventures teams. Christina’s earlier innovation work includes IBM, Pangea3 and Seal Software. In addition to her work at leading companies, she is passionate about championing women in legal, tech, and AI. As the founder of the Tampa Legal Network for in-house lawyers, she has shown a talent for bringing legal professionals together in order to discuss, brainstorm, and learn about legal technology.
Christine Fecko
Executive Director, IOLTA Fund of New York
Christine has dedicated most of her career to ensuring that New Yorkers have access to justice. In 2024, she was appointed Executive Director of the IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) Fund of New York. IOLTA is an innovative way to increase access to justice by pooling interest from lawyer trust accounts to provide civil legal aid. In the twelve years prior to her appointment, she served as IOLA's General Counsel, a role that included improving the administration of justice for low-income individuals by partnering with the legal aid community. Christine has served on the Technology Committee for the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, and is the President of the National Association of IOLTA Programs. Her passion for justice goes further back than the IOLTA Fund. She previously worked as General Counsel and COO of My Sister's Place, an organization that strives to end domestic violence by providing free education, outreach, and legal services.
Dan Hauck
Chief Product Officer, NetDocuments
Dan is a former lawyer and his journey to entrepreneur and legal tech business leader underscores his passion for delivering enabling technology to the legal industry. In 2019, he received ILTA’s Young Professional to Watch Award for his achievements, professionalism, and leadership in the legal technology industry. At NetDocuments, he is responsible for all products and the user experience across multiple platforms, in addition to developing the strategic vision and roadmap for the company including both products and technology partners. Prior to joining NetDocuments, Dan founded ThreadKM, an innovative knowledge management and messaging platform for professionals that was recognized as the ILTA Solution Provider of the Year in 2016. The concepts and underlying technology developed at ThreadKM became the foundation of Chatlink, NetDocuments’ current Microsoft Teams integration solution. has spoken at numerous events including ILTACON, Lawtech, LexThink and others. He also makes time to share his experiences and offer advice to other entrepreneurs and folks looking to make an impact in legal tech.
David Denniston
Special Counsel, Leahy Lewin Lowing Sullivan Lawyers (Papua New Guinea)
Anyone who’s ever wondered why Papua New Guinea leads the way in making legal information publicly available and widely accessible to all, needs to know that it’s largely due to David’s tremendous work around improving access to the law, in addition to strengthening the rule of law in the APAC region. In addition to his work as Special Counsel at LLLSL law firm, David represents PNG as a council member with the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association. David is passionate about finding new ways for continued professional development in order to support fellow practitioners, in addition to ensuring that the academic and public sectors have access to the resources that they need to carry out their roles. And on top of his legal work and ongoing achievements, he finds the time to engage in projects to help others and organize events to share knowledge and skills with the legal community.
Elliot Portnoy
Global CEO, Dentons
As CEO of the world’s largest law firm, Elliot directs Dentons’ global strategy and operations, ensuring that it delivers on its commitment to integrated client service, including championing and driving the Firm’s focus on driving greater inclusion, diversity and equity. His past experience includes joining Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in 2002, where he founded and chaired the Public Law & Policy Strategies Group, building a bipartisan cadre of lawyers and policy professionals into a team that Legal Times’ Influence called one of Washington’s "Top 10 lobbying practices." Among the many honors that Elliot has received, in 2009, he was named the top DC lawyer in the category of "Lobbying Law" by the Washington Business Journal. He has been selected for the past three years as a prominent government relations specialist by Super Lawyers, and as one of Washington's “Legal Elite” by Washington CEO magazine. Over the course of his illustrious career, Elliot has made time to give back to the wider community, co-founding with his wife the non-profit organization Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN), which provides sports opportunities to children with disabilities. He also serves on the board of directors of numerous non-profit foundations.
Emily Florio
Director of Knowledge Research and Resources, DLA Piper
Emily has achieved recognition for her leadership in the area of knowledge research, being a strong advocate for the use of AI in legal practice, and her thought leadership and education efforts, which have all greatly advanced the legal information profession. At DLA Piper, she has been key in creating, implementing, and taking the lead on research and resource solutions, including the integration of AI tools into the firm’s operations to enhance service delivery and streamline processes. Emily shares her expertise by regularly speaking at legal conferences, including LegalWeek, AALL, ARK and PLLIP. She also served as a past president of the Law Librarians' Society of Washington DC, and the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). At AALL, she identified avenues for collaboration within the association and the legal information industry, focusing on the essential role of law librarians within their institutions, in addition to appointing committees to review diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and opportunities. Emily’s contributions to legal communications, law practice, legal tech, and professional development have been profound and not only positively impacted the legal information community, but the legal community as a whole.
Fernando Pelaez Pier
CEO, LexLatin
Fernando is a true legal visionary who has received numerous accolades in recognition of his exceptional career granted, among others, by Latin Lawyer, and the New York City Bar. He has contributed greatly to the development of the international legal community with an emphasis on the Latin American Legal Sector. Currently he’s also the academic director of different professional development programs presented by LexLatin. Fernando’s many past achievements include being a member of Lex Mundi’s Board and Executive Committee and its Chair from 1992 to 1993, Chair of the International Bar Association where he organized the First Regional Forum – the Latin American Forum from 1994-1998, and IBA President from 2009-2010. He was also founder and Chair of the Commission on the Future of Legal Services and Co-Chair of the Task Force on a Blueprint for Global Legal Education. Since his retirement, Fernando has formed FPeláez Consulting to provide services to professional service firms.
Gustavo Andres Piedrahita Forero
Lawyer and Vice President Arbitration and Conciliation Center
Gustavo is a bilingual lawyer with a degree from Universidad de la Sabana, boasting over 15 years of professional experience. Specializing in commercial, financial, and environmental law, he holds a Master's in Commercial Law and serves as a national and international arbitrator. He has extensive experience advising private sector companies on compliance, national and international contracts, commercial law, intellectual property, insurance, administrative law, and litigation. He has a robust academic background, having taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Commercial Law, Commercial Contracts, Corporations, International Contracting, and Private Law at Universidad de la Sabana, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Javeriana, Universidad del Rosario, and Universidad Sergio Arboleda. A former member of the Commercial Customs Committee of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, he is currently a member of the Colombian Academy of International Law (ACCOLDI), the Colombian Arbitration Committee, the Arbitration - ADR and Commercial Law and Practices Commissions of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC), and the Commercial Lawyers Association.
Harvey Lewis
Partner, EY
Harvey is a renowned expert on Generative AI and emerging technologies, and their impact on professional services and other organizations. With a background in artificial intelligence, rocket science and consulting, Harvey has dedicated over three decades to helping clients in every sector innovate and apply data science and AI. He brings a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic vision to teams, projects, and enterprises aiming to harness the power of their data, knowledge and generative AI. He is a much sought after speaker on emerging technologies and welcomes the opportunity to not just share knowledge but also ignite conversations and inspire action. Before EY, he served as a Director and Cognitive Computing Lead at Deloitte, where he co-founded a new center of excellence for AI. Beyond his professional work, he is committed to empowering the next generation of talent, ensuring they have the tools and opportunities to excel in an AI-driven future.
Horace Wu
Founder & CEO, Syntheia.io
Horace is a highly regarded pioneer in leveraging AI deep learning technology to transform transactions. After practicing as a lawyer for over a decade, he devised a more efficient way to analyze contracts for transactions and founded Syntheia in 2018. Syntheia extracts clauses across contracts and presents them in an efficient form so that lawyers can easily identify risks and unlock market insights for their clients. With many of the top 20 US law firms as clients, Syntheia won the 2023 Legal Week Leaders in Tech Deal Technology award. Horace makes time to share his blend of legal, technical, and commercial knowledge with the wider legal tech community – speaking regularly at conferences and webinars, and hosting a podcast where he interviews legal tech thought leaders. We’re excited to see where Syntheia goes next under Horace’s unique leadership and his ability to translate complex legal problems into innovative, market-leading legal tech solutions.
Ilona Logvinova
Director of Practice Innovation, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Ilona Logvinova is an accomplished innovation leader and AI expert with extensive experience in cutting-edge technology, AI, data privacy, intellectual property, cybersecurity, and complex commercial engagements. As the Director of Practice Innovation at Cleary Gottlieb, she drives transformative legal innovation, implementing legal technologies to enhance workflows and client service delivery. Previously, Ilona served as the Global Head of Innovation at McKinsey & Company, where she led impactful innovation initiatives and worked closely with emerging technologies as a senior technology lawyer. Her tenure at Mastercard as Senior Counsel involved pioneering technology builds and strategic partnerships, while her early career at Fried Frank focused on leveraged finance. Ilona's passion for AI and legal innovation fuels her commitment to reimagining the practice of law. She excels at identifying emerging legal trends and crafting innovative, responsible solutions. Ilona is dedicated to transforming the legal profession into a dynamic, forward-thinking field where professionals thrive.
James Sherer
Partner and Co-Chair of the Emerging Technology Team, Baker & Hostetler LLP
If you’re a lawyer in New York state, you will no doubt have heard of James Sherer. James has been a long-time thought leader in the NY Bar, particularly in matters involving the intersection of law and technology. He was recently honored as one of Relativity’s AI Visionaries for 2024 – a prestigious award that recognizes his leadership and commitment to advancing the use of AI in legal practice. On top of his day job, he gives back to the community with his dedication to pro bono work – being named New York State Bar Association’s Empire State Counsel for Pro Bono Work in 2012, 2014 to 2016, and 2018, among many other honors. James is known for regularly taking the time to share his deep reservoir of knowledge with his colleagues and others in the legal community – tirelessly seeking out ways to improve the state of legal practice by making himself a valuable legal resource for those who know him.
Jenn McCarron
President of the Board of Directors, CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium)
Jenn is an innovative leader in law tech known for her ability to develop talent, foster growth, and link business expertise with artistry and creativity. Jenn’s unique approach — which recognizes that a growth mindset requires a deeply creative process — enabled her to build teams from the ground up that revolutionize organizations and the industry at large. At Netflix, she led a team focused on strategic financial management, technology and innovation, operations, and knowledge management for Netflix’s global legal function and was recognized in particular for her mentorship and talent development. She has also spearheaded legal tech at Spotify, instituting foundational technologies and processes for contract management, matter management, legal hold management, and litigation hold data pipelines. Jenn is passionate about sharing and disseminating her own and others valuable expertise – hosting CLOC’s legal transformation-themed podcast, “CLOC Talk,” which examines both the technical and philosophical elements of the field. She is a widely-known thought leader and a frequent speaker at major conferences, regularly called upon by top media outlets for her views and in-depth knowledge of legal technology and operations.
Jessica de Perio Wittman
Law Library Director & Associate Professor of Law, University of Connecticut School of Law
Jessica is a true innovator and leader who bridges the gap between traditional legal education and the emerging tech-driven legal industry, providing strategies for law schools to integrate technology into their curricula and prepare students for the legal profession. At the University of Connecticut School of law, she manages the law library, oversees technology resources, and teaches courses. Jessica has authored and co-authored numerous publications on legal tech and ethics. Her scholarship focuses on the ‘Whole Lawyer Model’, emphasizing the importance of incorporating technology skills into the legal profession, developing a framework that addresses the ethical obligation of law schools to equip students with the necessary technology skills, and integrating this seamlessly into the curriculum. In addition to leadership positions in the American Association of Law Libraries, and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), Jessica has led several technology initiatives in higher education institutions, including pioneering the first distance education course at the University of Florida Law School, and creating three wholly online degrees at The John Marshall Law School. Jessica has greatly contributed to the legal industry through her scholarship, leadership, and unwavering commitment to ethical practices, contributions that have received numerous recognitions, including the American Association of Law Schools' inaugural Technology & Ethics Award.
Joe Cohen
Director of Advanced Client Solutions, Charles Russell Speechlys
Joe is Director of Advanced Client Solutions at Charles Russell Speechlys, an international law firm focusing on private capital. Joe was previously Head of Innovation at Dentons UKIME for five years and prior to that also had innovation roles at Linklaters and Slaughter & May. Joe is responsible for Legal Tech, LPM, Solution Development and Legal Process Improvement amongst other functions, and leads on a number of innovation culture initiatives such as practice-specific innovation committees and the trainee technology programme. Joe is a regular industry speaker and thought leader on Generative AI and was nominated for the LIA Innovation Trailblazer of the year award in 2021 and 2023.
Jonah Perlin
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, & Host, ‘How I Lawyer’ Podcast
Jonah is passionate about mentorship and being a bridge from the academic study of law to junior practitioners at scale using technology. This is why three years ago he founded ‘How I Lawyer’, a first-of-its kind podcast that provides free career guidance and asynchronous mentorship at scale. How I Lawyer has reached more than 135 episodes that tell the stories of what lawyers do, why they do it, and how they do it well – making the profession more transparent one interview at a time. Junior lawyers and law students around the world tune in to the podcast, and it’s used in classrooms across the country – reaching the top 25 career podcasts in the US. Jonah has further solidified his commitment to providing asynchronous permissionless mentorship at scale by engaging with 25,000 followers across LinkedIn, Substack, and Twitter. It’s all the more impressive because his mentorship work is done alongside his teaching at Georgetown, his scholarly writing on technology of law, and volunteer work including as a founding board member of the Legal Mentor Network.
Jose Fernando Torres
Socio/Partner, Lexia Abogados
As a partner at Lexia Abogados, Jose leads the Criptoactivos, Fintech & Legal Design division. He served as a visiting professor at Stanford's Legal Design Lab in 2016-2017 and is the lead advisor for the Innovation Lab for Justice at the National Judiciary School of the Dominican Republic. His professional background includes positions at Davivienda, Facebook, Posse Herrera Ruiz, Skadden Arps in London, and the World Trade Organization in Switzerland. He is also an angel investor in startups. He holds a law degree from Los Andes and an LLM in International Economic Law & Policy from the University of Barcelona.
José Maria de la Jara
Spain Regional Community Leader, Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC)
José Maria De La Jara is a lawyer with a degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and an LLM from Columbia Law School. He co-founded ODDS Legal in 2020, specializing in legal operations. De La Jara has led over 30 digital transformation projects for legal departments in industries such as banking, agribusiness, beauty, and aviation. Recently joining LOIS as a senior legal operations consultant, he brings extensive experience in the Latin American legal sector. Previously, he worked in arbitration and dispute resolution at Covington & Burling and other notable organizations.
Joy Heath Rush
CEO, ILTA (International Legal Technology Association)
As CEO of ILTA (The International Legal Technology Association), Joy’s name is well-known to legal professionals and technologists around the world, having spent her entire career supporting lawyers in the practice of law. For almost two decades, she has led ILTA, as president and as CEO, bringing her experience and passion for technology to the organization and driving its mission to enhance the delivery of legal services through providing education, resources, and peer connections. Prior to ILTA, Joy held numerous leadership roles within the legal industry, including as VP of Client Development at Litera Microsystems, and six years at law firm Sidley Austin as their Director of Multimedia Services. Joy’s first love has always been legal applications and the people who use them. She remains dedicated to serving the citizens of ILTA with intelligence, dedication, and passion and providing a positive environment for her staff.
Justin Brownstone
Principal Product Manager, Lex Machina
Justin is an experienced and innovative product manager, with extensive experience across law and technology. Prior to joining Lex Machina, he worked as an associate for law firms Quin Emanuel, and Miller Barondess LLP. He then joined Gavelytics, as VP of Sales & Litigation Counsel, before becoming the company’s Chief Product Officer. Justin has authored articles in publications such as the Daily Journal. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College, and a JD from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Kaitlin McGee
Attorney and Practice Management Advisor, DC Bar
As the DC Bar’s Practice Management Advisor, Kaitlin’s work can best be described as ‘taking away the fear of AI for lawyers’. With her unique blend of entrepreneurial spirit, tech savvy, and legal know-how, she works one-on-one and in small groups to help lawyers understand how to apply AI within their practices, in addition to guiding them through the launch and expansion of their law firms. Kaitlin also co-leads the monthly Basic Training & Beyond program, focusing on marketing, client relations, productivity, and tech for law firm success, and also offers personalized support in an incubator-style format through the Successful Small Firm Practice Course. Before joining the DC Bar in 2021, she co-founded and ran a successful legal practice, Forster Law Firm, in Washington DC.
Karol Valencia
Head of UX, WOW Legal Experience and Marketing and Communications Specialist at ClauseBase
As a dynamic lawyer, educator, and service & UX, Karol is a designer with over 10 years of experience, including more than 8 years in legal tech and technology, they co-founded WOWLegalX to innovate in the legal and justice sector. With a Law Degree, a Master's in Business Management & Corporate Social Responsibility, and additional training in UX design, service design, and full-stack web programming, they excel in turning theory into action. Currently pursuing an international MBA in Project Management, they lead Design Ops and Legal Design at WOWLegalExperience, co-creating better services and products with talented teams.
Kathleen (Katie) Brown
Associate Dean for Information Resource, Charleston School of Law
Katie Brown’s work sets a high benchmark for integrating technology and ethics into legal education. At Charleston School of Law, she oversees the law library and information resources, ensuring students and faculty have access to critical legal materials and cutting-edge technology. Katie’s research and scholarship interests span intellectual property, acting skills for lawyers, and legal research and technology, and she has co-authored influential articles on the ethical obligation of teaching tech competency in legal education that provide essential guideposts for law schools integrating tech into their programs. These works emphasize the "Whole Lawyer Model," advocating for comprehensive tech training in law school curricula so that law students are aligned with the tech skills needed for tomorrow's legal practices. Katie also takes the time to play active leadership roles in professional organizations such as the American Association of Law Libraries, and in community initiatives. She has been recognized by her peers with prestigious awards such as the American Association of Law Schools' Technology & Ethics Award. Through her leadership, innovative research, and dedication to improving legal education, Katie has made invaluable contributions to the legal industry and the next generation of lawyers.
Kerry Westland
Partner and Head of the Innovation Group, Addleshaw Goddard
As Head of Innovation & Legal Technology at Addleshaw Goddard, Kerry is responsible for driving the use of technology and developing solutions to deliver a wide range of legal work across the firm. Kerry set up and manages the Innovation and Legal Technology Team who focus solely on the application of existing and new technologies. Over the past year, Kerry has led the development of Addleshaw's generative AI platform, AGPT.
Kyle K. Courtney
Director of Copyright & Information Policy, Harvard University
Kyle's contributions to copyright and access to legal information extend beyond academia. He has written, lectured, and advocated tirelessly to strengthen the protections afforded by the First Sale Doctrine, especially concerning library books for lending and preservation purposes. Kyle holds a JD in Intellectual Property Law in addition to an MSLIS, and has shared his expertise on copyright in a variety of prestigious publications such as Politico, The Hill, Library Journal, American Libraries and others. He is also the co-founder and Board Chair of the advocacy group, Library Futures, an eBook study group that is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to information through fair licensing and contractual agreements for libraries. Kyle’s passion for copyright and accessibility is seen in the number of hats that he wears outside of his work at Harvard. – these include a fellowship at NYU Law’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, membership of the US Supreme Court Bar, and as an Advisor to the American Law Institute's project on the Restatement of Copyright, among many other ongoing projects and initiatives.
Laquay Laing
Attorney, Westminster Law Chambers
Laquay holds the distinction of being one of the youngest judges to sit in the Magistrates Court in Freeport, The Bahamas. Laquay holds a Bachelor of Laws, and a Master of Laws in International & Commercial Law, from the University of Buckingham in the UK, where he attended as an international student. Prior to joining Westminster Law Chambers, he worked as Associate Attorney for a real estate law firm, and a personal injury firm.
Léo Murgel
SVP – Office of Legal & Corporate Affairs Tech, Data, Ops Innovation, & Enablement, Salesforce
Léo is a visionary leader who advances change within legal operations. He draws on his deep knowledge of tech and focuses on enabling more efficiency and reducing costs in legal operations with the assistance of technology. Leo has significant experience streamlining operation and leveraging technology to drive innovation and digital transformation, including at brands such as The Gap, Inc. Leo is also an entrepreneur and in 2020 he co-founded Keypal, a tool that helped people limit their germ exposure during COVID. He is known for being an outstanding communicator focused on building effective organizations and delivering value to the enterprise.
Martin Korn
Co-Founder, Golden Arrow Publishing LLC
Golden Arrow was started on a cocktail napkin when Martin and another librarian got to talking about a gap in the existing news services when it came to business leads for regulatory legal work. They created Golden Arrow, which offers a variety of alerts filled with business leads that allow lawyers and law firms to gain new clients or help to better inform their current clients of risks. Martin wears many hats, and alongside his work at Golden Arrow, he has also been with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP for 34 years, the last six of these as Director of Research and Knowledge Services.
Michael A. Semanchik
Executive Director, The Innocence Center
Within the criminal law community, Michael Semanchik’s name is synonymous with ‘access to justice’. He is renowned for his innovative use of legal tech at The Innocence Center (TIC), which he founded. TIC, an independent non-profit law firm, is dedicated to freeing the innocent from prison, educating the public on wrongful conviction, and helping exonerated people re-enter society. Michael has helped to free 12 people from wrongful incarceration, including Stephen Patterson who was imprisoned for 18 years. There is perhaps no greater example of how legal tech can be used for good than the way Michael has integrated it into TIC – including for intake, to assist innocent clients in pursuing their claims, and to achieve justice for his clients. He has also worked relentlessly to forge partnerships with legal tech companies in order to speed up the process of freeing the innocent even further. The fight is far from over and Michael continues to campaign tirelessly for expanded access to justice in prisons, in addition to bringing his experience and insights to the wider innocence community through the annual Innocence Conference.
Mike Stefanelli
Knowledge & Innovation Attorney – Litigation, Perkins Coie LLP
Mike came to Perkins Coie with an extensive background in knowledge management built up over many years. He gained valuable experience across a number of aspects of legal knowledge management including content editorial, product strategy, and product management roles in legal tech and leading legal publishers. Mike also draws from his experience as a litigator at two large law firms in Chicago -- DLA Piper, and Paul Hastings. Mike is a graduate of Georgetown University and Brooklyn Law School, from which he graduated summa cum laude. He is also a sought-after speaker and panelist at legal tech events – such as a recent panel about ‘Generative AI and the Abyss of Information’.
Neil Araujo
CEO, iManage
Neil Araujo is a co-founder and CEO of iManage, and one of the original developers of the company’s flagship document management product. At iManage, he played a variety of key roles to enable the company to achieve market leadership. Neil initiated and led the divestiture of iManage from HP in 2015, and since then has been responsible for reshaping the iManage company culture and technology stack, driving significant growth. He has a Bachelor of Technology degree from the National Institute of Technology in Calicut, India, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, and an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
Nicola Shaver
Co-founder & CEO, LegalTechnology Hub
Nicola is a recognized innovation and legal tech executive and consultant specializing in legal business transformation, change management, and AI and legal innovation strategy. She is also an entrepreneur and co-founder of Legaltech Hub, the authority for education, insights and analysis on legal tech. Nicola’s numerous initiatives in the legal tech space include developing the inaugural course on legal technology for Cardozo Law School, where she is an adjunct professor. For her many achievements, she was recognized by ILTA as Innovative Leader of the Year in 2020, and by the ABA as one of its distinguished Women of Legal Tech in 2022. Nicola also authored The Handbook for Legal Innovation, in addition to contributing to publications such as Law360, ALM Legaltech News, Modern Lawyer, and Legal Business World.
Rachel Shields Williams
Director, Knowledge Management, Sidley Austin LLP
Rachel is a skilled strategist who translates vision into actionable goals and results. She has built her career around the ability to assess and anticipate both internal and external customer needs, leveraging her cross-industry experience to bring new insight to every project that she undertakes and implementing operations and technologies that have had a meaningful measurable impact on a global scale. She is adept at applying her unique mix of knowledge management, operations, process management, marketing, and business development skills through the eye of a technologist. To take just one example – under her leadership, Sidley Austin developed use cases for the firm’s intelligence tool that become critical to its success, including Proposal Generation, Bio Management, Experience Management, Experience Location, Pricing, Staffing, Recruiting, Diversity as well as serving as the cornerstone of a firmwide Knowledge Management strategy and supporting the firm enterprise search.
Rebecca Fordon
Reference Librarian & Adjunct Professor, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
After a 10-year career as a bankruptcy attorney, Rebecca transitioned to a new career and made a name for herself as a law librarian and law professor, in addition to recognition as a rising star in legal technology. Her academic interests and expertise include electronic court records, legal citators, and open access to legal information. She frequently teaches and speaks about legal research and legal tech (including generative AI), in addition to teaching a course in legal analysis and writing. At Ohio State, she also developed and taught a legal tech course called 21st Century Lawyering. Rebecca has done numerous presentations on law and AI, and is a board member of the Legal Innovation and Technology Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries Rebecca was one of the founding bloggers of AILawLibrarians.com and her many articles on the site demonstrate her dedication to helping people understand new technologies while holding companies accountable to high standards.
Sara Miro
Managing Attorney and Director of Knowledge Management Solutions, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Sara is one of the undisputed leaders in the fields of innovation and knowledge management within legal. It’s no small task to implement cutting-edge tech and process improvements for the busy litigators working in Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s New York office, but Sara’s innovative approaches have significantly enhanced attorney workflows and increased the efficiency of the practice. She also finds time to co-chair the NYC Knowledge Management & Innovation Attorney Network where she organizes discussions on how to integrate tech and innovation within legal practices, volunteer for the International Legal Technology Association, and co-lead the BOLD Women of Legal Technology group. Sara’s leadership, innovative mindset, and commitment to fostering an inclusive and forward-thinking legal community is an inspiration to all who work with her.
Scott Westheimer
Attorney, Syprett, Meshad, Resnick, Lieb, Dumbaugh, Jones, Krotec & Westheimer Law Firm, and President of the Florida Bar
Scott is a true visionary and leader when it comes to promoting and propelling forward the use of technology in legal practice. As President of The Florida Bar, he led the Bar in creating the first of its kind ‘Special Committee on AI Tools & Resources’, which went on to create one of the first AI-related Advisory Opinions for lawyers in the US. As president, he created and empaneled the Bar's first Standing Committee on Cybersecurity and Privacy Law. Scott also led the charge to coordinate with M&T Bank to bring the Nota trust accounting online platform to Florida and free to use for all Florida Bar members – better serving both members and the public. His hard work in advancing the use of AI technology among Florida’s lawyers is carried out alongside his job as Managing Partner at Syprett, Meshad, Resnick, Lieb, Dumbaugh, Jones, Krotec & Westheimer – a well-established personal injury law firm in Sarasota.
Shawn Curran
Co-founder & CEO, Jylo
Previously Director of Legal Technology at Travers Smith, Shawn is now CEO of Jylo a platform built to trasform unstructured data, enabling users to easily organise and interpret findings. Whilst at Travers Smith, Shawn's team won several awards for innovation, including the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Europe Awards 2023 for YCNBot, which provides organisations with a software framework for the safe deployment of LLM-powered applications.
Stephanie Goutos
Lead Practice Innovation Attorney – Employment & Labor Practice, Gunderson Dettmer
Stephanie is a well-known thought leader, mentor, author, and presenter on innovation, AI, and knowledge management (KM) who currently spearheads innovation and KM initiatives at Gunderson Dettmer. She combines her background in class action defense, litigation, and employment counseling with a commitment to leveraging emerging technologies to enhance legal service delivery. Her unconventional yet highly effective hybrid approach seamlessly integrates the practice of law with forward-thinking tech strategies, allowing her to identify risks and opportunities in dynamic, complex environments ahead of the curve and provide organizations with valuable recommendations. For her many achievements, Stephanie was honored with ILTA’s “2024 Young Professionals to Watch” Distinguished Peer Award. She is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of women in legal tech, and founded the LinkedIn Group B.O.L.D. Women in LegalTech (Building Opportunities, Leadership, and Diversity), a vibrant incubator for promoting diversity, inclusion, collaboration and innovation within the legal tech community.
Tanguy Chau
Co-Founder & CEO, Paxton AI
Tanguy is a long-time investor and entrepreneur passionate about leveraging AI and legal technology to transform the way that legal professionals do their jobs. In 2023, he co-founded Paxton AI, a state-of-the-art Generative AI platform that is designed to streamline and optimize work for legal teams in law firms and corporate legal departments. Paxton uses the power of AI to revolutionize how lawyers do their research, draft documents, and analyze regulations. Tanguy has worn many different and interesting hats over the years, including as a co-producer at TellEverything.org. His movie ‘Everything I Ever Wanted To Tell My Daughter About Men’ was the Winner of Best Film at the 2022 Cannes Independent Film Festival. Among his many achievements, initiatives, and projects, Tanguy has founded a number of technology companies over the years, and holds an MS and a PhD in engineering from MIT.
Tanja Podinic
Global Legal Gen AI Lead, PwC
Tanja qualified as a litigator and has spent over a decade working in GC departments across various global law firms before most recently moving to a Global Legal Gen AI Lead within PWC. Tanja focuses on understanding the opportunities that enable the sector to progress and transform, delivering value for both law firms and in-house counsel.
Tara Waters
Partner & Global Chief Digital Officer, Ashurst
Tara is responsible for driving Ashurst’s digital strategy through cross-firm collaboration. Accelerating digital maturity and capability, helping to create a differentiated workplace and law firm for the future.
Wilfredo Murillo Tapia
Director, Xtrategia Group
As a passionate advocate for legal entrepreneurship, Wilfredo has made significant contributions to the legal profession in Peru and throughout Latin America by implementing projects, delivering impactful lectures and speeches, and working tirelessly to change how society views the legal profession. He is known for encouraging lawyers to adopt new perspectives and innovative approaches within the legal field, demonstrating leadership and vision in fostering professional growth. Through projects, lectures, and speeches, Wilfredo has not only fostered professional growth among legal practitioners but instigated transformative changes within the region. Wilfredo has inspired many within the legal community to embrace new methodologies by championing innovation and encouraging a forward-thinking approach. This dedication to continuous improvement and societal impact underscores his leadership and vision.
Zee Kin Yeong
Chief Executive, Singapore Academy of Law
Zee Kin is an internationally recognized expert on AI ethics, data privacy, and innovation in the legal sphere. Among his many impressive positions and achievements, he was the Assistant Chief Executive (Data Innovation and Protection Group) of the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) and the Deputy Commissioner of the Personal Data Protection Commission. During his time with the IMDA and PDPC, Zee Kin spearheaded the development of Singapore’s Model AI Governance Framework, which won the UNITU WSIS Prize in 2019. He is currently a member of the OECD Network of Experts on AI (ONE AI). In 2019, he was a member of the AI Group of Experts at the OECD (AIGO), which developed the OECD Principles on AI that were endorsed by the G20 in 2019. He is currently an expert in the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)’s Data Governance Working Group, which addresses data protection issues at the intersection of AI development and deployment. In addition, Zee Kin is also a highly-regarded thought leader – contributing to publications on legal issues relating to data privacy and speaking at numerous high-profile industry events in the areas of AI, electronic evidence and intellectual property.