{{Short description|American businesswoman}}{{Infobox person | alma_mater = Pennsylvania State University<br/>New York University School of Law | occupation = CEO and co-founder of Allegory Law | employer = Crowell & Moring }} '''Alma Asay''' was the CEO and co-founder, along with Dana Peterson,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.allegorylaw.com/dana-colleen-peterson/ | title=Allegory is now part of the Litera family | Litera }}</ref> of Allegory Law, a legal technology company that provided a software platform for litigation management.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2016/05/alma-asay-allegory-law/|title=Alma Asay, Allegory Law, and the Pain Points of Litigation|website=lawtechnologytoday.org|date=16 May 2016|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref>
== Career == Asay co-founded Allegory Law after departing a career at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://abovethelaw.com/2014/09/alt-legal-i-bet-you-havent-heard-this-one-before/?rf=1|title=alt.legal: I Bet You Haven't Heard This One Before|last=Borstein|first=Joe|newspaper=Above the Law|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref> where she learned from and worked with top litigation attorney Orin Snyder working on complex litigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.law360.com/articles/403266/how-they-won-it-gibson-dunn-hunch-nets-cablevision-700m|title=How They Won It: Gibson Dunn Hunch Nets Cablevision $700M|website=law360.com|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref> Disagreements with Peterson led to the founding team breakup, and Asay had to sell her home to fund the startup, leading to her having to stay on couches of friends and family to extend her financial runway.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=A. B. A. |title=Alma Asay: Couch surfer stays on track for CEO success |url=https://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/alma_asay_allegory_law |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=ABA Journal |language=en}}</ref> In addition, in the early stages of the startup, the members of Asay's engineering team were paid in equity; and when they decided the product was ready to launch, Asay disagreed, thinking more work was needed. This forced the company to a standstill, and it took a year to raise the money needed to buy out her partners so she could restart her work.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=A. B. A. |title=Alma Asay: Couch surfer stays on track for CEO success |url=https://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/alma_asay_allegory_law |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=ABA Journal |language=en}}</ref> Since then, Asay closed a convertible debt round in early 2014, raised $715,000 from individuals in late 2016, and raised $500,000 from legal tech executives and investors in early 2017.{{cn|date=November 2023}}
Allegory Law was acquired by New York-based Integreon in November 2017, Asay joined Integreon as Chief Innovation Officer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://law.stanford.edu/2017/11/28/alma-asays-allegory-acquired/|title=Alma Asay's Allegory Acquired|date=November 28, 2017|website=Stanford Law School|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> On March 30, 2022, Asay joined a legal technology company, Litera,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Litera Announces Key Industry Hire of Legal Technologist Alma Asay, Will Join New Litera TV Lineup {{!}} Litera |url=https://www.litera.com/about-us/press-releases/litera-announces-key-industry-hire-of-legal-technologist-alma-asay-will-join-new-litera-tv-lineup/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=www.litera.com}}</ref> where she joined LiteraTV lineup ahead of its launch. A few months thereafter, on August 21, 2020, Litera acquired Allegory Law from Integreon, reuniting the founder to her original legaltech startup.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Litera Acquires Allegory Law, Following Founder Asay to Company |url=https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2020/08/21/litera-acquires-allegory-law-following-founder-asay-to-company/ |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=Legaltech News |language=en}}</ref> However, Asay has mentioned in interviews that Litera did not consult her during its strategic planning sessions to acquire Allegory Law and she did not take any leadership role with respect to Allegory Law after its acquisition, which had been rebranded as Litera Litigate.<ref>{{Citation |title=Sitting with the C-Suite: Alma Asay's Path to Legal Technology | date=16 October 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji5LgT_Ejlo |language=en |access-date=2022-09-29}}</ref> As of June 28, 2021, Asay joined the law firm Crowell & Moring as the senior director of practice innovation and client value.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-28|title=Allegory Founder Alma Asay Joins Crowell & Moring In Practice Innovation Role|url=https://www.lawsitesblog.com/2021/06/allegory-founder-alma-asay-joins-crowell-moring-in-practice-innovation-role.html|access-date=2021-12-20|website=lawsitesblog.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-28|title=Crowell & Moring Taps Alma Asay as Senior Director of Practice Innovation and Client Value|url=https://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/PressReleasesAnnouncements/Crowell-Moring-Taps-Alma-Asay-as-Senior-Director-of-Practice-Innovation-and-Client-Value|access-date=2021-12-20|website=Crowell & Moring LLP}}</ref>
Asay is regularly invited to speak on the topics of legal technology and innovation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eng.scourt.go.kr/eboard/ExchangeViewAction.work?gubun=26&seqnum=205|title=The Supreme Court of Korea|website=eng.scourt.go.kr|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://legalexecutiveinstitute.com/video-allegory-law-asay/|title=Video Interview: Allegory Law CEO Asay on Bringing Innovation to Legal|date=2016-11-11|newspaper=Legal Executive Institute|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref> She is also vocal on the topic of women entrepreneurs in technology.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.stanford.edu/2016/05/25/alma-asay-speak-your-mind-but-prepare-to-be-wrong/|title=Alma Asay: Speak Your Mind But Prepare to be Wrong|website=Stanford Law School|date=25 May 2016 |access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://legalexecutiveinstitute.com/allegory-ceo-asay-silicon-valley-big-law-different/|title=Allegory CEO Asay: Silicon Valley & Big Law are Very Different for Women|date=2016-10-25|newspaper=Legal Executive Institute|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dear-john-why-you-might-consider-obscuring-your-bias-instead-asay|title=Dear John: Why You Might Consider Obscuring Your Bias Instead of Suggesting that Professional Women Obscure Their Gender|date=2016-10-05|website=LinkedIn Pulse|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref> In 2016, she was named one of the ABA Legal Technology Research Center's Women of Legal Tech,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2016/04/ltrcs-women-legal-tech-2016/|title=LTRC's Women of Legal Tech 2016 - Law Technology Today|website=lawtechnologytoday.org|date=11 April 2016|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref> as well as a winner of the FastCase 50.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcase.com/fastcase50-winners-2016/|title=Fastcase 50|website=fastcase.com|access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref>
Asay received her B.A. in Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/birnbaum-womens-leadership-network/podcasts/asay|title=Alma Asay: "Founding My Own Legal Tech Company"|date=November 2017|website=law.nyu.edu|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> then received her J.D. from the NYU School of Law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/alumni-legal-tech-startups|title=Starting Up: Five NYU Law alumni are leading ventures in legal technology|website=law.nyu.edu|date=24 November 2014 |access-date=2016-12-13}}</ref>
== References == <references />
== External links == * [https://www.allegorylaw.com/alma-asay/ Official biography] on Allegory Law website * [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/women-in-business-qa-alma-asay-founder-and-ceo-allegory_b_58e5f6c6e4b00ea3841db62e Interview] on Huffington Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asay, Alma}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American women chief executives Category:American chief executives in technology Category:New York University School of Law alumni Category:Pennsylvania State University alumni Category:People associated with Gibson Dunn Category:21st-century American businesswomen Category:21st-century American businesspeople