On October 7, eleven teams from 21 schools across the country virtually competed to design apps to help change the face of dispute resolution as part of the National Legal Innovation Tournament. The interdisciplinary tournament was hosted by Hofstra’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the New York State Bar Association.
Law students were matched with legal experts in the areas of dispute resolution, as well as Hofstra computer science and business students to help develop their app ideas.
“We are so fortunate to be part of a university that affords us the opportunity to bring together law, engineering and business students to solve real-world programs and create positive change in our community,” said Judge Gail Prudenti, dean of Hofstra Law. “We thank the New York State Bar Association and our sponsors for their visionary leadership in helping to advance our profession and train the next generation of attorneys.”
“As a woman, I knew that there was a special place for me in the tech industry to be able to indicate where the law needs improvement. I think we all understand that technology is the future of law, and access to justice is the main goal for everyone.”
The Tournament was sponsored by JAMS, American Arbitration Association and the NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section. 
“Lawyers are innovators. This Tournament is the perfect example of how we can come together to improve the use of technology in our profession,” said Hofstra Law alum Sherry Levin Wallach ’95, president of the New York State Bar Association.
Ramona Miller and Michael Quintman from St. John’s University School of Law were named the winning team for their app Help Decide, a free social media platform for crowdsourcing conflict coaching and user-based dispute evaluation, with an added paid option for real traditional asynchronous mediation.
“Competing in this tournament was an extreme pleasure,” said Miller, a third-year law student at St. John’s Law. “As a woman, I knew that there was a special place for me in the tech industry to be able to indicate where the law needs improvement. I think we all understand that technology is the future of law, and access to justice is the main goal for everyone.”
The final round also included teams from Temple University Beasley School of Law and Georgia State College of Law. 
The National Legal Innovation Tournament was organized by its co-founders John Tsiforas, director of law & technology at Hofstra Law, and Mark Berman, partner, Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer LLP and founding chair, Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession, New York State Bar Association with Dr. Richard Hayes, executive director of Hofstra’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“The Tournament was a tremendous success. It advanced the legal profession by providing students with new perspectives and tools for problem solving. Students from 21 schools from across the country proactively identified problems to solve in the area of dispute resolution and then collaborated with professionals from other disciplines to develop tech-based solutions to those problems,” said Professor Tsiforas.
“The Innovation Tournament brings real-word relevance to law students and the importance of joining the State Bar,” said Berman. “We are in a high-tech world and we need to embrace technology to bring it to the people in order to help them with their everyday problems. Students left to their own devices saw the need to improve mediation processes using an app so that our citizens can seek to resolve their disputes virtually in a fair and efficient way.”
“It is wonderful to see the legal profession integrating computational thinking, the digital world’s problem-solving skill, into the curriculum and experientially learning activities, such as the Legal innovation Tournament, that law students engage in.”
The final round was judged by:
Hon. Anthony Cannataro, Acting Chief Judge of the State of New York
Ronald J. Colombo, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Distance Education, Hofstra Law
Domenick Napoletano ’80, Treasurer, New York State Bar Association
Dr. Sina Y. Rabbany, Dean, Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University
Christine Sisario, Director of Technology, New York State Office of Court Administration
“The law students who competed in this year’s technology innovation tournament are the future leaders of the bar and our courts,” said Acting Chief Judge Cannataro. “As the current leader of the New York courts, I am always on the lookout for innovative ways to expand the delivery of justice services, especially in the area of ADR, and so I was grateful for the opportunity to explore the creative and cutting-edge solutions devised by the next generation of legal professionals with a uniquely technological perspective. Listening to their ideas and evaluating their solutions to difficult access to justice challenges left me with a great sense of confidence in the future of the legal profession.”
“It is wonderful to see the legal profession integrating computational thinking, the digital world’s problem-solving skill, into the curriculum and experientially learning activities, such as the Legal innovation Tournament, that law students engage in,” said Dr. Rabbany.
The Legal Innovation Tournament is part of Hofstra Law’s expanded programming in the area of legal technology. The Law School was one of the first law schools in the country to develop a legal technology center when it launched the Law, Logic & Technology Research Laboratory in 2010. Today, Hofstra Law has expanded its offerings to include courses in cybersecurity, cryptocurrency and courtroom technology. For its efforts, Hofstra Law was recognized by preLaw Magazine as one of the 25 “Most Innovative Law Schools.”
Learn more about the National Legal Innovation Tournament.
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