Joseph R. Tiano Jr., Esq. is Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Legal Decoder. After practicing law for nearly 20 years, Joe founded Legal Decoder because he saw that clients lacked the analytic tools and data to effectively price and manage the cost of legal services delivered by outside counsel. Joe set out to build an intelligent, data driven technology company that would revolutionize the way that legal services from outside counsel are priced and economically evaluated. Legal Decoder’s data analytics technology is used in law firms of all sizes from AmLaw 50 law firms to boutique firms; Fortune 500 legal departments and in major Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases (PG&E, Purdue Pharma, Toys R Us and others).
Joe is a prolific author having (co-)authored nine law review articles published in scholarly journals. In addition, he has written articles for countless blogs and other online media on substantive legal issues and the legal industry in general. He regularly presents at CLEs and other seminars and courses on topics ranging from artificial intelligence, LegalTech, legal data analytics to legal ethics and legal malpractice.
Previously, Joe was a Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP and Thelen LLP where he grew and managed all aspects of a multi-million-dollar cross-border finance practice. Entrepreneurship runs through Joe’s veins since his early days as a venture capital lawyer representing transformative technology companies, like Blackboard Inc., and many of the outgrowths of Blackboard (WeddingWire/The Knot, Presidium, Starfish Retention Solutions and others).
Joe graduated from Georgetown University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1995. Joe is a native Washingtonian who currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, Meredith, and their two boys, Gabriel and John-Paul.
During the rare moments when he is not working, Joe can be found taking his sons on hikes, watching their extracurricular activities and helping Meredith implement her design creations.