Bridging the Gap in Your Workflow: All Things Automation in the Boutique Law Firm

Darren Fancher is the CEO of CASEpeer, the comprehensive cloud-based practice management solution for personal injury attorneys.

Darren brings to CASEpeer a strong track record of team building, strategic planning, and successful execution. His diverse skills and resources developed over 20 years as an attorney, finance professional, and entrepreneur help guide CASEpeer’s team and clients through the challenges presented by high-growth businesses.

Darren holds a B.S. from Northwestern University, a J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law, and a master’s degree from University of Southern California. He is a member of the California Bar Association, as well as an emeritus member of the USC Price Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Dan Lear is a lawyer and legal industry gadfly and the Chief Instigator of Right Brain Law. As a practicing attorney he advised technology companies from startups to the Fortune 100. Since his transition from tech lawyer to legal technologist Dan’s been mentioned, featured, or published widely in the legal industry press and spoken to legal and non-legal audiences in a number of settings including at SXSW Interactive, Ignite Seattle, Georgetown University, Stanford University, ReInvent Law, and the National Conference of Bar Presidents. Most recently, Dan was the Director of Industry Relations for Avvo. Dan Lear received his JD from the Seattle University in 2007.

Jason Velez is the Founder and an attorney at 1Law.

I am an experienced litigator and the founder of Digitory Legal (now part of BigHand), an award-winning cost analytics company that helps law firms and legal departments leverage data to succeed in an evolving legal market. Digitory Legal was purpose-built to reduce tension between lawyers and clients through data-driven pricing, cost transparency, and effective project management. With that goal in mind, I help our customers - both law firms and legal departments - bridge the divide between the practice of law and the business of law, facilitating legal service delivery models that serve business needs without sacrificing quality of service. I am also passionate about data-driven DEI and have designed programs and analytics that leverage data to promote inclusive allocation career-advancing work.

Before founding Digitory Legal, I practiced law at top-tier firms - first at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett and then at Orrick, where I was a litigation Partner. I am an accomplished trial lawyer with extensive experience representing global corporations in a wide variety of high-stakes litigation matters. I am also a frequent speaker and recognized thought leader on legal technology, litigation practice management, cost analytics, and the use of artificial intelligence and data in law.

Since founding Digitory, I have received a number of accolades recognizing our groundbreaking work in legal technology and the advancement of the legal industry. In 2022, we were recognized by CLOC as a Legal Innovation in Operations project recipient. In 2021, Digitory Legal was awarded the InnovAction award for our work with Kaiser Permanente on data-driven diversity and inclusion programs. In 2020, I was elected to be a fellow of the prestigious College of Law Practice Management, and Digitory was named 2020 Disrupter of the Year by the Changing Lawyer. In 2019, I was an American Bar Association "Women in Legal Tech" honoree and was named to the Fastcase50 list "honoring the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, & leaders." I also received CloudNow's 2019 Top Women Entrepreneur in Cloud Innovation award and was the 2018 winner of "The Pitch", an international legal technology competition.