Reed Smith announced that the firm will be honored in five categories at the upcoming Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards 2025. David Cohen is a winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award and Madeline Boyer, Ph.D., is a winner of the Monica Bay Women in Tech Law Award. The firm also was named a finalist for three more awards: Best Use of Artificial Intelligence; Best Use of Emerging Technology (Non-AI); and Regulatory, Governance and Compliance Technology.
All winners will be announced, and honorees celebrated, at the Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards and Dinner on Monday, March 24, during the Legalweek 2025 conference in New York.
Winners
As highlighted in Legaltech News, two leaders at Reed Smith were pre-announced as winners in two categories:
Lifetime Achievement Award: David Cohen, founder and leader of Reed Smith’s Records & E-Discovery team, is one of two winners of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Monica Bay Women of Legal Tech Award: Madeline Boyer, Ph.D., founder and director of Reed Smith’s global Innovation Lab, is one of five winners of this year’s Monica Bay Women of Legal Tech Award.
Finalists
Reed Smith also was named a finalist in the following three categories, with winners announced at the awards ceremony in March.
Best Use of Emerging Technology (Non-AI): Reed Smith was shortlisted for its ongoing work to build the law firm of the future, led by Chief Innovation Officer David Cunningham.
Last year, Cunningham and Jennifer Schreck, director of client intelligence, helped launch and expand the firm’s Strategic Intelligence Center of Excellence, which provides a platform for the firm’s Global Intelligence System—a unique blend of strategic planning, CRM, relationship analysis, marketing automation, expertise management, lateral due diligence, third-party experts, alumni intelligence, competitive intelligence, and deal tracking. The expansion included hiring Sara Lord, head of strategic insights, to provide data-based insights and establish business and client-centric metrics.
The firm also was highlighted for its Learning & Development tools, such as Reed Smith Campus, the firm’s online hub for its global L&D program, which is directed by L&D Senior Director Lauren Hakala.
Best Use of Artificial Intelligence: Reed Smith was shortlisted for its ongoing developments in generative AI, predictive AI, data science and other disciplines, as led by Richard Robbins, the firm’s first-ever director of applied AI.
Robbins leads a team of AI engineers and data scientists that works closely with the firm’s design and tech transformation resources, including its Innovation Lab, strategic client intelligence and financial intelligence teams, and Gravity Stack subsidiary.
In 2024, Robbins and Director of Global Research Brian Blaho led research and development, as well as alpha testing, for a group of vendors developing new generative AI capabilities in the legal market.
Last year, Reed Smith also welcomed its first director of change leadership, Adrienne Levine, who designs and facilitates awareness, understanding, adoption and measurable impact of the firm’s transformative initiatives.
Regulatory, Governance and Compliance Technology: Reed Smith was shortlisted for a project led by partners Jason Gordon and Robert Newman that drew upon the firm’s considerable in-house resources in practice innovation, records and e-discovery, and conflicts and risk management.
The team initially customized the firm’s conflicts intake and searching solution for Brookfield Properties Development to automate the client’s high volume of due diligence requests. The new tool allowed the client to screen each of its vendors according to its internal risk-assessment program, including reviewing for anti-bribery risk, responsible contractor laws, anti-money laundering, sanctions, workplace health and safety, and other regulatory and reputational risks.
The new tool greatly improved outcomes and budget predictability for the client, while reducing legal costs and time spent processing due diligence requests. It has since been successfully customized for other clients.
Original source can be found here.