Ballard Spahr Named a Finalist in Two Categories for The American Lawyer Industry Awards

The American Lawyer, a well-respected monthly legal magazine and website, has named Ballard Spahr a finalist for the publication’s 2021 Industry Awards in two categories: Best Diversity Initiative and Legal Services Innovation.

The Best Diversity Initiative award honors firm-wide efforts on diversity and inclusion in such areas as lawyer retention, promotion, and social justice work. Ballard Spahr made the shortlist based on the firm’s wide-ranging diversity initiative of more than 30 action items to address diversity, equality, and inclusion.

Components of the initiative, led by the firm’s Board, Diversity Council, and Diversity + Inclusion Department, include a comprehensive, firm-wide Plan to Strengthen Diversity and Inclusion, issued by the firm’s Board; outreach to support Black lawyers and staff in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death; the Racial Justice and Equality Initiative pro bono litigation campaign; fundraising efforts to support the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community during the pandemic in the face of a rise in anti-Asian incidents; and the Ballard 360 Diversity Dashboard, which uses technology to advance the firm’s goals and client expectations.

The Legal Services Innovation award honors innovation of legal service delivery to provide better value to clients. Ballard Spahr’s nomination for the award centered on two technology-driven solutions that we customize to meet clients’ needs, which vastly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of case and matter management. The first is the Retail Bankruptcy Tracker, a system that gives commercial landlords instant access to key documents, critical dates and deadlines, and matter management information. The second is our Patent Tracker, which gives our clients with large portfolios of patents real-time access to financial data and information from the patent docketing system so they have a full picture on matter status.

The trackers are part of the Ballard360 suite of proprietary technology tools developed by the firm’s Client Value and Innovation team in close partnership with firm lawyers and their clients. The trackers enable each member of the client’s team to access critical, real-time information, in an easily digestible format using helpful visuals, about cases and matters, including status, deadlines and other important dates, matter budget and spending information, and related documents.

Winners of the 2021 Industry Awards will be announced at a December 2 event in New York City.

For media inquiries, please contact Bill Shralow at 215.864.8195.