Sorainen raised to the 22nd position on the list published yesterday by Financial Times that ranks the most innovative law firms in Europe. The ranking (found on the link, at the end of the article) is based on a sum of scores for innovation, people, digital, client mentions and financial growth.
Sorainen is the highest ranked Baltic firm, with most firms positioning ahead of us being UK, US or global firms.
Aku nominated as Individual Leader
This year, Sorainen was shortlisted in five categories. As a firm, we were nominated for the title of the “Most innovative law firm in Europe (outside UK)”. The founder and senior partner of the firm, Aku Sorainen, was nominated in the Individual Leader category for trailblazing legal technology adoption in the region. “Unusually for a senior partner, Aku Sorainen says one of his personal priorities over the past five years has been legal technology,” Financial Times described Aku’s passion for innovative tech solutions in the “Innovative Lawyers: Europe” report.
In the Learning and Development category, we received a nomination for our learning management platform iKnow, in the category of Professionalising Business Services, our interim lawyers service was nominated, and in the Using Data category, our international law firms sector group received a nomination.
Aku Sorainen who attended the award ceremony in London said he appreciated that Financial Times is promoting innovation in law firms. “Law firms are generally not famous for being innovative, but this award ceremony brings together those who really invest in it,” he said. Aku added that for him, innovation means constantly asking how to make processes smoother, faster, and more scalable.
New tech startup spins off Sorainen
Sorainen has consciously put efforts into encouraging innovation. Just this week, cloud service solution Crespect was launched, which markets itself as the “intelligent legal practice management platform with everything a law firm needs to manage its day-to-day business.” Crespect is the spin-off company of Sorainen which will soon be introducing the platform developed in-house by the Sorainen team to international markets.
October is Innovation Month at Sorainen. Our Knowledge Management and Innovation (KMI) team has put together a versatile programme featuring workshops, games, competitions and interview sessions with legal tech providers Green Meadow, ExtendLaw and Definely, as well as startups Bolt and our own Crespect.
Sorainen’s COO Leda Iržikevičienė draws attention to the fact that innovation in a law firm goes far beyond advances in tech solutions, including key elements such as running a sustainable business, following ESG principles and promoting diversity. “When Sorainen speaks of innovation, we also mean innovation in all its shapes and forms,” she noted.
Indeed, the FT special report published alongside the rankings reinforces these aspects. The article titled “What makes law firms successful?” notes that a profound shift in law firm culture has taken place, as firms are putting managing staff on a par with client services. The story titled “Law firms hold leaders to account on green claims” explores the ways lawyers are pushing positive impact on the climate change front by taking on landmark environment cases even at the risk of financial loss.
Read the “Innovative Lawyers: Europe” report
