Yesterday, I moderated the fifth-annual Startup Alley pitch competition, presented as the opening event of ABA TECHSHOW. Fifteen startups presented their pitches to an audience of virtual TECHSHOW attendees, who then voted for their favorites.

Each startup presented a prerecorded 2.5 minute video pitch. Plus, each was allowed 30 seconds for a live introduction. While that is not a lot of time to present a product, all 15 startups did a great job.

At the end of the competition, the votes were tallied. The top five winners were:

  1. Freelance for Law, a marketplace that connects law firms with freelance legal professionals, and that also provides a free practice management platform.
  2. 44th Street, case-analysis and e-discovery software for trial lawyers.
  3. Della, an AI-driven contract analysis and review tool.
  4. Legal Karma, which provides robust client portals plus the ability for firms to automate and sell documents online.
  5. FirmVO, providing virtual offices that include brick-and-mortar space.

The 15 companies were selected through a process that began last November, when we issued a call for entries. From all the entries we received, a panel of judges narrowed the applications down to 25. Those 25 were posted on Jan. 25 for reader voting. Based on those votes, the final 15 were selected.

Congratulations to all the winners and to all the startups that participated.

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.