The pitches are in, the virtual judges have made their choices, and now this year’s five finalists are getting ready to strut their stuff on the CBA stage on May 1 in Toronto.
The LegalTech startups making it to this year’s final are: BidSettle, Digitory Legal, Evichat, Founded and PatentBot.
They’ll make their final pitch at an event capping off the CCCA National Conference and ICW Summit conference (April 29-May 1) in Toronto. The event, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, will be co-hosted by Martine Boucher, President and founder of Simplex Legal, and Law Made co-founder Jason Moyse.
The five in-person judges this year are Anand Ablack, VP Content, LexisNexis; Mark Cohen, CEO, Legal Mosaic; Andre Garbe, Strategic Advisor to NextLaw Labs and founder of Dentons’ Canadian Startup Program; Pascale Pageau, President and founder of Delegatus; and Lorine Pendleton, Investment Partner, Portfolia Member, Pipeline Angels.
Highlights of the 2018 grand prize include a trip to Silicon Valley and an opportunity to make their pitch to the CEO of Lex Machina and access to a host of benefits from IBM Canada that include $120k of free IBM Cloud and Watson Cognitive Computing services for 12 months.
The other four finalists will each receive a state-of-the-art Xerox Versalink C405/DN colour multifunction printer, valued at nearly $1,000 each.
All five finalists will be offered an interview with Nextlaw Ventures, a globally active early stage venture investor that focuses exclusively on legal technology.
Mobile voting will once again allow audience members a chance to pick their favourite startup. The winner will receive a Gowling WLG Legal Health Check Up.
Beagle Inc. was the first winner of The Pitch in 2016, while Loom Analytics was the audience favourite.
The Pitch is free for CBA members to attend. The Pitch is presented by the Canadian Bar Association and Law Made in partnership with LexisNexis.