Kenneth A. Grady

Adjunct Professor
Law College Building
648 N. Shaw Lane Rm 368
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
gradyken@msu.edu

  • Biography

    Ken Grady teaches several courses, performs research, publishes, and presents globally as part of the College’s LegalRnD – The Center for Legal Innovation. His classes and work focus on improving the delivery of legal services and the associated impacts on access to justice and the evolution of substantive law. His interests include artificial intelligence, lawyer-client relationships, technology, legal operations management, and the future of law. Professor Grady also works part-time with the law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP as its Lean Law Evangelist. Previously, he was CEO of the firm’s SeyfarthLean Consulting LLC subsidiary.

    Professor Grady is the editor and principal author of Seyfarth’s award-winning SeytLines.com blog. His many essays are published in legal periodicals in and outside the United States. His industry views are featured in The Wall Street Journal, Crains, The American Lawyer, and other publications.

    Professor Grady was a partner in a “global 50” law firm, general counsel for three Fortune 1000 size corporations, associate in a boutique law firm, and founded a solo law firm. He held executive positions with Fortune 1000 corporations in operations management and administration.

    He was an active member of the Association of Corporate Counsel for 14 years, serving as a member of its Board of Directors, Value Challenge Steering Committee and Advocacy Committee. He is a Fellow-elect for the 2017 Class of the College of Law Practice Management, was named to the Fastcase 50, and was honored by the Financial Times for innovative leadership of in-house counsel/outside counsel relationships.

  • Degrees

    J.D. 1984, Northwestern University School of Law; M.M. 1984, Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management; B.A. 1978, summa cum laude, Drake University

  • Courses

    Artificial Intelligence & Law
    Artificial Intelligence is experiencing a “golden age” of rapid development. As the use of AI increases, people and computers are knowingly and unknowingly interacting in new ways. Lawyers are confronting computer issues in every practice area. Smart contracts. Autonomous vehicles. Creation and ownership of property. Robot policing and warfare. Interconnected products. Autonomous devices. AI requires updated and new regulations, new ways of practicing, and an understanding of how laws and code interact as a new regulatory system within society. This class will look at how computers are affecting the law and what lawyers should know to provide legal services in this hybrid world.

    Delivering Legal Services: New Legal Landscape
    This course is an introduction to modern legal services delivery. It exposes students to legal data collection and metrics, legal operations, and legal project leadership. We continue with legal supply chain management, pricing legal services, and legal services technologies. Throughout the semester we cover two key areas. We (1) discuss current and emerging legal services ideas (such as how to charge less but earn higher profits from your services), and (2) work on developing legal services skills. This course uses the lean thinking philosophy, the fastest growing method of legal services management. However, no prior experience in lean is required; you will learn what you need in class. Lean thinking includes process mapping and process improvement. We also complete exercises in agile project management and design thinking. Students pursuing traditional legal careers in legal aid, not-for-profit, corporate, government, criminal prosecution or defense, or law firms, will find this course very useful. Students interested in nontraditional legal services careers, such as legal consulting, legal marketing, legal technology, and legal operations, will find it essential. The ideas and skills covered in this course give students an advantage in marketing themselves and in their future careers.

    Entrepreneurial Lawyering
    This course helps students understand the economic pressures, technological changes, and globalization facing the legal profession in the 21st century, and to assist students in successfully navigating their legal career given these challenges. The course explores the concept of a virtual law practice as well as the use of technology and cloud-computing in building a law practice; free and low-cost resources and tools will be shared that will help the entrepreneur-minded student identify ways to leverage leading-edge technology to defray start-up costs associated with launching a practice and to control overhead. Ethics, licensing, and malpractice issues will also be discussed. The course will be particularly useful for students who are contemplating solo practice, consulting, or engaging in an entrepreneurial venture, as well as those who are considering non-traditional uses for their law degree. Other topics to be covered include client development and networking, case studies of innovative legal services delivery mechanisms and alternative business structures, and work/life balance including the study of emotional intelligence and mindful lawyering practices. This course assumes students may (or may not) arrive with a range of experience in the use of technology we will provide training for everything needed to succeed in this course.

  • Bar Admission(s)

    Illinois