For the first time in its nine-year history, the Startup Alley pitch competition ended in a tie.

The pitch competition is the opening event of Techshow, the American Bar Association’s annual legal technology conference. Fifteen legal tech startups competed, with the winner selected by a vote of the live audience.

Those 15 were selected through a multi-step process of whittling down the total pool of applicants, leading to the event in Chicago where they each had three minutes to present their pitches.

This year, two startups ended up with an equal number of votes for the top spot:

  • Case Crafter, a company from Norway that helps legal professionals build compelling visual timelines based on case files and evidence.
  • Querious, a product that provides attorneys with real-time insights during client conversations into legal issues, relevant content, and suggested questions and follow-ups.

The third highest vote tally went to Lawft, a law practice management platform built by attorneys.

Congratulations to this year’s winners — and to everyone who participated. And a big thanks to Clio for sponsoring all nine years of the pitch competition.

Shown above from left: Anna Summersett and Benson Varghese, the cofounders of Lawft; Eugene DeVilliers, technical cofounder of Querious; Hilary Bowman, founder and CEO of Querious;  Bob Ambrogi; Jack Newton, founder and CEO of event sponsor Clio; Stephen P. Haber, lawyer and advisor to Case Crafter; Tor Øyvind Fluør, CEO and founder of Case Crafter; and Vebjørn Teigen Haugerud, chief marketing officer, Case Crafter. 

 

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.