Husch Blackwell wins award for legal innovation in operations

The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium has named a Husch Blackwell project designed to manage a portfolio of litigation as one of its inaugural Legal Innovation in Operations Project award winners.

The firm announced the award on Thursday.  Its winning project used technology to help manage Marley-Wylain Company’s portfolio of asbestos-related litigation. 

Husch Blackwell adopted a fixed-fee system that decreased legal spending, reduced risk and provided protection for the company. To achieve its goals, the firm designed a customized and integrated digital environment that manages data from thousands of claims, works with client resources and syncs with the firm’s e-billing portal.

As Marley-Wylain’s national coordinating counsel, Husch Blackwell was able, with its asbestos defense solutions team, to reduce the company’s legal costs by 30%.

J.Y. Miller, the Husch Blackwell partner in charge of the Marley-Wylain representation, said the collaborative project blended legal knowledge with technology to deal with emerging matters.

The consortium, a member-run organization aiming to innovate operations in the legal industry, introduced the award this year to honor innovation and design excellence in legal operations. It selected three firms as inaugural LIO Project designees.