TermScout is a direct outgrowth of the IFLP ecosystem.
We formed the Institute for the Future of Law Practice and its predecessor, the Tech Lawyer Accelerator (collectively “IFLP”), to test a number of concepts about legal education.
One such concept involved seeing whether an appropriately designed law program could duplicate the results of a leading entrepreneurial university. After all, Stanford and MIT each have spawned over 30,000 companies, generating trillions of dollars of economic impact. See Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2020 MIT Facts.
To this end, IFLP designed its programming in partnership with leading legal innovators such as CLOC, forward thinking employers, legal entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. We selected students based upon their initiative, entrepreneurial spirit, and leadership. We encouraged design thinking, had students work in teams supported by industry mentors, and placed them in paid internships with law departments, law firms, legal tech companies and others. The intent was to build an ecosystem that would allow IFLP graduates to improve the client value proposition and increase access to justice.
A recent development shows that this approach can work in law as well as in other disciplines. In 2018, two IFLP graduates, Otto Hanson and Katherine Snow, teamed up to found TermScout, a startup company that provides transparency as to what is market for contract terms through a combination of technology and data analytics.
As shown in the above graphic, a wide variety of IFLP alumni, employers, instructors serve as advisors to the company, and an IFLP co-founder sits on TermScout’s board. TermScout has graduated from the Tech Stars Accelerator, which is another organization that has provided input to IFLP on its programming over the years. Despite the current economic challenges, TermScout is even oversubscribed on its seed round funding.
Whether TermScout actually succeeds over the long run remains to be seen. For now, it emulates the best practices seen at leading entrepreneurial universities by reinvesting in the ecosystem, both by teaching in IFLP’s programs and hiring a 2020 IFLP intern (Andrew Eads). Seeing this entire circle of activity occur within a short time of IFLP’s initial program is extremely gratifying and holds great promise for the future.
As IFLP’s founding executive director, I hope we can keep this going.
Ways you can help IFLP continue
There are four:
- You personally have the capacity, affinity, and propensity to help fund the IFLP build. If so, please email Bill Henderson.
- You potentially know someone one with the capacity, affinity, and propensity to help fund our cause. If so, please forward a link to this post along with a brief personal note.
- Donate any amount you can afford. For any amount in excess of $20, you’ll receive a personalized IFLP Patron Card. See Post 119. (All contributions are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code).
- Share this post on social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, your own blog), briefly describing why you and others should support this build.
Thank you! Bill Mooz