Fastcase 50 Honours Friends of Slaw

Fastcase has just announced the Fastcase 50, the “fifty most interesting, provocative, and courageous leaders in the world of law, scholarship, and legal technology”. The entire list is interesting but let’s mention 5 friends who may be familiar to Slaw readers.

Congratulations to each of them:

David Whelan
David Whelan is a lawyer, librarian, and technologist who has truly seen it all. He currently serves as the Manager of Legal Information for the Law Society of Upper Canada (as head librarian of the Great Library, the job is often referred to as “the Great Librarian”). David previously served as Director of the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center, and is a frequent writer and speaker on legal technology and information topics. His book Finding and Managing Legal Information on the Internet was published in 2010. He has lectured on network technology, information systems, Web design, and legal research at three U.S. graduate schools. His roles revolve around improving lawyer access to information, managing law libraries and content and corporate records teams.

Catherine Sanders Reach
Catherine Sanders Reach is one of the leading lights on the use of technology in the law office. Catherine is the Director of the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center, and is an organizer of ABA Techshow. She is an active speaker at legal conferences regarding the use of technology in legal practice, and has published articles in Law Practice magazine, Law Technology News and GPSolo magazine on topics including the best way to maximize legal research dollars.

Robert Ambrogi
Bob Ambrogi is one of the most respected lawyers, arbitrators, and legal technology journalists. He has been a legal publisher, podcaster, blogger, and expert in legal technology for decades. With one part humor, one part curiosity, one part critical thinking, and very fast writing, Bob has managed to remain a unique voice in legal writing. And his opinions are required reading for tech lawyers and software companies alike.

Tom Bruce
If Tom Bruce is anything, he is a rebel. As Director and co-founder of the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School, Tom is a world leader in democratizing the law. In fact, LIIs around the world have followed Cornell’s example — today Legal Information Institutes promote the rule of law around the world. Tom is known for developing Cello, the first MS Windows web browser in the early 1990’s, and a celebrated pioneer of open access in the legal community with the Legal Education Document Archive (LEDA). He is more knowledgeable about legal information than almost every lawyer in the world — even though he himself is not a lawyer. He is also known for a subversive sense of humor, possibly cultivated as a touring roadie with some of the largest rock acts in the world.

Jean O’Grady
Jean O’Grady is leading the transformation of one of America’s largest law libraries. She’s the Director of Research Services and Libraries at DLA Piper and creator and source of the call-it-as-she-sees-it “Dewey B Strategic” blog covering the strategic importance of libraries and the legal profession. Since launching her blog in early 2011, Jean’s posts have spurred conversations among today’s legal technology thought leaders. Jean has an extensive career in legal research including serving as Director of Information Services at WilmerHale and as Director of Legal Information Services at Shea & Gould.