The MDR Lab Opens Applications for 2018
An unparalleled opportunity for those in legal tech
Mishcon de Reya is an international law firm of over 800 people with offices in London and New York. I first got to know something about Mishcon when I heard Elliot Moss, know a Partner and the firm’s Director of Business Development, speak at a conference we both attended in Spain. So far, my bland description of Mishcon does not do justice to the firm. Mishcon is a firm that has embraced change, technology, and the future of law.
Today, it seems most firms want to make that same statement. So what distinguishes Mishcon? For those of you who follow me, you know that I seldom talk about specific firms or products. Why break with my tradition? For a few reasons.
First, after my second retirement (it’s bad when you number them) a few months ago, I had a list of people and places that had intrigued me over the years. I decided to explore working with those on the list. Not because I was in the hunt for a job (the opposite, actually). I was in the hunt to do something with people and places that were actually doing change instead of talking about it. Mishcon, in my mind, distinguished itself in that way.
Second, I have seen innovation moving forward in the London market in ways different than (more) the United States market. Most of what I see in the US can be defined as incremental. In London, I see a few spots of disruptive innovation, and the MDR Lab (I’ll get there in a moment) is one of them.
Third, there is Nick West, Mishcon’s Chief Technology Officer, who is driving the MDR Lab effort. Nick comes from a consulting background into Mishcon. He looks at building Mishcon’s capabilities in an organic and dynamic way. Put another way, he wants to explore what will make Mishcon the technological leader in the practice of law in the next 10 years and is willing to go around the globe to find it.
I reached out to Elliot and Nick and made a big ask: is there any way I can work with you? That conversation led to a role on the MDR Lab Advisory Board.
MDR Lab
The MDR Lab is a joint effort of Mishcon and L Marks. For legaltech entrepreneurs, it is hard to find something that matches the program. The 2017 program was a great success. For 10 weeks, program participants were embedded in Mishcon’s offices. They had access to the firm’s attorneys, which is to say they worked with them daily. Think what 10 weeks of intensive product development could do if that time was being spent with your target client.
One carrot in the program is the possibility of a follow-on investment by Mishcon. That happened with two of the 2017 participants: Everchron and Ping. This is why Mishcon was on my shortlist — the firm acts it doesn’t just post press releases.
Applications for the 2018 cohort of the MDR Lab are now being accepted — through February 18. You can find the complete timeline for 2018 here. Nick is casting a wide net as he hunts for the right technology, so it is hard to imagine anything worth looking at doesn’t hit at least one of the MDR Lab categories.
As I noted, I am on the Lab’s Advisory Board, so feel free to reach out to me if I can help. The other Members of the Board (luminaries, all) are: Daniel van Binsbergen — CEO, Lexoo; Liam Brown — Founder and Executive Chairman, Elevate Services Inc; Amy ter Haar — President of Integra Canada; Noa Mayer — Head of Business Development and Innovation, Yigal, Arnon & Co; Titus Rahiri — Founder & Director, KorumLegal; and Noah Waisberg — co-founder and CEO, Kira Systems. They too, can help you get on your way.
As legaltech grows, sorting those who are the real players from those who aren’t gets more time consuming. MDR Lab is in this space for many reasons, but one is because Elliot, Nick, and Mishcon are committed to building the technologically-enabled law practice of the future and have acted on that vision, not just created marketing materials.
