Issue No. 7 | AIFC LegalTech Digest

AIFC Lawtech advisory council

FORTNIGHTLY LEGALTECH DIGEST
ISSUE No.7

Stay updated, stay informed about legal technology news and events with AIFC LawTech Advisory Council's Fortnightly LegalTech Digest

LEGALTECH NEWS & ARTICLES

Legal Technology Boosts Business in Kazakhstan

Having become the first international financial centre in the world with a strategic focus on Legal Technology, the AIFC has significant potential to become not only a regional hub but also one of the leading LawTech centres in the world. As of today, it has already become a pioneer in running a first-of-its-kind LegalTech internship programme and launching a podcast series. This goes hand-in-hand with the modernisation of the Centre as part of its 2025 Development Strategy.

Law and Regulation for a Crypto-Market: Perpetuation or Innovation?

As new concepts of law and regulation have emerged in this area, software developers have begun to work with lawyers to create smart technologies that link the different functions. Automation can increase the efficiency of the crypto-market as well as monetising new products and services that are generated by, for example, big data. Private law matters as it provides legal certainty for market transactions. Regulatory intervention is required for a market as it can enhance legal certainty, mitigate legal and market risks, and address market failure.

The online GoingDigital Magazine

The first issue of GoingDigital, the online magazine for the changing legal market is out!

Association of Corporate Counsel regularly conducts surveys with General Counsels on the question of where the real pain points lie in practice. They include digitization, cyber security, data protection and IT. These are precisely the topics of new online magazine GoingDigital.

Study on the use of innovative technologies in the justice field

In the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the EU recognises the need to step up actions aiming to build an ecosystem of excellence supporting the development and acceptance of AI across the EU economy and public administration. The e-Justice Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2023 identify as priority areas the use of AI and blockchain/DLT in the justice field. In this context, the present study explores the existing policies and strategies at European and national level, as well as the state-of-play of the use of innovative technologies in justice.

Hands On with Lexis+, New Premium Research Service from LexisNexis That Officially Launched

With Lexis+, LexisNexis combines three key features within a single platform: its most advanced legal research tools; enhanced Practical Guidance, the new name for what was previously called Practice Advisor; and the introduction of Brief Analysis. These are accessed through a navigation bar on the left called the Experience Dock, and LexisNexis refers to each of these three main features as “Experiences.” Lexis+ also offers what LexisNexis describes as “dramatic visual styling” and a simplified layout intended to “set a new standard” in ease of use.

Impacts of the Coronavirus COVID-19 on Legal Professionals

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the legal, economic and social order. In today’s highly uncertain situation and rapidly changing environment, legal professionals like other businesses and industries are facing new challenges in their practice. The lawyers will experience a transformation of their practice and management of their law firms. Balancing between lawyers’ professional conduct responsibilities and clients’ relationships during the global pandemic might not always be easy to be made. For these reasons, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, legal professionals should take some initiatives and implement some strategies in running their business in the context of the ongoing situation.

Courts Have Embraced Videoconferencing Amid the Pandemic

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, court systems across the country have been conducting proceedings via videoconferencing technology as government buildings and courthouses closed and physical distancing guidelines have been implemented. Judicial systems have been working through kinks, seeing which kinds of technology work, how videoconferencing can be used for different kinds of cases and discovering new benefits. The approach reached a milestone last week, as a Travis County, Texas, court became the first to hold a criminal jury trial virtually in the U.S., the Associated Press reports.

Four Principles for Better Legal Technology

Firms in nearly every sector are turning to technology and automation to help them do more with less. In terms of dollars allocated to legal tech investment, 2019 was a banner year. Roughly $1.1 billion flowed into the space, compared with the $100 million invested in legal startups and technology in 2018. But this spending increase hasn’t necessarily translated into increased productivity.

The Future of Document Automation in the Legal World

Since mid-March, the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered the way law firms operate. While some firms were forced to adapt on the fly as they spent weeks setting up a viable virtual office, other firms were well-suited to handle the situation as they already had the necessary digital infrastructure in place.
As law firms continue to adapt to the current climate, legal professionals are increasingly seeing the benefit of utilizing legal technology — and, in particular, document automation software.

Process War Heats Up As UnitedLex To Spend $100m on Digital Transformation

The war to decide who will be the dominant players in the legal process market has taken another step forward with UnitedLex, which is majority owned by the CVC Capital Partners private equity firm, announcing a $100m investment in digital transformation. By any standards spending $100,000,000 on digitising a process-focused legal business is significant, even more so given that the funds for this are backed by a private equity firm the scale of CVC, which has $105 billion in assets under management – just to give a sense of the ‘power behind the throne’ at UnitedLex when it comes to executing its growth strategy.

The Impact of Video Proceedings on Fairness and Access to Justice in Court

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted court operations across the country, prompting judges to postpone nonessential proceedings and conduct others through video or phone. Even as courts have begun to reopen, many are also continuing or testing new ways to expand the use of remote technology. At the same time, public health concerns are leading some legal services providers and other advocates to oppose the return to in-person proceedings. Beyond the current moment, several court leaders have also suggested that expanded use of remote technology should become a permanent feature of our justice system.

The American Legal Tech Awards Winners Are…

The awards were launched in April, just as the pandemic was accelerating, but have been a success nevertheless. The team behind the project has been: Tom Martin, the founder and CEO of LawDroid, law firm founder, Patrick Palace, and US legal academic, Cat Moon.
There has been a strong A2J aspect. For example, outside of the specific A2J category, the winner of the main technology award was LawHelp Interactive, which enables people to fill out legal documents for free. And, staying with the A2J theme, ProBono Net won that category, which helps those in need connect with those lawyers wishing to provide pro bono legal services...

Covid-19 Is Transforming The Legal Industry: Macro And Micro Evidence

There is widespread consensus among CEO’s that business changes underway before Covid-19 have accelerated dramatically. For example, online delivery’s volume increased by the same amount in eight weeks as it had during the previous decade. Telemedicine experienced a ten-fold growth in subscribers in just 15 days. MicrosoftMSFT CEO Satya Nadella crystallized the nexus between Covid-19 and digital transformation during a recent quarterly earnings call: “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months.”

UPCOMING LEGALTECH EVENTS

Tech Talks Stream with Mark Beer, OBE: LawTech in Central Asia

28 September 2020 | 12:45 (GMT +8) | Online

We are pleased to invite you to the talk given by Mr Mark Beer, OBE, Chairman of the AIFC LegalTech Advisory Council at TechLaw.Fest 2020.

Mr Beer will talk about #LawTech in #CentralAsia on Monday, 28 September 2020 at 12:45 (GMT +8). Don't miss out!

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LegalTech Talks – with Joshua Rozenberg; an interview with Professor Richard Susskind OBE.

30 September 2020 | 15:00 BST | Online

LegalTech talks is proud to present two iconic and prolific industry leaders together for this live interview on 30th September at 15:00 (BST). Discussing prominent topics such as, the future of the profession, digital courts, the role of legal professionals, and much much more. This session is expected to reach full capacity, early registration is advised!

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Legal Tech Academy - New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI

30 September 2020 | 16:00 - 17:30 (CEST) | Online

At this event, Frank Pasquale will present his book and engage in a discussion about what it means for the future legal industry and those who are going to work in it. To participate in that discussion we have invited Niels Christian Ellegaard who authored the book Robots entering the legal profession last year. The new book about the future of work and the age if AI that is about to be published by Havard University Press in October 2020.

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The Changing Lawyer LIVE!

01 October 2020 | 13:30 - 15:00 (GMT +8) | Online

We are delighted to invite you to the panel discussion "50 Shades of ODR - Developing a Typology for ODR" with the participation of Mr Colin Rule, Member of the AIFC LegalTech Advisory Council.

Mr Colin Rule as well as Ken Hwee Tan, Jiun Ean Ban, Lei Theng Lim and Eunice Chua will discuss the Access to Justice and Online Dispute Resolution (#ODR) at TechLaw.Fest 2020 on Thursday, 01 October 2020 from 13:30 to 15:00 am (GMT +8). Don't miss out!

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The Changing Lawyer LIVE!

01 October 2020 | Online

Litera presents The Changing Lawyer LIVE!, a one-day virtual conference that will bring the legal community together on October 1, 2020, with an agenda featuring some of the most innovative members of the industry discussing the biggest issues legal teams are facing today. The Changing Lawyer LIVE! attendees will hear from exceptional keynote speakers sharing their compelling stories which serve as lessons for us in today’s challenging environment.

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LEGAL GEEK CONFERENCE

13 – 14 October 2020 | Online

The 2020 flagship Legal Geek Conference will be an all-digital celebration of legal innovation. It will be a live online event taking place over two days (13th and 14th October 2020). You can expect speakers from every continent, speed networking, live workshops, live talks, social events and more. There are 10,000 tickets available for this event, issued on a first-come-first-served basis. Scroll down to secure your ticket and learn more.

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Digital LegalInnovation

From 15 October 2020 | Online

LegalInnovation went Digital in 2020 and is co-organized by the Swiss LegalTech Association and the Swiss Bar Association, in partnership with Swisslex.
You will hear from over 30 speakers from various backgrounds and countries. They will discuss all aspects of the modernization of the Swiss Legal Market, the opportunities, the technologies, the clients, the strategies, the security and more.

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