On the legal forefront-Digital Lawyering

I would like to direct attention to the next legal tech conference which will take place on November 7, at the Park Hyatt in Vienna. The event provides a fruitful platform to connect with colleagues and learn about future trends and business perspectives in the legal industry, specifically legal-tech developments. Plus, there is a so-called “Next Generation program” for students. It grants a select group of young professionals to partake in the conference for free. I encourage interested students to apply and learn about a topic not yet covered in law school.

In an interview with CNN, IBM Senior VP Bridget van Kralingen acknowledges blockchain technology’s groundbreaking effect for simplifying secure and fast financing. Furthermore, she predicts fundamental change as new business models for enterprise-blockchain-services will emerge–be it machine learning used for big data analytics to predict fraudulent activities or even the entertainment industry. Decentralized information sharing will change modi operandi in several ways, for instance, new transparent crowdfunding and even content distribution systems will be implemented via blockchain technology, technological improvements and ever-changing business models affect the legal branch no less.

Blockchain’s transformative effects on legal services

• Digitalization, innovation automation new dimensions opportunities increasing legal research efficiency. Learning search system, smart technologies compile prompt, optimized results. Updated legal databases will further facilitate their display of search results. While companies will save valuable working time by adopting search algorithms, clients will benefit from lower flat-rates instead of paying fees on an hourly basis.
• Moreover, AI will help avoid redundancies and enable lawyers to share documents and notes more efficiently.
• The potential of integrating technological advances in everyday legal doesn’t end there. Individual standardized online services already offer basic legal advice. By filling out online questionnaires or communicating with legal chatbots those services are capable to create so-called “smart-contracts” and wills for instance. Automated platforms are increasingly used for refunding of flight-fares and rental fee.
• Based on huge data volumes, “big data”, blockchain and machine learning technologies will be able to translate predictive analytics and generate data profiles and prevent fraudulent behavior.

For a comprehensive introduction, this video may be useful:

“We design our world, while our world acts back on us and designs us” – Anne Marie Willis

The concept of ontological design couldn’t be more current as we shape our environment which in turn provides us the tools for our actions. Embrace the change. Be knowledgeable about emerging legal technologies. AI solutions are here to stay.