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Legal Tech and the Changing Legal Services Industry

Weekly Update - April 25

Posted in Artificial Intelligence

A. Quote of the Week

“The law is not forgiving. If you make a mistake, you lose your opportunity to make an argument, and that fear is preventing people from adopting these emerging technologies.” (Marla Crawford, Associate General Counsel at Goldman Sachs)

B. Global Legal Hackathon – Final Results

The inaugural edition of the Global Legal Hackathon came to an end this past weekend, as teams from around the world came to New York to pitch to judges in the final round. I had a chance to participate in the Toronto chapter of the event back in February, which was a fantastic experience. More impressively, this global event was put together in a mere 5 months. 

You can learn more about the winners here.

One of the winners was Revealu, which has built a solution that makes it very easy for consumers to request their personal information from companies. With GDPR coming into force in just one month, this is a great example of using technology to build a solution that allows for millions of people (in this case, EU residents) to exercise their legal rights.

C. Articles to Read

 
1. Bad Processes = Bad Applications of AI

Don’t Let Artificial Intelligence Supercharge Bad Processes (Sam Ransbotham)

Key Quote:

“Are there processes in your organization that AI can improve? Great. But, be sure to ask yourself: Should these processes exist in the first place? No amount of gee-whiz AI used to improve a process beats not having to rely on that process at all.” 

Why it Matters:

Using an AI solution to improve a process may make that process more manageable, but it is important to first consider whether the process was even necessary. If the process can be replaced or modified, then there may be no need to invest time and money in implementing a technology solution.

2. Legal Tech Incubator – New UK Collaboration

Fly Like an Eagle: Barclays Joins Raft of Firms With City Law-Tech Incubator Launch (James Booth)

Key Quote:

“We want to help build on the success of its legal sector, and play a leading role in transforming law-tech in the future. The impressive range of partners supporting this initiative shows just how important this is.”

Why it Matters:

There are a number of legal tech incubators in the world, including the world’s first legal tech incubator based out of Ryerson in Toronto. But what’s fascinating about this one are the partners involved: Barclays; 13 law firms (including A&O and Clifford Chance); the Law Society; multiple universities; one of the Big 4 accounting firms (PwC), and startup community Legal Geek. It’s great to see so many different stakeholders embracing the need for innovation in legal services, and it will be interesting to see how many startups emerge from this incubator.

D. Upcoming Events

Event  Details  Cost and Registration 

The Pitch

Five legal tech finalists (including Legal Innovation Zone companies Evichat and Founded) will be competing for some impressive prizes. 

This event will cap off the CCCA National Conference and ICW Summit.

May 1, 2018
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Fairmont Royal York (downtown Toronto)

  

Free for CBA members to attend.

Click here for more details and to register. 
 

Family Law Innovation Conference

 Join innovators and leaders from around the world as they share their innovative approaches to family law.

  

June 4, 2018

9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Ted Rogers School of Management
55 Dundas St. West, Toronto

 		  

Free 

Click here for more information and to register.










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