As plans get underway for the second Global Legal Hackathon Feb. 22-24, its organizers today announced it will include an initiative to support up-and-coming women leaders in legal innovation around the world.

The initiative, Global Rise of Women in LegalTech, or GROWL, will be chaired by Nita Sanger, who this month left her position as global head of innovation for Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory to become chief strategy officer at Integra Ledger, the blockchain company that organizes the hackathon. Sanger will also serve as executive director of the Global Legal Hackathon.

Nita Sanger

According to the announcement sent to my by David A. Fisher, founder and CEO of Integra, GROWL will be fully integrated with this year’s GLH, providing an enhanced track for women-led teams. In advance of the hackathon, GROWL will work with major legal industry organizations to identify and engage women leaders in legal innovation around the world.

In addition, a panel of senior women leaders in the legal industry drawn from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa will support the women-led teams that participate in GLH — which organizers hope will number in the hundreds — with mentorship, tools and resources.

At the conclusion of the GLH, a new GROWL award will be presented to the top three women-led teams, as judged by a panel of women legal leaders and investors.

Organizations and individuals interested in joining the GROWL initiative should contact Sanger by email at nsanger@globallegalhackathon.com or by phone at 646-262-9717.

In addition, Sanger recommends that interested organizations:

  • Appoint a GROWL coordinator to distribute information and materials to interested women within the organization.
  • Encourage their senior women leaders to volunteer as GLH mentors.
  • Encourage women at all levels to get involved.
  • Support local venues hosting the GLH with volunteers and financial support.
  • Work with GROWL and the GLH to schedule internal briefings and trainings to prepare interested women to participate in the GLH.

Beyond the GLH, organizers say, GROWL will continue year-round to support women-led legal innovation throughout the world, working to build a global community of mentors, advisors and investors to propel the next generation of women legal innovation leaders to the forefront of the industry.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.