TurnSignl wins ABA Techshow 2022's Startup Alley competition
The Startup Alley competition returned to being in person for the first time since 2020.
TurnSignl, an app that helps drivers record roadside interactions with law enforcement and immediately access lawyers via videoconferencing, won the Startup Alley pitch competition at the ABA Techshow 2022 on Wednesday evening.
“Our mission is simple and three pronged: It’s to protect drivers’ civil rights, to de-escalate roadside interactions and third, and most importantly, ensure every driver and law enforcement officer returns home safe at the end of the day,” said Jazz Hampton, the CEO and general counsel at TurnSignl.
During his presentation, which took place at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Hampton said app users gain 24/7 access to a network of attorneys who have all gone through third-party de-escalation training as a condition of being allowed onto the platform. The app is available for iOS and Android.
TurnSignl bested 13 other competitors whose representatives each made three-minute pitches during the sixth annual competition.
“To be recognized in a room full of tech startups that are in this field is one of the highest honors we can have,” Hampton told the ABA Journal.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the ABA Techshow 2022 here.
The competition returned to being in person for the first time since 2020. Last year’s event was conducted remotely amid an all-virtual Techshow because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Lyle Moran.
TurnSignl is currently available to drivers in three states: California, Georgia and Minnesota. Hampton is based in Minneapolis.
Drivers who contact an attorney through the app are connected with a lawyer in their respective jurisdiction, and Hampton said a plethora of firms have signed up to be part of the platform’s network.
He said his company’s goal is eventually to expand to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., an initiative that will require finding attorneys to join the platform in those jurisdictions.
Jazz Hampton is the CEO and general counsel at TurnSignl. Photo by Lyle Moran.
“The analogy we always use is: ‘We are kind of like T-Mobile. We have got to stand up the cellphone tower before we can go there and turn on service. And those lawyers are the cellphone tower,’” Hampton told the ABA Journal.
As the first place winner of the competition, TurnSignl gets a package of marketing and advertising prizes.
Taking home second place was Dashboard Legal, a practice management and collaboration platform built into a lawyer’s email inbox. Clearbrief, an AI-powered legal writing tool featured on the Legal Rebels Podcast last year, came in third.
This year’s Techshow also has virtual elements, and the event runs through Saturday.
