OnRamp Systems is a legal technology company that specializes in applying people, process, and technology in support of corporate legal departments. OnRamp System’s collaborative platform, Legal OnRamp, has been cited by Harvard Law School as one of the first to combine law and technology.[1]
History
editOnline Community
editIn 2007, OnRamp Systems founded a free collaboration platform called Legal OnRamp, for in-house counsel and private practitioners to connect and share information virtually.[2] Legal OnRamp featured many elements common to social networking websites, including message boards, blogs, databases, open and closed groups, calendars of professional events, and open forums for discussion and document sharing.[3] Membership was by invitation and limited to attorneys and third-party legal service providers.[4]
In 2014, Legal OnRamp re-launched its online platform updating some elements of the earlier site and incorporating more recently developed collaborative tools.[5]
OnRamp and Legal Innovation
editLed by its CEO Paul Lippe, Legal OnRamp is identified with innovation in the legal industry.[1] Specifically, Legal OnRamp has been noted for unconventional approaches to large-scale legal projects,[6][7] attorney training,[7][8] and legal work product.[9] In addition, Lippe writes for the American Bar Association Legal Rebels blog “the New Normal,” which discusses “how the practice of law is being remade.”[10]
Industry Support and Alliances
editMark Chandler, General Counsel for CISCO Systems, encouraged Lippe to build the collaborative platform aimed at negotiating proper value for work.[11] OnRamp has also garnered support from Allen & Overy, one of the UK’s “Magic Circle” firms.[6] In 2009, The Corporate Executive Board Company began a strategic collaboration with OnRamp as part of an initiative to bring new resources to law department members of the General Counsel Roundtable.[12] In 2010, the global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP increased its investment in Legal OnRamp.[13]
Development of Products and Services
editFollowing the success of the Legal OnRamp collaboration platform, OnRamp Systems launched a number of private, enterprise-scale, collaboration platform projects.[6] The OnRamp Exchange (ORX) system allows attorneys to collaborate with large teams as well as store and manage documents.[1] The focus of these projects is on managing legal complexity at the systems and data level, instead of relying on complex reasoning.[7]
Acquisition by Elevate
editOn April 28, 2016, Elevate announced that they purchased Legal onRamp.[14]
Products and Services
editOnRamp Systems Inc. offers large-scale legal analysis, hosted systems and applications, and planning and consulting services.[15] Applications include Resolution Planning under the Dodd-Frank Act, contract analysis for revenue recognition, and other large-scale legal functions in compliance, vendor management, finance, contract system improvements, and transactional legal projects (e.g. mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcy).[7] These projects may combine scaled services, process consulting, and technology elements.[15]
MOLA
editOnRamp employs a “Massive Online Legal Analysis” (or “MOLA”) approach to legal projects.[16] The term “MOLA” refers to a methodology that systematizes legal tasks to allow limited expert resources to be applied to maximum legal work product.[16] It is characterized by large numbers of precisely defined “data points” being analyzed by a large, distributed team of attorneys working together through a server-based workflow platform.[16] MOLA systems are designed to allow data to be easily and independently verifiable, allowing quality to be monitored and corrected at scale.[17]
OnRamp Exchange
editOnRamp exchange is a web-scale, hosted technology platform (SaaS) that can be deployed as a stand-alone application or in support of MOLA services.[18] It supports document management, collaboration features, productivity features, reporting, notifications and alerts, and permission controls.[18]
Industry Collaborations
editRiverview Law
editRiverview Law, a fixed-priced legal services business, provides Legal Advisory Outsourcing (LAO) services for OnRamp in the UK and partners with OnRamp Systems to provide services for global enterprises.[19][20] Specifically, Riverview and OnRamp have partnered on projects relating to the regulatory requirements of Dodd-Frank related Recovery and Resolution Plans (RRP).[21]
IBM Watson
editAs IBM brings the Jeopardy-winning Watson system to market, Legal OnRamp is one of the first Ecosystem partners in law, assisting large banking institutions in complying with Dodd-Frank’s mandate for RRPs.[22] OnRamp's goal is to help harness Watson's cognitive computing capabilities much in the way Watson has assisted Memorial Sloan Kettering in using its capacity to assist doctors in patient treatment plans.[23]
Bridge to Practice
editOnRamp’s model includes services, and some are supported by their "Bridge to Practice" for new lawyers.[7] [8] [24][25] Partnering directly with law schools, OnRamp offers an alternative to traditional legal career development paths by using large-scale legal projects as a legal training ground.[8] [26][27]
Twelve law schools were originally part of the OnRamp partnership.[28] Law schools with which OnRamp has partnered include:[20]
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Emory University
- Georgetown University
- Harvard University
- Michigan State University
- New York University
- Northeastern University
- Northwestern University
- Ohio State University
- UC Hastings College of the Law
- University of Colorado
- University of Denver
- University of Southern California
- University of the Pacific
- Vanderbilt University
References
edit- ^ a b c "The Pragmatic Innovator", The Practice, Harvard Law School 1:2 (January 2015)
- ^ "OnRamp Systems, Inc.," LinkedIn.com, https://www.linkedin.com/company/onramp-systems-inc. (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ "Legal OnRamp: "Law Firm 2.0"? | Adam Smith, Esq". adamsmithesq.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Legal Onramp to Add 14,000 In-House Lawyers as Members : Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog". blog.larrybodine.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Legal OnRamp, https://www.legalonramp.com/ (accessed March 23, 2015)". Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ a b c Parnell, David J. "Paul Lippe Of Legal OnRamp: Every Legal Department Will Seek To "Cisco-ify" Themselves". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ a b c d e Deborah Feldman, "Oh The Places You'll Go: Northeastern Graduates Pave the Way with Legal OnRamp," Northeastern Law Magazine, Summer 2014, 22, http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/71d410e3#/71d410e3/24 (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ a b c "Syllabus". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Paul Lippe – Legal By Design – Computational Legal Studies". 2014-04-05. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Legal Rebels - ABAJournal.com". www.abajournal.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Journal, A. B. A. "New Routes Into the Corporate Door". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Corporate Executive Board Joins Forces with Legal OnRamp, Legal Web 2.0 Collaboration Leader," Bloomberg press release, July 16, 2009, on the Bloomberg website, https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6H8pCa4ikJ4 (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ "Orrick Makes Further Investment in Leading Collaboration Platform Legal OnRamp". Reuters. 2015-04-02. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Elevate Services Acquires Legal OnRamp". Elevate. 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ a b "OnRamp Legal Intelligence Solutions". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ a b c Paul Lippe, Daniel Martin Katz, and Dan Jackson, "Legal by Design: A New Paradigm for Handling Complexity in Banking Regulation and Elsewhere in Law," Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper No. 215-2015 (December 16, 2014), https://ssrn.com/abstract=2539315 (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ Michael P. Malloy, "An Analysis of the Legal OnRamp Process as a Method for Compliance with Resolution and Recovery Planning Requirements," April 15, 2014, LegalOnRamp.com, https://www.legalonramp.com/index.php?option=com_easyblog&view=entry&id=62190 (accessed March 23, 2015).[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Legal OnRamp, Solutions/OnRamp Exchange page, https://www.legalonramp.com/index.php/products-solutions/entry/onramp-exchange-1 (accessed March 23, 2015)". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ "Riverview Law partners with US tech pioneer Legal OnRamp to deliver ground-breaking services to global banks," Riverview Law press release, January 6, 2014, on the Riverview Law website, http://www.riverviewlaw.com/riverview-law-partners-with-us-tech-pioneer-legal-onramp-to-deliver-ground-breaking-services-to-global-banks/ (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ a b "Partners". Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Manju Manglani, "Riverview Law and Legal OnRamp create 'legal-by-design' service," Managing Partner, January 9, 2014, http://www.managingpartner.com/news/business-development/riverview-law-and-legal-onramp-create-legal-design-service (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ Bruce MacEwen, "Watson, I Presume?," Adam Smith, Esq. Weblog, entry posted October 8, 2014, http://www.adamsmithesq.com (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ Paul Lippe and Daniel Martin Katz, "10 predictions about how IBM's Watson will impact the legal profession," The New Normal Weblog, entry posted October 2, 2014, http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/new_normal/ (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ "Legal OnRamp, Bridge to Practice page, https://www.legalonramp.com/index.php/bridge-to-practice (accessed March 23, 2015)". Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ "BC Law Partners on Innovative Apprenticeship Pilot Program with LegalOnRamp," Boston College Law press release, March 20, 2014, on the Boston College Law School website, http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/newsevents/2014/on_ramp.html (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ Bruce MacEwen, "From Across the Desk: An Apprenticeship to Practice – That Works," May 15, 2014, Abovethelaw.com, http://abovethelaw.com/2014/05/from-across-the-desk-an-apprenticeship-to-practice-that-works/3/ (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ Karen Sloan, "They’re Learning the Law Through Apprenticeships," National Law Journal, February 24, 2014, http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202644115326/They're-Learning-the-Law-Through-Apprenticeships?slreturn=20141116093832 (accessed March 23, 2015).
- ^ Bruce MacEwen, "An Apprenticeship to Practice – That Works," Adam Smith Esq., Weblog, entry posted April 27, 2014, http://www.adamsmithesq.com/ (accessed March 23, 2015).