Contact: Mark Fefer, Marketing Communications, 206.757.8583 or markfefer@dwt.com
DECEMBER 13, 2017 – Davis Wright Tremaine has once again been recognized as one of the most innovative law firms in the world. In rankings released this week, the Financial Times named Davis Wright Tremaine the top firm for “Redesigning the service & delivery model” and included the firm in its list of North America’s 25 most innovative law firms overall.
Said the FT: Davis Wright Tremaine “has redefined the approach to legal problems.” With a focus on “root-cause analysis, process engineering, and data visualization,” the firm’s DWT De Novo platform addresses clients’ pain points “on a bespoke basis, automating repetitive tasks and streamlining processes.”
This is the second year in a row Davis Wright Tremaine has been named a “Standout” in the “service & delivery” category.
The firm also earned “Commended” recognition for its “DWT Surge” alternative staffing program. DWT Surge recruits high-quality legal professionals, provides them a thorough grounding in individual clients’ needs and preferences, and deploys them, on-demand, for short- and long-term assignments, overseen by firm partners. The program provides clients better integration and fewer administrative headaches and quality-control issues than they might experience with staffing agencies or LPOs.
The FT Innovative Lawyers Awards, conducted in partnership with industry think tank RSG Consulting, are widely recognized as among the best-researched in the industry. Firm performance is assessed for “originality, leadership, and impact” and firms are ranked for “delivering exceptional value to business.” In-depth interviews with firm clients play a central part in the evaluation process.
In an interview published in the FT, DWT De Novo leader Lawton Penn said her cross-functional team employs “tricks and tools that businesses have been using for years” but that have not been as prevalent in legal services. These include: process-mapping; data capture, analysis, and visualization; and the use of dashboards to help clients track the progress, status, and cost of legal matters.
The FT noted that Penn’s team “benefits from including people with fresh insights,” bringing backgrounds that range “from legal tech and recruitment to consulting and information science, as well as law firm and in-house experience.”
Commenting on the FT award, Davis Wright Tremaine firmwide managing partner Jeff Gray said: “Listening to our clients has always been the best guide for us. They have been telling us they want more value from their law firms. We are working hard to be a different and better kind of law firm, and we’re pleased to see our progress recognized. We will continue to partner closely with our clients to find solutions that meet their definition of success.”
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with over 550 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. In 2016, the firm was named “Innovative Law Firm of the Year” for an unprecedented second year in a row by the International Legal Technology Association. For more information, visit www.dwt.com or denovo.dwt.com.