Know Anyone Doing Something Truly Spectacular in Legal? Nominate Them for a COLPM InnovAction Award

The College of Law Practice Management (“COLPM”), an international organization honoring excellence and innovation in law practice management, is calling for entries for its 2014 InnovAction Awards. The awards seek lawyers, law firms, law departments, and other legal services professionals worldwide who have invented or successfully applied new business practices to the delivery of legal services. The goal of the InnovAction Awards is to demonstrate to the legal community and beyond the power of dedicated professionals with big ideas, strong convictions, and the determination to make a difference.

“We are seeking and recognizing creativity and new ways of thinking in legal services delivery,” said COLPM president Ron Staudt, Associate Vice President and Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law. “We know there is a great deal of innovative thinking helping create business advantages for law firms in today’s changing market. We want to focus the legal profession on these extraordinary achievements.”

“It’s our goal to reward recognize and celebrate the innovation already taking place, and to encourage more innovation in the business of practicing law across the profession,” said Timothy Corcoran, chair of the 2014 Awards and principal of the Corcoran Consulting Group.

“There are some exciting changes for the 2014 InnovAction Awards,” Corcoran continued. “We are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the InnovAction Awards and will be spotlighting InnovAction Award winners over the last 10 years to see where their innovation has taken them.”

Another change for the 10th anniversary is the addition of new categories. InnovAction Awards will be awarded in the following categories:

• In-House;
• Law Schools;
• Law Firms;
• Service Providers; and
• Pro Bono/Judiciary.

Award entries will be judged on the basis of four primary criteria:

• Originality: is this a novel idea or approach, or a new twist on an existing idea or approach?
• Disruption: does this entry change an important element of the legal services process – as well as marketplace expectations – for the better?
• Value: is the client and/or legal industry better off because of this entry in terms of the affordability, ease, relevance, or effect of legal services?
• Effectiveness: has this entry delivered real, demonstrable or measurable benefits for the provider, its clients, or the marketplace generally?

The presentation of the InnovAction awards will occur October 16-17 at the College’s Annual Meeting and Futures Conference in Boston, MA at Suffolk University College of Law.

The InnovAction program has awarded entities from six countries around the world, including Axiom, New York, NY; Berwin Leighton Paisner, LLP (BLP), London, United Kingdom; DLA Piper US, Washington, D.C.; The Law Chambers of Nicholas Critelli, P.C., Des Moines, IA; Littler Mendelson, PC, San Francisco, CA; Mallesons Stephen Jacques, Sydney, Australia; Masons, Glasgow, Scotland; Michigan State University College of Law, East Lansing, MI; New Family Organization, Tel Aviv, Israel; Novus Law, Chicago, IL; Practical Law Company, New York, NY; Pro Bono Net, New York, NY; Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon, LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Riverview Law, New York, NY; Seyfarth Shaw, Chicago, IL; Simpson Grierson, Auckland, New Zealand; University of California Irving College of Law, Irving, CA; University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Toronto, Ontario; and Wragge & Co., Birmingham, England.

Any lawyer, law firm, or entity providing services to clients in the legal marketplace anywhere in the world is eligible for consideration for the InnovAction Awards. Further information about the awards, past winners, eligibility rules, and entry forms are available at www.colpm.org and www.innovactionaward.com.

The College of Law Practice Management is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1994 to honor and recognize distinguished law practice management professionals, to set standards of achievement for others in the profession, and to fund and assist projects that enhance the highest quality of law practice management. The College and its Fellows inspire excellence and innovation in law practice management by:

• Honoring extraordinary achievement;
• Developing, exchanging, and disseminating knowledge; and
• Stimulating innovation in the delivery of legal services.