FT Names Orrick North America’s Most Innovative Law Firm for Second Year in a Row

Financial Times has named Orrick North America’s Most Innovative Law Firm in its 2017 report. The firm is recognized for eight different innovations, including novel advice for clients in the Tech, Energy & Infrastructure and Finance sectors, and legal service solutions that enhance value. In addition, FT selected John Bautista as one of the 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year, calling him “one of the most influential lawyers in the technology ecosystem of Silicon Valley.”

Orrick’s litigation case management system, CaseStream, was named the most innovative new product and service, and Orrick Analytics, a service that draws on Artificial Intelligence and other technologies, is #3 in this category. 

“We are excited to be among the leading law firms, corporate legal departments and other companies helping the legal industry catch up on innovation,” said Mitch Zuklie, Orrick’s Chairman and CEO. “Our clients are focused on innovating and adding value, and we share that commitment for many reasons. We believe the opportunities are enormous.”

FT cited Orrick’s creativity across all three categories the judges consider: Legal Expertise, Social Responsibility and Business of Law, including:

• Driving Value
  • Our work for Goldman Sachs and the Calvert Foundation on the world’s first Environmental Impact Bond which will fund the construction of green infrastructure in Washington, D.C. Our team was led by Darrin Glymph.  
  • Our development of an innovative deal structure for Apex Clean Energy in connection with a first-of-its-kind hybrid energy project for the U.S. Army at Fort Hood. Our team was led by Chris Gladbach and Paul Zarnowiecki.
• Accessing New Markets and Capital
  • Our development of GO Savers, a pooled financing program that allows California’s school districts to easily refinance outstanding general obligation bonds by collaborating and sharing upfront costs. Our team was led by John Palmer.
• Rule of Law and Access to Justice
  • Our collaboration with the ACLU in orchestrating a groundbreaking class-action settlement that makes it easier for detained immigrants to access phones and secure legal counsel and assistance.
• New Products and Services
  • CaseStream, our litigation case management system, which we used to manage a series of complex IP cases for Microsoft. Our team is led by Wendy Curtis and Kate Orr.
  • Two unprecedented peer benchmarking studies of the corporate governance structures of the largest Bay Area public companies and of companies in the Dow Jones Tech index
  • Our collaboration with Applied Materials to create an interdisciplinary process map for legal services, which enables Applied’s legal department to gain efficiency, transparency and cost-savings. Our team was led by Wendy Curtis.
• New Business and Service Delivery Models
  • Orrick Analytics, which we used to conduct due diligence for our client Maple Life – at a level of quality, speed and cost savings that far surpasses the traditional model. Our team was led by Laura Metzger and Daryl Shetterly.

This is the first time FT has selected the same firm two years in a row as the Most Innovative North American Law Firm, and Orrick has been featured in the report every year since the inaugural report in 2010.