The legal field continues to grow because of innovators who use their legal expertise to build a new, more equitable future. As this industry undergoes massive change and adapts to the modern world, those in the field are using their lived experiences to make an impact.
Here are 6 legal trailblazers you need to know about.
For over 20 years, Nike Okediji has been working on the in-house legal team of GBH, self-described as the “leading producer of programming for public broadcasting.”
But when she isn’t making strategic business decisions to innovate in-house law at her workplace, she is dedicating time to building The Curated Curl, a natural hair community that puts on events in celebration of black hair. The Soulfully Natural Hair Festival — an event that showcases and empowers working Black women to celebrate their natural hair — is her brainchild.
Okediji beautifully combines her legal knowledge with pride in black culture. Nowhere is this clearer than on her LinkedIn, where she publishes and reposts content that lives at the intersection of Black hair and the law. In fact, in a recent post, she celebrated the passing of the Crown Act in Massachusetts, which outlaws discrimination against black women for wearing their natural hair to work.
Where legal tech and social justice meet, you will find Jazz Hampton. Hampton is CEO and General Counsel of TurnSignl, a black-owned tech company that connects drivers with real-life attorneys in the event of a traffic stop on an app that records the entire interaction.
He’s been featured on quite a few podcasts and passionately discusses the work he’s doing as GC of this innovative legal tech company. You can listen in on Technically Legal podcast, Seyfarth podcast, Legal Talk Network podcast, and even on MSNBC.
Hampton was recently celebrated as a 40 under 40 recipient from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business journal. Follow him on LinkedIn to learn more about his social justice and technology work.
Nicole Black is no stranger to the legal tech field and has been preaching about modernizing law firms for a number of years. In her journal articles and online publications, she expertly discusses ways that technology can help streamline outdated processes in legal practice management.
She’s co-authored 3 books: Cloud Computing for Lawyers (2012), Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier (2010), and Criminal Law in New York (2009). Outside of that, you can read her thoughts on the intersection of law and technology in ABA Journal, Above the Law, Attorney at Work, and elsewhere.
You can listen to her on Digital Edge Podcast or Seyfarth, and read her thoughts on the intersection of legal and technology on LinkedIn, where she has over 200k followers.
Sang Lee has a long and detailed history of entrepreneurship. Her latest venture is Thine, a Brooklyn-based SaaS company that provides recruitment solutions and sophisticated hiring algorithms for the modern law firm.
Lee has over two decades of experience in law as well as talent development and coaching. It’s obvious her passions sit at the intersection of these skills, as she’s founded other companies around law and recruiting. On top of that, she’s a founding member of Impact 100 NYC, a Board Member of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and a venture partner at NexGen Venture Partners.
Listen to some of her brilliant ideas on LawNext Podcast, Geek in Review Podcast, and the International Legal Technology Association Podcast.
Shain Filcher is all about giving back to their community of New York City. In addition to being Executive Director, they are also the President of the Board of the LGBT Bar Association, where they were also a volunteer attorney and attorney coordinator for four years.
For this work, they were recently recognized as one of the best LGBTQ+ lawyers under 40, and with good reason. In their work, they advocate and provide civil representation for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Currently, they are co-host of the LGBT Bar NY podcast alongside New York Law School professor, Art Leonard.
When Sarita Venkat left her role as Head of Global IP Transactions at Apple earlier this year, it almost broke the internet. Venkat is a highly recognized IP law expert and no doubt brings that expertise to work at Cisco.
More famously, Venkat is one of the co-hosts of the now-defunct podcast, Heels of Justice, which highlighted the contributions of powerful women in law who “are trailblazers in the field and paved the way for the rest of us.”
Venkat was recognized as part of the 2020 class of Women of Influence from the Silicon Valley Business Journal. On her LinkedIn, she gushes about the nonprofit organization Chiefs in Intellectual Property (ChIPs), where she will be a speaker at their global summit.
So there you have it - the 6 legal trailblazers you should all get to know. What an incredible list of humans to inspire us. Want more content like this? Subscribe to the LinkSquares blog for more features on trailblazers in the legal field.
Love talking about legal trailblazers? For anyone heading to ACC this fall, make sure you pop by our trailblazer-themed booth (#210) for some great swag.