Fastcase Names Its 11th Annual Class of Fastcase 50 Innovation Honorees

If you are wondering where the innovators are in law, look no farther than the Fastcase 50, the annual award doled out by the legal intelligence company Fastcase that honors 50 of the law’s “smartest, most courageous, innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders.”

Fastcase today announced its 11th annual Fastcase 50 honorees, which adds up to 550 innovative leaders in law over the lifetime of the awards.

“Each year since the inaugural awards in 2011, the Fastcase 50 award has spotlighted the often under-recognized efforts of pioneers and architects of the future of law and legal technology,” Fastcase said in announcing this latest round.

(Disclosure: I was listed in the inaugural group in 2011.)

This year’s group of honorees is composed of a diverse array of lawyers, legal technologists, law librarians, judges, legal researchers, innovators, and people who are committed to reforming and automating the law.

The Fastcase 50 for 2021 are:

• Jason Adaska, Chief Technology Officer, Juris Futura; Director of Innovation Lab, Holland & Hart.
• Haley Altman, Global Head of Corporate Development, Litera.
• Roy Austin, Vice President of Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel, Facebook.
• Brad Blickstein, Principal, Blickstein Group; Co-Head of NewLaw Practice Group, Baretz+Brunelle.
• Joe Borstein, CEO & Co-Founder, LexFusion.
• Vanessa Blum, Newsroom Innovation Director, ALM Media; Executive Editor, Law.com Radar.
• Bryon Bratcher, Director of Practice Solutions, Reed Smith LLP; Managing Director, Gravity Stack.
• Miriam Childs, Director, Law Library of Louisiana, Louisiana Supreme Court.
• Ming W. Chin, Justice (ret.), California Supreme Court.
• Ben Crump, Founder, Ben Crump Law, PLLC.
• James Duggan, Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law, Tulane University.
• Tonya Evans, Professor of Law, Penn State Dickinson Law.
• Lluis Faus, Co-Founder; CEO; Executive Chairman, vLex.
• Sam Fletcher, Research Scientist, Kira Systems.
• Ivan Fong, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Policy Officer and Secretary, 3M.
• Patrick Fuller, Vice President, Legal Intelligence, ALM Intelligence.
• Maria Hall, Director, Los Angeles Incubator Consortium.
• Danielle Holley-Walker, Dean and Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law.
• Al Hounsell, Senior Innovation Lawyer, Norton Rose Fulbright.
• Ben Jackson, Co-Founder and COO, Immigrants Like Us.
• Jay Kim, Managing Partner, Kim Vaughan Lerner.
• Hannah Konitshek, Business Operations & Strategy, Legal.io.
• Brian Lee, Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder LegalZoom.
• Sang Lee, CEO; Co-Founder, Thine, LLC; Owner, Volta Talent Strategies;.
• Art Lien, Courtroom Sketch Artist, Courtartist.
• Dominique Shelton Leipzig, Partner, Privacy & Security; Co-Chair, Ad Tech Privacy & Data Management, Perkins Coie LLP.
• Mirra Levitt, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Priori.
• June Liebert, Director of Information Services, O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
• Katherine Lowry, Head of IncuBaker and Director of Practice Services, BakerHostetler.
• Jelena Madir, General Counsel, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
• Nicholas Magnenelli, Research & Instructional Services Librarian, Yale Law Library.
• Rick Merrill, Founder and CEO, Gavelytics.
• Laura O’Bryan, Co-Owner of MyVirtual.Lawyer; Co-Founder of MVL for Attorneys.
• Dyane O’Leary, Associate Professor, Suffolk University.
• Holly Riccio, Director, California Judicial Center Library.
• Nick Rishwain, Vice President of Business Development & Relations, Experts.com.
• Margo Schlanger, Wade H. and Dores M. McCree Collegiate Professor of Law, Michigan Law.
• Anita Carr Shapiro (In Memoriam), President Emerita, Practising Law Institute.
• Nikki Shaver, Managing Director of Innovation and Knowledge, Paul Hastings.
• Evan Shenkman, Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Fisher Phillips.
• Daryl Shetterly, Director of Orrick Analytics, Orrick, Herring & Sutcliffe LLP.
• Barry Simpson, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Bar Association.
• Alex Smith, Global Product Management Lead, iManage RAVN.
• Brad Stern, County Attorney, Washington County, Wisconsin.
• Devin Stone, Attorney, StoneLaw DC.
• Jessica Stuart, Senior Product Manager, Pro Bono Net.
• Marcos A. Tapia, Shareholder, Tiffany & Bosco.
• Alvin Tedjamulia, CTO, NetDocuments.
• Ryan Walker, Chief Technology Officer, Casetext.
• Jennifer Wondracek, Director of the Law Library; Professor of Legal Research and Writing, Capital University Law School

“The past year has presented challenges that provided opportunities to advance the law, and even accelerated some innovations into the mainstream,” Fastcase CEO Ed Walters said in announcing the awards. “We celebrate the diligence, discipline, passion, and creativity of these Fastcase 50 honorees. We are as proud as ever to spotlight the eleventh class of the Fastcase 50, highlighting now 550 people who have inspired our profession, since our first class in 2011.”

To view profiles of each of the winners and to learn more about the Fastcase 50 award, visit: http://www.fastcase.com/fastcase50

Congratulations to all!