Legal OnRamp
Encyclopedia
Legal OnRamp is a Web 2.0 Collaboration platform for lawyers, which enables attorneys, whether in-house counsel or private practitioners, to connect and share information virtually. LOR allows members to share documents, ranging from published articles and conference presentations to white papers and forms, and utilize databases and automated tools for legal work.
Legal OnRamp, founded in 2007, utilizes many features common to other social networking websites, including message boards, blog
s, databases, group functions closed to non-group members, a calendar of upcoming professional events, and open forums for discussion and document sharing. Law firms have the ability to create a presence around a center of excellence, in the fee-based LOR offering. Membership is solely by invitation and is limited to lawyers and third-party legal service providers.
Legal OnRamp is the first Web 2.0 system to integrate a general "walled garden" community with discrete, privileged, secure legal department productivity platforms.
; the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
; and attorney Paul Lippe, currently the venture's CEO. The Magic Circle law firm Allen & Overy
has been one of the biggest contributors of information to the site, helping to strengthen the firm's position as one of the most innovative law firms.
David Curle, the top legal industry analyst, recently cited LOR as one of the "Ten to Watch". http://www.outsellinc.com/legal_tax_regulatory/products/879
"Until recently, Legal OnRamp was simply one of a number of online professional networking platforms for lawyers. It has become the leading platform, however, on the basis of two factors. First, it is driven by the needs of a number of in-house corporate counsel who are its most active users and proponents. Active in-house lawyers are among those driving the legal industry forward and into new models. Some of them are using Legal OnRamp as a new platform for marketing, collaboration, and service delivery. Second, a recent partnership with Corporate Executive Board’s (CEB) General Counsel Roundtable has given Legal OnRamp some instant credibility. Other recent innovations include an Outsourcing Center provided by major global firm Latham & Watkins that includes interactive forms for automating part of the legal work in any outsourcing relationship. Corporate in-house lawyers are entering a phase of the legal services industry that will require them to re-think their relationships with each other, with their corporations, and with the firms they do business with. CEB content and services will be a key component of this new way of doing business, and Legal OnRamp’s fast-developing platform will give the community the Web 2.0 chops it needs. Worth watching as a nexus of some of the market forces that will reshape the relationship between corporations and the law firms that serve them."
LOR has sustained a recent surge in membership after the FutureFirm 1.0 competition on April 18–19, 2009, at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. The Ramp was represented by Lippe, who was one of the judges; most of the competition's participants have now become members.
In July 2009, Corporate Executive Board, USA, the Arlington, Virginia-based consulting group, formed a partnership with LOR. Corporate Executive Board, USA invested an undisclosed sum in OnRamp Systems Inc., which manages LOR.
system, and has been cited by Enterprise 2.0 Pioneer Don Tapscott.
Legal OnRamp, founded in 2007, utilizes many features common to other social networking websites, including message boards, blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s, databases, group functions closed to non-group members, a calendar of upcoming professional events, and open forums for discussion and document sharing. Law firms have the ability to create a presence around a center of excellence, in the fee-based LOR offering. Membership is solely by invitation and is limited to lawyers and third-party legal service providers.
Legal OnRamp is the first Web 2.0 system to integrate a general "walled garden" community with discrete, privileged, secure legal department productivity platforms.
Site Creation
The site was created in part by Mark Chandler, General Counsel of Cisco SystemsCisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
; the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is an international law firm founded in San Francisco. Orrick traces its roots back to 1863, making it the oldest continuously-operating law firm in San Francisco, and the second-oldest privately-held company in San Francisco after Levi Strauss & Co....
; and attorney Paul Lippe, currently the venture's CEO. The Magic Circle law firm Allen & Overy
Allen & Overy
Allen & Overy is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom.A member of the UK's Magic Circle of leading law firms, Allen & Overy is widely considered to be one of the world's elite law firms, advising national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and...
has been one of the biggest contributors of information to the site, helping to strengthen the firm's position as one of the most innovative law firms.
David Curle, the top legal industry analyst, recently cited LOR as one of the "Ten to Watch". http://www.outsellinc.com/legal_tax_regulatory/products/879
"Until recently, Legal OnRamp was simply one of a number of online professional networking platforms for lawyers. It has become the leading platform, however, on the basis of two factors. First, it is driven by the needs of a number of in-house corporate counsel who are its most active users and proponents. Active in-house lawyers are among those driving the legal industry forward and into new models. Some of them are using Legal OnRamp as a new platform for marketing, collaboration, and service delivery. Second, a recent partnership with Corporate Executive Board’s (CEB) General Counsel Roundtable has given Legal OnRamp some instant credibility. Other recent innovations include an Outsourcing Center provided by major global firm Latham & Watkins that includes interactive forms for automating part of the legal work in any outsourcing relationship. Corporate in-house lawyers are entering a phase of the legal services industry that will require them to re-think their relationships with each other, with their corporations, and with the firms they do business with. CEB content and services will be a key component of this new way of doing business, and Legal OnRamp’s fast-developing platform will give the community the Web 2.0 chops it needs. Worth watching as a nexus of some of the market forces that will reshape the relationship between corporations and the law firms that serve them."
Membership
Site membership is restricted to lawyers, primarily inhouse. Membership is solely by invitation and access to the Legal OnRamp community is not accessible without membership. Geographically, the OnRamp has been most rapidly adopted in common law countries—the U.S., the UK, and Canada -- but roughly 10% of members hail from Continental Europe and Asia. The site today boasts members, who refer to each other affectionately as "Rampers," from more than forty countries.LOR has sustained a recent surge in membership after the FutureFirm 1.0 competition on April 18–19, 2009, at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. The Ramp was represented by Lippe, who was one of the judges; most of the competition's participants have now become members.
In July 2009, Corporate Executive Board, USA, the Arlington, Virginia-based consulting group, formed a partnership with LOR. Corporate Executive Board, USA invested an undisclosed sum in OnRamp Systems Inc., which manages LOR.
Publicity
- LOR was mentioned in a white paper released by Jaffe Associates, a PR and marketing consultancy for law firms: "By now, everyone has heard of public online social networking sites like LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
, FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. There is also a wide range of more specific public and private social networks like Legal OnRamp for the legal industry"
- LOR was the subject of an article in the Legal Technology column of Law.com. Joseph Weinstein, chair of the corporate practice at Davis Wright Tremaine, described the need for innovative solutions like LOR as follows: "The model for the delivery of legal services is broken. Finding inventive solutions is becoming increasingly important." Discussing the prospects of success for the site, Weinstein added, "I'm confident that five years from now, this will all seem like old news."
- In March 2008, Legal Transformation Study endorsed LOR and Richard Susskind has written favorably about the trends driving LOR.
- FMC Technologies has initiated its Value Challenge RFP on LOR. http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/05/fmc-goes-the-social-networking-route-to-find-firms.html ;
- In December 2008, G.M. Filisko identified LOR as a "big name" and a "standout site" among legal online networks in an ABA Journal article on legal social media.
- LOR was named as an example of a legal social networking site in Robert W. Denney's 2009 overview of law practice trends.
- LOR was cited as one of the 60 "latest and greatest sites on the Internet" for lawyers, at the 2009 ABA TECHSHOW.
- LOR was mentioned by name as an example of a legal online community/social network in the 2009 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report.
Enterprise 2.0
LOR is considered an example of an Enterprise 2.0Enterprise 2.0
Enterprise 2.0 is the use of "Web 2.0" technologies within an organization to enable or streamline business processes while enhancing collaboration - connecting people through the use of social-media tools. Enterprise 2.0 aims to help employees, customers and suppliers collaborate, share, and...
system, and has been cited by Enterprise 2.0 Pioneer Don Tapscott.