ISSUE No.18
It’s even more level when you have the technology to support you. The biggest law firms certainly do, and now law firms of all sizes are seizing the opportunity to evolve their approaches and the technology they use.
While the exact same tools aren’t always appropriate, firms need the right ones to help them compete, says Mary Juetten. She runs Juetten Law PC and is the founder of Traklight, which helps small business owners assess their IP risk. She is about to launch the new virtual-first firm Singular Law Group PLLC. “Solos and small law firms need to have the same capacity as big law firms to serve clients efficiently and effectively to improve access to legal services,” Juetten says.
Source: Thomson Reuters
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The University of San Diego School of Business program activates accredited angel investors and engages promising early-stage companies.
Advocat is a legal tech provider that reduces the workload for in-house attorneys. Its system enables a non-attorney business user to talk with Advocat’s system, which uses AI to understand what the user needs. The AI selects the correct internal legal template and asks the user a series of questions, drafts a document and sends the draft to in-house counsel for approval. The benefit is that it saves a significant amount of time in intake and drafting.
Source: Geek Wire
Photo: Advocat
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Efficiency drive shapes legal tech priorities in UK financial services
UK financial services institutions are thinking more strategically about their adoption of legal technology as in-house legal teams are charged with finding tools to deliver operational efficiency.
This priority reflects the expectations leading financial services companies have of their legal function: that they will lead and shape strategic direction and implementation of business strategy and be more accountable for companies’ performance and costs.
According to 10 leading UK-based banks, insurers and asset managers we talked to, the anticipated revolution of AI-powered legal tech solutions has yet to materialise. Many in‑house teams recognise that they need a more advanced strategy for harnessing data to make the most of the potential AI offers. Instead, many are focussing on existing corporate IT tools rather than bespoke legal technology applications.Source: Pinsent Masons
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After a year of operating away from the office, working remotely has become the ‘new norm.’ Many corporate legal departments are required to ‘go digital’ — almost entirely — now. For some lawyers, the notion of working from home (WFH) is not unusual; for others, it’s a daily struggle to stay productive and connected. The frustration is understandable, given the number of regular files and contracts — often still in paper formats — contained in every business. It is no wonder, then, why in-house corporate counsel still grapples with managing documents efficiently and effectively, particularly during remote working. Fortunately, a legal technology solution can help general counsels (GCs) and legal teams stay on top of agreements and related documents during these times. The latest digital tools allow GCs and legal teams to streamline the contract management process and even eliminate manual contract review altogether. They are as cost-effective as they are time-saving.
Source: Lexology
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Thomson Reuters’ 2021 Report on the State of the Legal Market was recently released, which found that 85 per cent of law firms of all stripes are planning to increase their investments in technology this year, in the wake of the upheaval caused by 2020.
The past year, the multinational corporation said, really emphasised just how much attitudes have evolved about day-to-day legal practice, particularly with regards to digital workflow tools and solutions using the cloud.
The report also surmised that the legal profession, on the whole, absorbed five to 10 years’ worth of technology adoption into 12 months, by virtue of the age of coronavirus.
Source: Lawyers Weekly
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Six-month seat option forms part of magic circle outfit’s training contract programme.
Linklaters‘ in-house tech start-up is taking on trainees, it has emerged.
Nakhoda is the magic circle firm’s legal tech hub, launched in 2015, with the aim of using technology to solve legal problems.
It has begun to take on trainees for six-month secondments that form a part of the firm’s standard training contract rotation.
The training seat was initially scheduled to start in September 2020 but went forward earlier than planned in March 2020 due to lockdown restrictions.
Source: Legal Cheek
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Law Commission of Ontario releases report on AI and automated decision-making systems
The Law Commission of Ontario has published Legal Issues and Government AI Development: Workshop Report, which discusses opportunities and issues arising from the government’s use of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making systems, including disclosure, bias, due process and public participation.
In late 2020, the commission, alongside the Ontario Digital Service, organized four workshops that invited Government of Ontario lawyers, policymakers, operational managers and technology authorities, as well as the commission’s counsel and advisors, to discuss policy issues for AI systems across the four stages of their development: design, implementation or operation, oversight or evaluation and legal challenges.
Source: Law Times
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Brightflag expands through COVID recession, as companies place greater scrutiny on legal spend
As the COVID-19 economic downturn forced organizations into belt-tightening mode, the AI-powered legal spend and matter management platform Brightflag saw significant growth in 2020, which it plans to continue throughout 2021.
Last year, the company nearly doubled its annual recurring revenue, and it plans a 60-employee hiring spree in 2021. In December of last year, the company raised $28 million in a growth equity investment, led by specialist investor One Peak. Brightflag said it plans to use the funding to expand its international operations and accelerate product innovation.
Source: Canadian Lawyer
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Under the radar, however, a different blockchain application continues to garner relatively little attention, but is playing a critically important role enabling many of these higher profile applications; smart contracts. Underlying this entire idea is the reality that blockchains, in and of themselves, are records of transactions and other data that have previously occurred. These records and information contained therein are (depending on who is asked) immutable and/or extremely difficult to hack or otherwise breach, but are still just records of previous transactions.
Source: Forbes.com
Photo: Getty
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Leading Digital Disruption in the Agile World
This live virtual roundtable will explore the balancing of regulatory and client security demands and the critical role that technology offers. Speakers will offer insight into maintaining operational efficiency, whilst striving to achieve and ensure the primary goal of excellent client service delivery.
Source: Netlaw Media
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Source: Luminance
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Join thousands of your peers and learn virtually everything you need to level up your legal support career. Welcome to the only online event dedicated to training and elevating legal professionals across the law firm, from paralegal to administrator to attorney!. This is your opportunity to learn new skills, hear from experts in the industry, and find your zen in a stressful line of work. Attend every session or tune in for just a handful. Learn at your own pace, on your own time, without spending hundreds on tickets and travel.
Source: One Legal
Photo: Getty
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