Alma Asay, the former litigator who founded the litigation management platform Allegory Law, has joined the law firm Crowell & Moring as senior director of practice innovation and client value.
In partnership with the firm’s clients, Asay will focus on driving efficiency, delivering measurable value, and creating customized innovative service solutions, the firm said in announcing Asay’s hire.
Asay was a lawyer for more than six years at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher before launching Allegory in 2012 as one of the first cloud-based litigation management platforms.
When Allegory was purchased by Integreon Discovery Solutions in 2017, Asay became its chief innovation officer. In March 2020, Asay moved to Litera Microsystems, where she was a domain expert and advisor to clients on litigation.
After Asay moved to Litera, it acquired Allegory from Integreon.
“Alma brings a holistic approach to our client-facing efforts, drawing on her unique breadth of experience and valuable perspective recognizing the different legal and corporate roles she has held,” said Ellen Dwyer, chair of Crowell & Moring’s executive committee.
“She has a keen understanding of what clients need and some of the challenges they face, having been on the business side as a founder and CEO of her own company.”
In her new role, Asay will work with lawyers at the firm, as well as with the firm’s client development, pricing, legal project management, and information technology teams.
She will focus on delivering high-value, customized solutions to the firm’s clients in areas including matter management, process improvement, knowledge management, and technology applications.
She will also work with clients’ legal departments and legal operations teams to understand their priorities and challenges and deliver cost-effective and valued solutions, the firm said.
“I’ve learned a lot as an entrepreneur that I’m excited to apply to my new role, including the power of listening and what it means to deliver actual, sustainable innovation,” Asay said in a statement.
“Something that I’ve come to realize from my 10 years in legal technology is that we need to focus less on technology as the solution to fix all things and more on the specific challenges that clients are facing in real time,” Asay said.
Asay has been a frequent author and speaker on innovation in the legal industry and has appeared on podcasts (including one I formerly hosted), at conferences, and hosted her own series on Litera TV.
I featured her in an essay I wrote, 2017: The Year of Women in Legal Tech.
