Scott Westfahl

Innovation as a Service and the Maker’s Matrix (128)

By Anusia Gillespie on December 8, 2019

Posted in Legal Innovation, LegalTech, Talent

Law firm innovation takes many forms. We need a tool to de-risk and demystify the process.

The above graphic is the Maker’s Matrix^©, which is a tool I created to more efficiently categorize, prioritize, and resource innovation projects. This is because innovation in law firms is a nascent field with lots of hype and headlines but remarkably little structure. See, e.g., Bruce MacEwen, “Who’s your Chief Innovation Officer, ” Adam Smith, Esq., Nov. 13, 2019. That’s okay, though. I’m happy for the opportunity to figure it out.…
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Guest contributor Anusia Gillespie (127)

By Bill Henderson on December 8, 2019

Posted in Editor notes

“I make innovation less risky and more accessible to the many brilliant lawyers in our firm.” — Anusia Gillespie

I am pleased to introduce today’s guest contributor, Anusia Gillespie, who currently serves as Director of Innovation at Eversheds Sutherland (US). As demonstrated in Post 128, Gillespie has the full innovator’s tool box: multiple perspectives (law, design, business operations, technology, and strategy), systems thinking, intellectual courage, astute observation, and the patience and confidence to learn through controlled trial and error.…
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Missing in Action: Data-Driven Approaches to Improve Diversity (074)

By Evan Parker on November 25, 2018

Posted in Data Points, Diversity

Someday we’ll wonder why it took so long to use data to solve our diversity problem.

As a social scientist focused on empirical data, I believe the following three statements are true. I’d be curious how many readers agree or disagree with my assessment:…
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The editor of Legal Evolution is Bill Henderson, Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law where he holds the Stephen F. Burns Chair on the Legal Profession.

Bill is a prolific author and lecturer on the legal market. His industry accolades include ABA Journal Legal Rebel (2009), National Law Journal 100 most influential lawyers in America (2013), and National Jurist most influential person in legal education (2014 and 2015). Bill is also a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and co-founder for the Institute for the Future of Law Practice.

Bill’s academic work can be found on SSRN. For additional information, please see Bill’s personal webpage.

Jae Um is the Director of Pricing Strategy at Baker McKenzie worldwide. She is also the Founder of Six Parsecs, a cutting-edge market insight company focused on the legal industry, and a regular contributor to The American Lawyer.

Evan Parker, Ph.D., is the Founder of Parker Analytics LLC, a data-driven consultancy focused on talent, diversity, and strategy. Parker Analytics is also the official analytics partner to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Dan Rodriguez is the Harold Washington Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he also served as dean from 2012 to 2018. He is chair of the ABA Center for Innovation, past president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), and Council Member of the American Law Institute (ALI).