about the iLAB
PURPOSE
The practice of law, like much of 21st century commerce, is intertwined with technology. Your client journey and the successful outcome of your legal problems are enhanced by our technology solutions.
Formally established in 2018, the Holland & Hart Innovation Lab (“ILab”) comprises a diverse group of technology professionals from software engineers to AI experts. The ILab serves as a “startup-within-a-law-firm”, providing the expertise to rapidly develop new solutions for clients and practitioners, while keeping the firm at the cutting edge of advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML) and other technologies, as they remake the landscape of legal service delivery.
APPROACH
The Innovation Lab operates within an agile development framework emphasizing collaborative engagement and iterative prototyping. This collaborative spirit is reflected in its close partnership with both legal practitioners and key clients. From automation pipelines, to complex document generation, to predictive analytics, and AI-driven semantic search functionality – this iterative approach has produced smart solutions that increase both the quality and efficiency of legal services delivered to our clients.
VALUE
The Lab builds a wide range of automation tools which can be customized to a specific client’s needs or developed for broad application across the firm. These tools have provided notable benefits in speeding up processes, reducing workloads, and enhancing performance.
In developing our tools, The ILab will evaluate and selectively incorporate an array of advanced technologies. In particular, the explosive growth in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning are especially promising fields of opportunity. Today’s AI models for text generation and document search are incredibly powerful and can be precisely tuned to support specific client needs and Holland & Hart’s unique legal expertise.
wHO WE ARE
ABOUT THE ILAB
who we are
The Innovation Lab was established by technology-minded practitioners at the firm who were early adopters of “legaltech.” They recognized the promise of applying the ever-growing advancements in software-based technologies towards the legal industry. Today, the Lab is composed of software developers, solutions engineers, and data scientists, who work in close partnership with our legal practitioners to develop a variety of tech-driven solutions.
Jason Adaska, Director of Innovation
With experience building and leading a diverse set of technical teams, from advanced R&D efforts to product-driven software development, Dr. Jason Adaska helps to keep Holland & Hart at the forefront of legal technology innovation.
As the Director of the Innovation Lab, Dr. Adaska is responsible for designing and executing the firm’s technology innovation initiatives. He works with firm leadership, legal practitioners, key clients, and the technical staff of the Innovation Lab to deliver
wHO WE ARE
ABOUT THE ILAB
impactful technology solutions that improve the quality and efficiency of Holland & Hart’s legal services. In addition, he serves as a liason for Holland & Hart in the broader the legal-tech community, serving on the advisory board of Silicon Flatirons, and the AI sub-committee of the AIPLA. Jason is also the Chief Technology Officer of the firm’s legal technology subsidiary, Juris Futura.
Prior to joining Holland & Hart in 2015, Dr. Adaska worked as a Program Director leading multi-million dollar R&D projects in the defense industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Cornell University, and a master’s and doctorate in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.
Dr. Gareth Middleton has been with the Innovation Lab as Principal Data Scientist since 2017, where he leads the development of the firm's AI technologies. His domain expertise allows the Innovation Lab to put new, cutting-edge AI technologies to use for the firm and its clients.
Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Dr. Middleton held a Senior Research Scientist position at the Numerica Corporation, where he focused on algorithms for
optimal resource management. He earned bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematical EconomicAnalysis, and a master’s and doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Rice University.
Gareth Middleton, Principal Data Scientist
BACKGROUND