Vanderbilt Law School’s Program on Law and Innovation hosts the Summit on Law and Innovation (SoLI) on Monday in Nashville.

Assuming you’ll not be there, you may register for a Livecast at a cost of $100. As a blogger, you may be comped livecast attendance by the hosts. Having gotten to know the organizers and many of the speakers, I expect it’ll be an excellent event,

SoLI sees legal education, legal practice, and legal technology developing independently of one another, intersecting at times but often following their own distinct paths.

We believe that now is the time to fully integrate and innovate the academy, practice, and technology facets of the legal profession, collaboratively creating new connections and breaking down silos that have kept them apart for too long.

SoLI’s theme of “Breaking Down Silos + Building Connections” brings together top thought and action leaders from legal academia, practicing attorneys, and technologists, to share knowledge, present alternative perspectives, and cross-pollinate ideas. SoLI’s ambitious plenary agenda includes keynote addresses, TED-style talks, dialogues between thought leaders and Summit participants, and a dynamic design thinking bootcamp inviting active collaboration among all attendees.

The co-organizers and driving forces of SoLI are Cat Moon, Adjumct Professor, Program on Law and Innovation.  Vanderbilt Law School and Larry Bridgesmith, Director and Adjunct Professor, Program on Law and Innovation at Vanderbilt Law.

Presenters include a talented cross section of legal tech and innovation.

  • Dean Chris Guthrie, Vanderbilt Law School
  • Alyson Carrel, Northwestern Law School
  • Casey Kuhlman, Monax
  • Rita Khanna, LexisNexis
  • Elizabeth Renieris, Ouroboros LLP + Evernym
  • Lawton Penn, Davis Wright Tremaine
  • JB Ruhl, Vanderbilt Law School
  • Joe Green, ThomsonReuters
  • Andy Daws, Kim Technologies
  • Ann Pruitt, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services
  • Kathleen Pearson, Pillsbury
  • Camille Reynolds, Fenwick & West
  • Teresa Walker, Waller
  • Brian Kuhn, IBM Watson Legal
  • Katrina Lee, Ohio State University Law School
  • Mary Juetten, Evolve Law
  • Patrick Palace, Palace Law
  • Marie Bernard, Nextlaw Labs
  • Alix Devendra, Start Here HQ
  • Nicole Braddick, Theory and Principle
  • Jose Torres, Universidad Sergio Arboleda

I don’t know that you can knock down the silos and bring about collaboration between legal companies, practicing lawyers and academia in a conference. That’s more likely to take place via discussion and debate on the Internet by the folks here and many others. But conferences like this are good start.

In the future, I’d suggest conferences not charge for Livecasts. Breaking down the silos requires open and free discussion — and your conference’s cause, mission and discussion is carried much further when spread beyond the conference hall’s four walls.