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Reflections on ReInvent Legislation Silicon Valley @ 10 Yrs – Portion 1

Bynewsmagzines

Mar 8, 2023
Reflections on ReInvent Law Silicon Valley @ 10 Years – Part 1


Nowadays, March 8, 2023, marks 10 decades considering that Daniel Martin Katz, Renee Knake Jefferson and a team of colleagues and students from Michigan State College Faculty of Legislation hosted ReInvent Law Silicon Valley at the Computer Record Museum in Mountain Perspective, Calif. When this may seem to be a reasonably arbitrary day by which to mark the development of authorized innovation and technology, let us deliver two causes to mark this anniversary. 

To start with, as this publish and the two that will abide by it reveal, ReInvent Legislation experienced a significant impression on people who spoke, attended, and adopted alongside virtually hundreds or countless numbers of miles away. This was not just “another legal tech function.” Next, Bob, composing later about a single of the subsequent functions, ReInvent Legislation New York, explained, “ReInvent Law was a manifestation of … a minute of unparalleled innovation and creativity … [a] representation of a significantly bigger groundswell.” If we only knew what was to appear!

To us, this anniversary offers as good an justification as any to mirror on what has been an wonderful 10 years for legal technologies. It also affords the opportunity to realize Dan, Renee, and their colleagues who have been significant contributors to this blossoming for much additional than 10 short yrs and who, in the impression of the persons who participated in ReInvent Legislation in 1 way or a further, put a meaningful stake in the floor recognizing all the effort to reach the point out of the art for the time but also an remarkable photo of what could and nonetheless may possibly come.

For the following a few times, we will post a collection of reflections from participants, attendees or followers of the ReInvent Law Silicon Valley celebration. These days, we begin with reflections from three folks who participated in ReInvent Regulation in 1 way or another. For just about every of the next two days, we’ll put up three extra reflections. We hope every reflection serves as a “thank you” to the ReInvent Law staff whilst also inspiring you to consider about what could come in the future 10 many years.

– Dan Lear and Bob Ambrogi, collection editors


Dan Lear, Head of Internet marketing and Partnerships at Gravity Authorized

Dan Lear is head of advertising and partnerships at Gravity Legal, an digital payments and dollars administration business crafted exclusively for legal professionals and law companies. Prior to Gravity Authorized, Dan labored as director of industry relations for the authorized market Avvo and, in advance of that, as a technologies legal professional. He is based mostly in Seattle, Wash.

Two crucial, and connected, matters took place to me in the spring of 2013. 1st, I joined Twitter. I gave an full presentation to the Massachusetts LOMAP on Twitter and its impact on my vocation a several many years again. So, go test that out if you are curious. The second, linked, and a lot more crucial factor occurred a few shorter months later.

Grinding away as a disappointed hourly desk-jockey lawyer the early morning of March 13, 2013, I stumbled throughout the stay Twitter feed of the ReInvent Legislation Silicon Valley party. This discovery was almost nothing brief of a revelation. Despite the mountain of hours that I realized I had to monthly bill that day, I couldn’t tear myself away. The function was full of lawful specialists — numerous of them attorneys like me: Ed Walters, Chas Rampenthal, Nicole Auerbach — demanding anything from the billable hour, to ownership of the law, to what attorneys could learn from retail. I was so inspired I wrote a piece for my bar association, exhorting my fellow lawyers to shell out interest to the messages from ReInvent Regulation.

Right now, I can draw a virtually unbroken line from that spring early morning by way of later speaking at the ReInvent Regulation New York function in 2014, to my previous do the job at Avvo, to my present skilled endeavors at Gravity Legal and Off The Record. That journey’s far too extended, and almost certainly much too uninteresting, for this quick piece so for now, I want to shout out ReInvent Regulation organizers Dan Katz and Renee Knake Jefferson. Certainly, authorized technological know-how and innovation existed just before ReInvent Legislation but, for me, it all began 1 early morning 10 several years back when chose to I disregard my billable hour requirement and tune in to Dan and Renee’s ReInvent Legislation revolution.  


R. Amani Smathers, Sr. Follow Innovations Analyst

Amani is a senior lawful solutions professional with practical experience assisting lawful groups uncover superior and more rapidly methods to carry out their authorized function, operational duties, and aims. Considering that staying an early participant in the ReInvent Regulation system at MSU Law, she has come to be component of an intercontinental network of industry experts fascinated in rethinking the way we deliver legal providers, with a brain towards steady improvement and accessibility to justice.

Right after researching with Dan Katz and Renee Newman Knake at MSU Law, Amani has absent on to function with some of the leading innovation groups in large U.S. law corporations, such as SeyfarthLean at Seyfarth Shaw, De Novo at Davis Wright Tremaine, and Observe Improvements at Chapman and Cutler. She enjoys her work planning and implementing legal and small business options for the firm and its purchasers, and pays ahead the lessons learned from ReInvent Regulation as an adjunct instructor with MSU Law’s present Center for Legislation, Technology & Innovation (CLT&I).

It is complicated to overstate ReInvent Law’s effect on my occupation. As a regulation pupil and new graduate of MSU Regulation, I assisted Dan and Renee (then affiliate professors) manage the ReInvent Law conferences, which include Silicon Valley 2013. The lessons I realized from Dan and Renee, and the local community that ReInvent Legislation served kind, have shaped my watch of the legal sector and my job. 

Underneath are values I figured out then and maintain real these days:

  • Law + Technological innovation + Layout + Supply. Dan and Renee’s four pillars of ReInvent Regulation instilled in me the importance of incorporating disciplines beyond conventional lawyering to modernize and increase legal support shipping for purchasers and suppliers. This concept also inspired my T-Formed Lawyer presentation at ReInvent Legislation NYC 2014, a concept that is nevertheless reviewed nowadays. Also, “Human + Device > Human or Device.” This mantra from Dan will endlessly guidebook me to see technological innovation as a device, relatively than an conclude goal.
  • Presentation issues. Dan and Renee understood the significance of higher production price to make exhilaration and elevate information. Also, notice spans are quick. Short displays authorized us to share the most quantity of presenters and tips with the audience, and spark interest for more discussions.
  • Sharing information and facts accelerates innovation. Dan’s insistence on not only delivering a absolutely free conference but also shelling out to file the shows and share them online (designed probable by a grant from the Kauffman Basis) means that there is a treasure trove of knowledge and insights still obtainable from the Reinvent Law activities. I proceed to return to some of the movies for inspiration, years later on.
  • There’s ability in networks. Sharing data is also a way to establish group. Dan and Renee inspired pupils to develop personalized models and community with the professional group, as a way to locate prospects that otherwise might not exist. Via communications with our speakers and conversations at the gatherings, I made significant connections with GCs, legal enterprise CEOs, tech founders, law company leaders, and visionaries – that I most likely could not have made as a legislation university student any other way.
  • We must try for significant and satisfying occupations. Supporting college students locate fulfilling occupations in regulation was just one of Renee’s mentioned plans in co-founding ReInvent Law. Wanting back, I come to feel so fortunate to have had a legislation professor who talked about effectively-staying and about chances for individual achievement outside of the conventional attorney paths—rare matters in law schools. This worth proceeds to assistance orient me in wondering about what I want out of lifestyle and do the job.
  • Legislation professors should emphasis on scholarship and serving to their college students thrive. Dan and Renee are the two excellent scholars and “doers” in their spots of concentration. And, quite uniquely, they also seen their students’ results as a evaluate of their results as professors. A person of the means this manifested was that they reserved slots in every single packed meeting agenda for displays by students that we pitched and enhanced with them (which itself was precious). They gave us a system to share thoughts and position us as already-peers of the pros in the home.
  • The jobs you’ll have someday may well not exist however. ReInvent Law conferences had been full of presenters forging new paths in the lawful sphere. Dan also pressured to ReInvent Legislation college students the significance of steady learning, especially thanks to the rate of modify in technology. I am normally subtly reminded of that lesson in his trademark parting message of “More to appear.”

The ReInvent Legislation occasions presented cost-free understanding sharing and a gathering put for the lawful innovation group.  I value all the tribute messages shared in this post. For my portion, I want to specially thank Dan and Renee for the lifelong classes and for inspiring us (pupils and convention attendees) to make connections and forge fulfilling occupations in fashionable authorized services shipping.


Andy Ninh, Director, Methods, at Elevate 

Andy is the director, answers at Elevate, enabling its clients to address their legal and company challenges by leveraging revolutionary technologies and operational enhancements. Pursuing his involvement in ReInvent Regulation, Andy developed a eager understanding of the evolving authorized landscape and the position that engineering performs in transforming the shipping of legal services, obtaining acquired a one of a kind blend of “T-Formed Lawyer” techniques by way of priceless experiences in get started-up and legislation office/firm/business operations, layout, AI/ML, engineering development and product administration, solutions architecting, client good results, and Go-To-Marketplace technique. Just before becoming a member of Elevate, he was lucky to have a number of “new law” and hybrid legal roles, such as a Lawful Company Alternatives advisor at UnitedLex, and a Legal Remedies Architect at Seyfarth. Andy is a member of the New York Bar and gained his JD from Michigan State College Faculty of Regulation and his BS in Biochemistry from The University of Florida. Andy requested ChatGPT to write the initial draft of this bio, and it was intriguingly correct. Exciting situations!

It is difficult to imagine that it has been 10 a long time since I had the lifestyle-switching great fortune to go to and speak at the 2013 ReInvent Law Silicon Valley meeting. Searching back again on this experience, I know how substantially this solid my vocation path and particular ambition. I have considering that had the pleasure of befriending or working with quite a few meeting speakers/attendees and individuals that joined this space because of them.

As a 2L law student at Michigan Point out University of Law at the time, I experienced concluded my Entrepreneurial Lawyering class, co-taught by professors Renee Knake Jefferson and Daniel Martin Katz, by successful the “Most Innovative Pitch” award in our startup pitch opposition for furnishing on-demand authorized companies working with augmented reality (AR) technological know-how. I vividly remember the spark of inspiration I obtained when I initial observed a notion online video for Google Glass, a pretty early AR headset, exhibiting what it would be like to use an AR headset “One Working day.” I thought if you can get serious-time visible instructions and locale-dependent social media updates, you could surely get AR-based mostly lawful assistance (e.g., jaywalking violations enforced on ABC Avenue) or on-demand lawful assistance (e.g., what to do/not do during a targeted traffic halt, and so on.). With this, Renee, Dan, and Michael Bommarito (also instrumental in setting up ReInvent Legislation) invited me to speak at the convention. I quickly changed my spring split options and booked past-moment vacation and lodging for the convention, and it was a single of the ideal decisions I have ever built.

Currently being a extensive-time tech enthusiast, I was enamored by Silicon Valley, from the posh boutique lodges and Major Tech and startup logos lining the business office buildings to the laidback hustle culture and early-design Tesla EVs roaming the streets. On meeting working day, I was nervous about talking on stage in front of a huge crowd but excited by the networking working experience and power that stuffed the auditorium. As a scholar, I was a bit starstruck by the talented speaker pool and the providers/corporations they labored at (or founded). I was particularly psyched that David Estrada, then Lawful Director at Google X Labs (the incredibly put Google Glass was staying created), was talking. Upon sharing this with Renee, she immediately launched us, and I will in no way ignore what transpired immediately after I shared my elevator pitch with David. He requested, “so, do you want to go try out it in the lab?”

Heading via the key entrance of the bat cave lab on Google’s campus and receiving a initial glance at the place the magic was going on, I understood how surreal this was. Google Glass was not nevertheless obtainable to the public, and likely no a person exterior of Google had found, let on your own touched, it ahead of. For anyone outside of the corporation, this felt like a at the time-in-a-lifetime option. Though I simply cannot say precisely what I observed inside, it is general public understanding that Google X was operating on Google Glass and self-driving autos (the basis of David’s presentation), and there ended up some certainly unbelievable innovations. Finding hands-on with the Google Glass prototype, I could straight away discern its prospects (and constraints).

Energized by this remarkable working experience, I returned and took the stage with new assurance. It was truly impressive to not only current forward-pondering ideas to the viewers but also to imagine that they could materialize, obtaining made use of the very same product I was hypothesizing about prior to its public release. You possibly will not bear in mind exactly what I talked about, but you will undoubtedly remember my stunning teal chino trousers, a sartorial selection I continue to 2nd-guess. I indicate, who wears dazzling-colored trousers to a lawful tech function? This person, seemingly! I suppose this was not enough to prevent me from remaining invited back again to present at the 2014 ReInvent Law New York conference with a refined and evolved presentation even though donning Google Glass on stage as an early adopter.

I discovered a several items as a Glass Explorer:

  1. It is awkward to have on an AR headset in public when several persons feel you are recording them (false impression)
  2. The world was not ready to take this variety of technologies, at the very least outside of particular industries
  3. There is a great deal potential that might go unfulfilled with this technological innovation (or it will acquire a extensive time to come to fruition) and
  4. Those who press the boundaries extend the opportunities, and I imagine we will keep on to see new know-how innovations that condition our business (I am notably bullish on generative AI and ChatGPT).

I want to thank Renee, Dan, and Michael for extending the option to be a section of ReInvent Legislation and guiding me down this “New Law / Legal Innovation” career path, which I am nevertheless traveling. This permitted me to inspire other people to take part in this area, build new roles inside our industry that were not out there when I was a regulation scholar, and make lifelong friendships and a wonderful skilled network. Furthermore, I got to staff up with Dan and Mike at Elevate subsequent its LexPredict acquisition, an unforgettable practical experience. I am outside of blessed to continue on doing work with a number of forward-pondering trailblazers in our business, like my rockstar colleague Nicole Auerbach (who is also contributing to this piece) and many other fantastic individuals I will not title-drop suitable now. None of this would have been feasible devoid of ReInvent Legislation, and I am eternally grateful.  

Enjoy for section two of our remembrances tomorrow. 


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