Inspired by his counseling work for client Tableau, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner Andrew Gray IV has harnessed self-service analytics at the firm with a particular focus on patent prosecution. By focusing on how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has handled similar matters in the past—going so far as to drill down on individual patent examiner’s idiosyncrasies—Gray and his team have obtained faster patent issuances at lower costs.

Gray is among the five finalists for The Recorder’s Innovator of the Year Award. The winner will be announced Nov. 6 as part of the California Leaders in Tech Law and Innovation Awards. The Recorder recently asked Gray about what he and the firm have learned by representing Tableau and adopting the company’s data visualization tools.