Daniel W. Linna Jr., Director of Law and Technology Initiatives & Senior Lecturer, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and McCormick School of Engineering
Daniel W. Linna Jr. has a joint appointment at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and McCormick School of Engineering as the Director of Law and Technology Initiatives and a Senior Lecturer. Dan’s teaching and research focus on innovation and technology, including computational law, artificial intelligence, data analytics, leadership, operations, and innovation frameworks.
Dan is also an affiliated faculty member at CodeX — The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics. He joined Northwestern as a Visiting Professor of Law from Michigan State University College of Law, where he was a Professor of Law in Residence and the founder and Director of LegalRnD — The Center for Legal Services Innovation. At Michigan State, Dan taught Quantitative Analysis for Lawyers, Litigation {Data, Theory, Practice, & Process}, Entrepreneurial Lawyering, and Lawyer Ethics and Regulation in a Technology-Driven World. He has also been a visiting professor at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany, where he has taught Computational Law and Rules-Driven Automation, and an adjunct professor at IE Law School in Madrid, Spain, where he has taught Assessing Artificial Intelligence and Computational Technologies. Dan has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where he has taught Negotiation as well as Legal Technology & Innovation: Legal-Service Delivery in the 21st Century.
Dan began his legal career with a one-year judicial clerkship for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge James L. Ryan. After his clerkship, he joined Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, an Am Law 200 firm headquartered in Detroit. Dan was a litigator and member of Honigman’s Automotive and Manufacturing; e-Discovery and Information Management; Commercial Transactions; and Social, Mobile, and Emerging Media groups. In 2013, Dan was elected equity partner.
Dan received his BA from the University of Michigan, received a second BA and an MA in public policy and administration from Michigan State University, and graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif from the University of Michigan Law School.
Before law school, Dan was an information technology manager, developer, and consultant. His work included computerizing and automating business processes, developing dynamic, data-driven websites, and building enterprise information systems.
Dan co-founded the Chicago Legal Innovation & Technology meetup group in 2014. He was named to the 2015 Fastcase 50 as a person who has charted a new course for the delivery of legal services. In 2018, Dan was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and named an ABA Journal Legal Rebel. He is Vice Chair of the Legal Analytics Committee of the ABA Business Law Section. Dan is also a co-founder and co-director of the Institute for the Future of Law Practice.
2017-18 Research Assistant — Law Firms and Law Schools
Jordan Galvin
Jordan Galvin is the Innovation Counsel for LegalRnD – The Center for Legal Services Innovation at Michigan State University College of Law for 2017-18. Jordan leads several LegalRnD projects and initiatives, applying process improvement, project management, metrics, data analytics, and technology to improve legal service delivery. Currently, she is leading a project with Professor Linna and a team of students to help implement and assess an Eviction Diversion pilot program in the 54A District Court in Lansing, where she is working closely with Chief Judge Alderson and her team. Jordan also manages a team of student innovation assistants and liaisons and coordinates the development and production of co-curricular legal innovation and technology events. Previously, Jordan was a chemical researcher and a Patent Examiner Extern at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where her passion for innovative thinking flourished. She is licensed to practice law in Michigan and is also a registered patent agent. After completing her LegalRnD fellowship, Jordan looks forward to applying her process improvement, project management, data, and technology skills to improve the delivery of legal services in a legal department or law firm.
2017-18 Student Research Assistants
Sean E. Acosta
Sean plans to utilize his communications background, his banking experience, and the technology skills he has developed in the LegalRnD program to better serve clients in transactional and compliance matters. After completing his undergraduate degree, Sean worked for Citibank, where he learned the value of client-facing interactions and staying within compliance. Throughout law school, Sean has grown interested in intellectual property law and its ever changing legal landscape. He has been a member of both the First Amendment Law Clinic and the Food Law Clinic. As a student clinician, Sean engaged in a variety of experiences from teaching seminars on free expression to representing clients pursuing Trademark registrations. Sean will graduate from MSU College of Law in May 2018.
Andrew M. Burgess
Andrew plans to use his business background together with the process, data, and technology skills he has developed in the LegalRnD program to better serve clients in transactional matters. These skills provide Andrew with the knowledge and ability to approach complex legal issues and invent creative solutions. After his first summer of work and through LegalRnD courses, Andrew identified an opportunity to improve the efficiency of client intake at his county public defender’s office. Using Thinksmart’s Workflow Automation Platform in his LegalRnD Litigation class, Andrew automated client intake forms and streamlined the communication between three parties, improving the process leading up to initial court hearings. With Andrew’s combined experience in legal tech and innovation, and his ability to work with clients ranging from criminal defense issues to trademark dispute issues, Andrew is equipped with the tools to practice law in an ever-changing field. Andrew will graduate from MSU College of Law in May 2018. He plans to return home to Fort Wayne, Indiana to practice.
Jameson C. Joyce
Jameson plans to utilize his extensive experience in both the public and private sector alongside the process, data and technology skills he has developed in the LegalRnD program to better serve clients in transactional, compliance, and regulatory matters. Jameson has worked in the compliance department, and later in the legal department, of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. At BCBSM, he worked on process improvement projects and assisted with the implementation of MetricStream, a compliance and risk management system currently in use. Since September 2016, Jameson has worked at the Michigan’s Department of Attorney General in the Health Care Fraud Division, where he has assisted the state of Michigan in recovering funds related to Medicaid & Medicare fraud, as well as elder abuse, Stark, and kickback schemes. Jameson will graduate from MSU College of Law in May 2018 and hopes to relocate to Texas and further his career in health law.
Shellie Reid
Shellie plans to use her teaching and government experience to better understand the needs of her clients. Having lived in ten states and Japan, Shellie understands that legal issues are often symptoms of larger problems. Shellie will use her love of process improvement and fascination with technology to solve access to justice issues. By participating in the LegalRnD program, Shellie is adding tools needed to provide efficient and effective legal services. Shellie was recently selected as an Access to Justice Tech Fellow and was assigned to Legal Services of Northern Virginia to implement a technology project. Shellie also was a finalist in the law school’s Social Media Contest. Shellie will graduate from MSU College of Law in May 2020 and plans to work in northern Virginia and the Florida panhandle.
Anita Western
Anita plans to use her strong professional background with leadership roles in an educational environment as well as experience in various legal and marketing capacities in a career that leverages the process, data, and technology skills she has developed in the LegalRnD program. Anita leads three organizations at MSU Law and she also publishes the “Law & Future Technology” blog on LexBlog. Anita currently works as a summer intern at LexisNexis in their Large Law department where she assists AmLaw 100 firms with document automation, knowledge management, litigation support, and managed technology solutions. She also works for BARBRI Bar Review as a Marketing Intern, where she partners with the Director of Social Media and the Social Media Team to manage the corporation’s social media presence. Previously Anita worked for an AM Law 200 firm, the Governor of Michigan and multiple state representatives. After she graduates from MSU Law in May 2018, Anita plans to pursue her passion for the issues at the intersection of law and technology, specifically in the realm of artificial intelligence. Follow her blog, Law & Technology.
2018-19 Student Research Assistants
Lauren Diner
Lauren completed her undergraduate degree in psychology and elementary education in 2015. She then worked in an elementary school before earning her Master’s degree in Bioethics from New York University. Over the summer, she completed the Institute for the Future of Law Practice bootcamp and interned with Neota Logic. She will graduate from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in May 2020. Lauren will join Allen & Overy’s New York office as a summer associate in 2019.
Douglas Lavey
Doug plans to focus on the intersection of disruptive technologies, public policy, and the law. After completing his undergraduate degree, he worked as a consultant, implementing enterprise systems at large public institutions. He is currently pursuing a concurrent Master’s in Public Policy degree in addition to his JD. Doug will graduate from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and the Harvard Kennedy School in May 2020. Doug will join Perkins Coie’s Chicago office as a summer associate in 2019.
Yoon Hoo Lee
Yoon plans to use her teaching background together with her interest in process improvement and technology to better serve clients. After completing her undergraduate degree in Plan II Honors and Latin at the University of Texas at Austin, she worked as a middle school Latin teacher at her alma mater. She will graduate from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in May 2020. Yoon will join Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Dallas office as a summer associate in 2019.
2019-20 Student Research Assistants
Lauren Diner – profile above
Yoon Hoo Lee – profile above
Alex Crowley
Alex Crowley is a JD student at Northwestern Law School. He thrives at intersections of different fields. Thus far in his education and career, he’s worked at the intersections of engineering and design (product development), technology and law (patent and IP law), technology and business (Crocker Innovation Fellowship), and engineering and music (BS Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Music). He is passionate about providing and improving the delivery of legal services using human-centered design, process improvement, and technology. Alex will join Baker McKenzie’s Chicago office as a summer associate in 2020.
Mona Kalantar
Mona looks forward to using her knowledge and interest in legal innovation, human-centered design thinking, and process improvement to better serve clients in transactional matters. Mona completed her undergraduate degree in history and economics in 2017 at the University of California – Davis. In law school, she has pursued opportunities to develop practical knowledge of the legal tech landscape including by working for LG Electronics, USA and researching data-driven law. She will graduate from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in May 2020. Mona will join the Private Equity practice group of White & Case’s Chicago office.