Since 2011 Fastcase has been honoring 50 legal trailblazers each year. Fastcase describes the award recognizing “pioneering people who have made important contributions to the legal profession, for 
practitioners and the public.” The honorees for the Fastcase 50 Class of 2020 represent a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, law librarians, judges, bar association leaders, legal innovators, and people who are passionate about reforming and automating the law.
I want to give a shout out to librarian colleagues:
Cynthia Brown, Senior Director of Research Services, Littler Mendelson
Michelle Cosby, Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
Andre Davison, Research Technology Manager, Blank Rome LLP
Diana Koppang, Director of Research & Competitive Intelligence, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Kim Nayyer, Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Associate Dean for Library Services, Cornell Law
Teresa Miguel-Stearns, Director, Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library at The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Thrilled to see the Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy who keynoted the AALL Annual Meeting in 2017 on the list: Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative; Clinical Professor, New York University School of Law
Since I cover the legal tech market in this blog It is great to see so many familiar names and companies on the Fastcase 50 list.
Josh Blandi, CEO and Co-Founder, UniCourt
Dave DiCicco, Senior Director of Product Planning, LexisNexis
Cara Griffith, President and CEO, Tax Analysts
Dave Harriman, CEO, Casemaker
Shannon Hein, Executive Vice President, William S. Hein & Co. Inc.
Shane Marmion, President, William S. Hein & Co. Inc.
Steven Lofchie, Partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Founder, Cadwalader Cabinet
Catherine Alman MacDonagh, CEO and Founder, Legal Lean Sigma Institute LLC
Kara O’Brien, Vice President, Programs, Practising Law Institute
David Pinke, Product Owner, Digital Online, Practising Law Institute
Noah Waisberg, CEO, Kira Systems
The Fastcase 50 list is a reminder that there are important innovations going on in courts,federal agencies, public interest organizations, bar associations and start-ups that I still need to learn about.
Thanks to Fastcase Co-Founders, Ed Walter and Phil Rosenthal, for keeping the Fastcase 50 parade alive, even in the most disrupted of times. We all need to read these stories of hope and determination encapsulated in the Fastcase 50 profiles at http://www.fastcase.com/fastcase50
Here is the full press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2020
Media Contacts:
Jennifer Brand Ransom, Fastcase Media Relations
202.731.2114
jbransom@brandsolutionsgroup.com
Fastcase Announces 2020 “Fastcase 50” Award Winners
Honors 50 Innovators, Visionaries, and Leaders in Law
Washington, DC (August 25, 2020) – Legal publisher Fastcase today announced the company’s annual list of “Fastcase 50” honorees. Selected from online nominations, the award recognizes the year’s smartest, most courageous, innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law.he Fastcase 50 has applauded the most fascinating trailblazers and architects of the future of law and legal technology. The award recognizes pioneering people who have made important contributions to the legal profession, for practitioners and the public. The honorees for the Fastcase 50 Class of 2020 represent a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, law librarians, judges, bar association leaders, legal innovators, and people who are passionate about reforming and automating the law.
View the 2020 winners at http://www.fastcase.com/fastcase50
Fastcase is happy to introduce the Fastcase 50 Class of 2020. Each year since the inaugural awards in 2011, the Fastcase 50 has applauded the most fascinating trailblazers and architects of the future of law and legal technology. The award recognizes pioneering people who have made important contributions to the legal profession, for practitioners and the public. The honorees for the Fastcase 50 Class of 2020 represent a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, law librarians, judges, bar association leaders, legal innovators, and people who are passionate about reforming and automating the law.
“2020 has been an incredibly difficult year, and in times like these, it’s especially important to draw inspiration from others,” said Fastcase CEO Ed Walters. “We have lost friends and heroes, learned from the great example of others, and witnessed a year of action on civil rights, criminal justice reform, and access to justice. We are as proud as ever to spotlight the tenth class of the Fastcase 50, highlighting now 500 people who have inspired our profession, since our first class in 2011.”
Congratulations to the following Fastcase 50 award recipients:
Hon. Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Josh Blandi, CEO and Co-Founder, UniCourt
Cynthia Brown, Senior Director of Research Services, Littler Mendelson
Tiela Chalmers, CEO and General Counsel, Alameda County Bar Association
Lisa Colpoys, Program Director, Institute for the Future of Law Practice
Michelle Cosby, Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
Andre Davison, Research Technology Manager, Blank Rome LLP
Dave DiCicco, Senior Director of Product Planning, LexisNexis
James Dimos (In Memoriam), Associate Executive Director and General Counsel, American Bar Association
Ona Alston Dosunmu, Executive Director, California Lawyers Association
Ronald Drescher, Attorney, Drescher & Associates, P.A
Daniel Farris, Founder, Proxy and NMBL Technologies; Partner, K&L Gates LLP
Alli Gerkman (In Memoriam), Former Senior Director, The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System; Founder, Foundations for Practice at the University of Denver
Cara Griffith, President and CEO, Tax Analysts
Dave Harriman, CEO, Casemaker
Shannon Hein, Executive Vice President, William S. Hein & Co. Inc.
Hon. Thelton Henderson, Inactive Senior United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Shon Hopwood, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Vasu Kappettu, COO and CTO, Justia
Liz Keith, Program Director, Pro Bono Net
Jeff Kelly, Chair, Future of Law Committee, North Carolina Bar Association
Diana Koppang, Director of Research & Competitive Intelligence, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Steven Lofchie, Partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Founder, Cadwalader Cabinet
Catherine Alman MacDonagh, CEO and Founder, Legal Lean Sigma Institute LLC
Olga Mack, CEO, Parley Pro
Shane Marmion, President, William S. Hein & Co. Inc.
Hon. Bridget Mary McCormack, Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court; Co-Chair, Michigan Post-Pandemic Planning Technology Workgroup
Erie Meyer, Technology Advisor for Commissioner Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commission; Co-founder, Tech Ladymafia
Teresa Miguel-Stearns, Director, Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library at The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
David Miranda, Partner, Heslin Rothenberg Farely Mesiti; Former President, New York State Bar Association
Kim Nayyer, Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Associate Dean for Library Services, Cornell Law
Kara O’Brien, Vice President, Programs, Practising Law Institute
Ian O’Flaherty, Founder and CEO, LIT Software LLC
Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel, Marsh & McLennan Companies
David Pinke, Product Owner, Digital Online, Practising Law Institute
Natalie Pierce, Shareholder and Co-Chair, Robotics, AI and Automation Practice Group, Littler Mendelson
Basha Rubin, CEO, Priori Legal
David Shapiro (In Memoriam), Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft
Graham Smith-Bernal, Founder and CEO, Opus 2
Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative; Clinical Professor, New York University School of Law
Matthew Stubenberg, Associate Director of Legal Technology, Access to Justice Lab, Harvard Law School; President, MDLegal Apps
Hon. John Tran, Judge, Fairfax County Circuit Court
Cathy Underwood, Freelance Legal Editor
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Penn State Law; Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar and Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic
Noah Waisberg, CEO, Kira Systems
Hon. Stephen Williams (In Memoriam), Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Natalie Worsfold, Co-Creator, CounterMeasure; Product Manager, Counter Tax Lawyers
Bob Young, Founder, Lulu Press
Rachel Zahorsky, Director of Marketing and Senior Leader, Novus Law LLC
To view profiles of each of the winners and to learn more about the Fastcase 50 award, visit http://www.fastcase.com/fastcase50
