In the midst of torrential downpour and flash floods, more than fifty intrepid developers and lawyers turned out for Internet Week NY's Disrupt Law!! Spark-athon.  Soggy and enthusiastic, they networked for new legaltech in a great space provided by WeWork Labs in Soho. 

Dreamhost prizes were won by Hector and Paul (below left) for their ideas and enthusiasm.  We're not going to spill the beans about those here - LawTechIntersect has promised to host a VC/Angel pitch night if four new ventures were sparked!  The crowd was pin-drop quiet for great talks by Tom Chernaik (CEO, CMP.LY), Steven Cherry (Journalist, @TechWisePodcast), and Matt Hall (Founder, Docracy).  Tom announced CMP.LY's exciting new Command Post product!  Steven taught us we better get working on our kaggle score.  And, we saw a real live Docracy-crush by a very happy user.   

Thanks are due to volunteers Jennifer, Jared, Taier, Matthew, and Lesley, and for the help from Jonathan Askin.  Thanks, too, for support from the members of New York Tech Meetup, New York Legal Hackers, and nyhackers!

The Disrupt Law!! Spark-athon is sold out!  I knew it would be exciting to put on an InternetWeekNY event.  We're bringing together Matt Hall (Founder, Docracy), Tom Chernaik (CEO, CMP.LY), and Steven Cherry (Journalist, @TechWisePodcast) to inspire 25 lawyers and 25 hackers brainstorming new legaltech projects and ventures. We added in a happy hour - the space and the beer donated by WeWork Labs in Soho - and prizes - Grand Prize donated by Dreamhost.

 

But, I had no idea how exciting it would be.  We've got a waiting list! We've received tremendous support from the New York  Legal Hackers and the nyhacker meetups. Jonathan Askin, a noted tech law professor, is going to participate.  Extra thanks to him for pitching in getting the word out and adding volunteers. And, Josh Kubicki, author of the TechCocktail blog I've been quoting, has come in from Cincinnati to participate!

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a fan of InternetWeekNY - now 45,000+ New Yorkers mingling to teach, pitch, and network all manner of things web.  So, this year, I'm the proud sponsor of an event.  On Thursday, May 23, from 4pm to 6pm, I'll be hosting DISRUPT LAW!! SPARK-ATHON in Soho.  

The event will include speed-networking and collaborative brainstorming among 25 innovation-oriented lawyers and 25 venture-seeking hackers/developers.  The goal is to spark new legaltech ventures in disruptive legal technology.  For those not in the startup scene, that's "disruptive" as in "ground-breaking innovativion" NOT as in "breaking someone else's technology.'" 

Motivating descriptions of successful ventures will be provided by Matt Hall, co-founder of Docracy; Tom Chernaik, CEO of CMP.LY; and one more surprise.  Docracy was the winner of the TechCrunch Disrupt NY Hackathon in 2011; it offers an open collection of legal contracts and a mechanism to negotiate and sign documents online.  CMP.LY provides a full and creative suite of tools for compliance and risk management for social media.  And, of course, there'll be a little something to eat and drink.

I haven't been this excited since I created the LinkedData Lab, which launched new careers and companies.  Can't wait to see what Disrupt Law!! brings!  

Follow this event on twitter - #DisruptLawIWNY