The Search for Innovation Continues

The College of Law Practice Management is calling for entries for its 2008 InnovAction Awards.  This is a worldwide search for lawyers, law firms and other deliverers of legal services who have invented and successfully applied totally new business practices to the delivery of legal services.  The goal of the InnovAction Awards is to demonstrate to the legal community what can be created when passionate professionals, with big ideas and strong convictions, are determined to make a difference. 

“We are seeking and recognizing creativity and genuinely new ways of thinking in law practices wherever they may be,” said College President Simon Chester. “We know a good deal of innovative thinking is at work around the world to solve the business challenges faced by law firms in today’s competitive market. We want to focus the legal profession on these extraordinary achievements.”

“Lawyers love precedent,” says Merrilyn Astin Tarlton, Co-chair of the 2008 awards and past President of the College.  “It’s our goal to provide some new and inspiring precedent when it comes to managing the business of practicing law.”

The award recipients will be selected by the following blue-ribbon panel of judges in July.

• Maggie Callicrate, Partner, Kerma Partners.
• Thomas Clay, Principal, Altman Weil, Inc.
• Jordan Furlong, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Bar Association’s National Magazine.
• Gregory Siskind, Founding Partner, Siskind Susser and Bland.
• Merrilyn Astin Tarlton, Principal, Astin Tarlton.

The actual presentation of the awards will occur in September at the Annual Meeting and Induction Ceremony of the College in Chicago, Illinois.  Award entries will be judged on the basis of four primary criteria:

• Absence of precedent (never been done or done quite this way before.)
• Evidence of action (the innovative idea was transformed into action and not merely reflective of best intentions)
• Effectiveness of innovation (there is some measurable outcome that would indicate that the innovation is accomplishing what it was intended to do)
• Action must have taken place within no more than three years prior to this entry.

“There are many management challenges facing the legal profession, and too often we hear lawyers saying ‘We’ve never done it that way!’ or ‘Who else has done this?’" said Chuck Coulter, Co-chair of the InnovAction Awards and past President of the College. “We want to recognize and honor those who dare to think differently and succeed by doing so.”

The first three years of the InnovAction Award program saw award winners from locations around the world including: Sydney, Australia; Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Washington, DC; Birmingham, England; Chicago, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; Auckland, New Zealand; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Glasgow, Scotland.  Sponsors of the program learned that innovative thinking occurs in nearly every practice setting and size.

The 2008 InnovAction Awards are sponsored by the following organizations and companies with a passion for innovation: 

PLATINUM SPONSORS: Australian Lawyers Weekly and Greenfield/Belser Ltd.

GOLD SPONSORS: ABA Law Practice Management Section, the Canadian Bar Association, Compuware, International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) and Levick Strategic Communications.

SILVER SPONSORS: Altman Weil, Inc., Association of Legal Administrators, and Project Leadership Associates. 

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