2021 Awards Announced

InnovAction Award
Recipient: Digitory Legal, together with its client, Kaiser Permanente—Designing a Data-Driven Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Program
Key Team Members: Catherine Krow and Aurelia Spivey
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Building a successful data-driven equity, diversity, and inclusion (EID) program starts with leadership. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is taking action to identify implicit bias at the source—staffing and work allocation—with high-quality data. Through this program, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is able to leverage data to get a deeper understanding of the type and quality of work that diverse lawyers are doing by separating the strategic, client-facing work from more routine, administrative tasks.

Driving change with legal service providers must begin with a recognition that not all work provides career-advancing opportunities—for anyone—and must build in intentionality at every step. Quality data, meaningful metrics, and effective change management are foundational steps towards impactful, data-driven diversity initiatives that will help bridge the diversity gap in upper levels of leadership in the industry.

Digitory is fortunate to work alongside the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan which has a long-term commitment to EID and a vision to further advance EID through data-optimization. Digitory’s diversity analytics tools enable clients to see where there are gaps in representation and highlight firms that are putting their diversity commitments into action.

InnovActor Award
Recipient: Liz Keith, Program Director at Pro Bono Net
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Liz KeithLiz Keith is, and has been for almost two decades, a national leader working to bring the power of the law to all by building cutting-edge digital tools and strengthening collaboration in the civil justice sector to implement those tools broadly and effectively.

From 2004 through 2014, Liz served as regional and then national head of Pro Bono Net’s LawHelp.org and ProBono.net initiatives, developing statewide legal information and pro bono mobilization websites in over 25 states. LawHelp sites were often the first-ever free, statewide legal online resource and the first statewide collaborations among civil justice organizations.

During that time, Liz also worked closely with Pro Bono Net’s Executive Director and LawHelp Interactive team to launch and grow LawHelp Interactive, a Pro Bono Net initiative that is the most intensively used legal tech system in the public sphere. LHI serves thousands of self-represented people as well as navigators, advocates and court systems in 47 states, delivering more than 500,000 free, automated legal documents every year.

In 2013, Liz extended her portfolio, becoming Program Director responsible for all Pro Bono Net national civil justice initiatives, including, as examples:

  • LawHelp Interactive
  • National Disaster Legal Aid Resource Center—tools and resources for disaster response advocates across the country
  • Elder Justice Initiatives—including a US Department of Justice-funded Legal Risk Detector tool for social workers, nurses, and other professionals
  • Crime Victims Networks—legal rights and help for victims of crimes
  • Remote Legal Connect—tech platform enabling advocates to build and manage legal support programs regardless of location
  • Legal Empowerment Initiatives—Tools and strategies that help make the legal system more accessible and responsive for all communities

InnovAction Rising Star
Inaugural Recipient: Julia Farr, Senior Manager, Osler Dash at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
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Julia Farr is Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt’s first-ever dedicated Senior Product Manager. She manages Osler Dash, the firm's marketleading automated platform for managing franchise disclosure and contracting. Not only does she oversee the client onboarding process, product strategy and sales processes, she manages the product development roadmap and day-to-day operations of Osler Dash.

Julia has impressively—and deservedly—risen through the ranks at Osler, and has worked in various roles with both the firm’s Practice Management and Innovation teams. In addition to driving significant multi-year revenue through the sale and support of Osler Dash, Julia helped develop and implement the firm’s national alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), and has worked with firm leadership on important process improvement initiatives and creating cutting edge products and services. She leverages her PMP and background in traditional legal project management to add value in every role she’s held.

Julia’s efforts have also paved the way for a growing products business through the development of precedent material and best practices around sales strategy, legal and contracting issues, customer training and support, and development of sales targets and KPI reporting. Julia has also made significant contributions to other firm product builds and strategy. Put simply, Julia is a leader in the legal market through her continued success in implementing innovative technology solutions.