Vedika Mehera, JD ’15, is spearheading a cutting-edge legal technology effort as director of Orrick Labs, the global firm's in-house development team, where her innovative approach has caught the attention of major players in the field.

She has presented on AI, technology, and process improvements to over 100 legal departments, including Apple, Oracle, Chevron, Thomson Reuters, and the Gates Foundation. Most recently, she has been advising venture capital and private equity funds on their legal-tech investments and has met with over 75 funds in the last year.

Mehera got her start in the field more than a decade ago at Suffolk Law. Long before the days of ChatGPT, she was one of the first students in Suffolk Law’s Legal Innovation and Technology (LIT) program, where she learned how to deliver legal services more efficiently through legal document automation and the use of machine learning.

Mehera’s latest project is an AI tool that can digest complex legislation like the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and answer client-specific questions in minutes—a task that would typically take human lawyers hours to complete.

This groundbreaking work is just the latest in a series of innovations that have earned Mehera, and teams that she has worked on, national and international recognition, including the Financial Times Award for Innovation in Reinventing Legal Practice and the International Legal Technology Association's Project of the Year.

Early in Mehera’s journey into legal technology, she noticed a growing trend: law firms were under pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Recognizing the opportunity, she enrolled in Suffolk Law's pioneering LIT program.

During her final year at Suffolk Law, Mehera put her newly acquired legal innovation skills to work as an intern at the Massachusetts Trial Court. There, she automated guardianship and name-change forms to assist pro se litigants. She also earned a Legal Lean Six Sigma credential, a designation in legal project management and process improvement that helped launch her career.

After graduation, Mehera quickly made her mark in the industry. Before moving to Orrick, she worked at Davis Wright Tremaine as a legal solutions architect, alongside her Suffolk Law legal innovation and technology classmate Gerald Glover III, JD ’15. [Glover is now a senior manager at Orrick.]

Looking ahead, Mehera is tackling ambitious projects, for example, integrating AI into Orrick’s venture financing practice and supporting the build of Orrick’s internal AI platform to support 120+ use cases, many of which will free up lawyers to focus on more complex work.

Mehera’s contributions extend beyond her professional work. She frequently returns to Suffolk Law as a guest lecturer, sharing her expertise with the next generation of legal innovators. Her success and ongoing support have helped Suffolk Law rise to the top spot for legal technology in recent nationwide rankings.

“As the legal industry continues to evolve, Vedika remains at its cutting edge, developing tools and strategies that will serve as a model for the future of legal services,” says Andrew Perlman, Dean of Suffolk Law. “Vedika also serves as an inspiration for the next generation of law students as they seek to be at the forefront of their profession.” In 2023, Mehera received Suffolk Law’s Outstanding Graduate of the Last Decade Award.