Law Firms with Internal R&D Units or Formal + Funded Innovation Initiatives
| Firm | Service Name (Date) |
Reference(s) + Comment(s) |
| Addleshaw Goodard | Intelligent Delivery (Nov 2017) |
“Addleshaw Goddard has combined its flexible resourcing, consulting and innovation arms under the new banner of Intelligent Delivery, or AG ID – a business the firm says is now contributing revenues of around £15m. AG ID now encompasses the firm’s flexible lawyering service, AG Integrate; its strategic consulting team, AG Consulting; its process mapping and workflow management arm; its innovation and technology team; and its 150-strong transaction services team (TST).” Legal Week article (27 Sep 2017) |
| Akerman | R&D Council (April 2014) |
“plan to launch the first law firm R&D Council, dedicated to creating new offerings that advance the business of law and redefine service delivery models, jointly helping Akerman and its clients overcome future barriers to innovation and growth.” (Firm press release – see link) See also law2023.org. |
| Allen & Overy | i2 (April 2015) |
The Lawyer Magazine reports here that “Allen & Overy (A&O) is launching an experimental “ideas and investment” group aimed at developing new technology-related opportunities, including in the area of artificial intelligence (AI).” See also the A&O write-up in The Lawyer UK 200 Business Services 2016 (p. 66, subscription required). |
| Allen & Overy | Fuse (Nov 2017) |
Firm press release reports the firm is “opening Fuse, a new tech innovation space where tech companies, Allen & Overy lawyers, technologists and their clients will collaborate to explore, develop and test legal, regulatory and deal-related solutions.” Legal IT Insider, 22 Nov 2017, provides details in Fuse Update. |
| Ashurst | Ashurst Advance (March 2016) |
“Through Ashurst Advance, we are establishing an R&D capability to ensure that our offering continues to be market-leading and relevant. Applying insights from successful innovation in sectors outside legal, the Ashurst Advance team is focused on the capture, evaluation and deployment of new ideas, to ensure Ashurst remains at the forefront of change in the industry.” (See link) See also firm press release |
| Baker McKenzie | Design Thinking + Innovation program (Feb 2017) |
“Innovation Program to Reimagine the Business of Law:
|
| Blake Cassels | Nitro program (Nov 2017) |
“It takes a village to build a company and it’s not so simple as just giving legal advice,” said [serial entreprenuer] Hyatt, a nonlawyer who will work part time with the firm in his new role. “There’s a lot of street-level practical advice that needs to occur in building a company. Blake [Cassels] is really cutting edge by doing this.”” |
| Bryan Cave | Innovation Team (May 2016) |
“Our award-winning Client Technology group researches and develops new technologies to deliver improved and more cost-effective services to clients.” |
| Clifford Chance | Applied Solutions (Sep 2018) |
“Clifford Chance launched Applied Solutions in July to offer regulatory and compliance products to banking clients. It operates as a separate entity from the Clifford Chance LLP law firm.” New York Law Journal (7 Sep 2018) |
| Clyde & Co | Data analytics lab (Dec 2017) |
“Clyde & Co has launched an in-house data analytics lab in partnership with University College London… is intended to help Clyde & Co accelerate exploration of product development in 2018.” Legal IT Insider (12 Dec 2017) |
| CMS UK | By Design (Sep 2018) |
“International law firm CMS UK has today announced the launch of a dedicated group bringing together specialists from across the firm to focus on the future of its legal service design, delivery and technology for clients.” CMS Launches ‘By Design’ Legal Delivery Group (Artificial Lawyer, 13 Sep 2018)) |
| Cuatrecasas | R&D (June 2015) |
Cuatrecasas brings in R&D budget and eyes startup market, Legal IT Insider (pdf, p 2), March 2016 |
| DAC Beachcroft | Innovations Labs (May 2015) |
DAC Beachcroft Claims Solutions Group has unveiled details of its Innovations Lab, a new R&D hub. Operating as a physical and virtual space, Innovations Lab will provide a creative environment in which multi-disciplinary teams of lawyers and operational experts can work collaboratively with clients and the wider insurance market to identify, evaluate, design, prototype and launch new commercial products and services. |
| Davis Wright Tremaine | DWT De Novo (?) |
“Through DWT De Novo, the research and development arm of Davis Wright Tremaine, we’re re-imagining legal services. By applying people, process, and technology in new ways, our firm is delivering more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective legal services, ….” [De Novo home page] |
| Dentons | NextLaw Labs (May 2015) |
“a global collaborative innovation platform focused on developing, deploying, and investing in new technologies and processes to transform the practice of law around the world.” (Firm press release – see link) |
| Freshfields | Global Associate Innovation Group (Nov 2016) |
Associates “will pitch their ideas at a senior level and any ideas that have legs will be given financial backing.” Legal IT Insider (March 2017, p. 5) |
| Gilbert & Tobin (Australia) |
g+t <i> (2015) |
“g+t<i> brings together the G+T team with clients + startups to explore better ways of meeting the needs of our clients, new business models and more efficient business processes [via] rapid prototyping and a ‘fail fast’ and learn methodology. The g+t<i> team’s R&D process moves ideas and opportunities through 3 main phases:” Investigate, Incubate, Implement |
| Kennedys | Ideas Lab (July 2017) |
“supported by ideation software Ideawake, is a platform through which any member of the firm can come forward with ideas about how to create future products + deliver modern legal services… anchored to the firm’s core principle of helping clients to use lawyers less.” Legal IT Insider (27 July 2017) |
| Kennedy Van der Laan (Netherlands) |
Dedicated R&D Resources (Mar 2016) |
Independent “operating Knowledge and Innovation Center with [its] own Research and Development Budget” Firm brochure (PDF, downloaded March 2016) |
| Mishcon de Reya (UK) |
MDR Lab (2017) |
“programme for tech start-ups in the legal space” |
| Ogletree Deakins | Innovations (2018) |
Innovations page plus see LEI article where CKO discusses R&D Council + annual Innovation Summit |
| Orrick | Orrick Labs (Nov 2017) |
“Orrick Labs looks at opportunities to be more efficient, improve quality and reduce human error, such as document categorization, drafting, transaction automation, contract review and complex legal queries” Labs landing page “firm recently hired three developers to staff an internal technology ‘incubator,’” Big Law Business (14 Nov 2017) |
| Osborne Clarke | Tech-related R&D (Nov 2016) |
“Osborne Clarke has set up an R&D budget specifically aimed at technology-related innovation as part of a push to grow technology investment levels firm-wide.” The Lawyer (29 Nov 2016); Legal IT Insider (30 Nov 2016) |
| Reed Smith | GravityStack R&D (Sep 2018) |
A “US subsidiary to house the solutions and products it already licenses out as well as provide legal technology and systems ‘counseling’ and managed solutions.” Reed Smith launches legal tech subsidiary GravityStack (Legal It Insider, 29 April 2018); |
| Simmons & Simmons | Time off for innovation (Nov 2016) |
Initiative launched, Nov 2016, to encourage lawyers + staff to apply for time to develop ideas. Simmons invites lawyers to pitch for time off from fee earning to develop innovative ideas, Legal Week, 17 Nov 2016 |
Law Firms with Partnerships for R&D
| Firm | Business Partner (Date) |
Reference(s) + Comment(s) |
| Allen & Overy and Baker McKenzie | Ulster University (Feb 2017) |
Legal Futures article (21 Feb 2017) |
| Blakes | MaRS (Feb 2016) |
Firm landing page describing initiative. |
| McCarthy Tetrault | MaRS (Nov 2015) |
Firm landing page describing initiative. |
| Osler | Legal Innovation Zone (Jan 2016) |
Firm landing page describing initiative. |