David Yermack
David, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
Five years ago, digital currencies and tokens were unknown to most people and completely ignored by governments. Beginning in 2013 with guidance from FinCen in the United States, regulators from many areas of government have taken increasing interest in this type of property. This is now a growing practice area for many law firms.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be talking about new opportunities for lawyers to become involved in cases related to digital assets.These would include areas such as smart contracts, the fiduciary duties of software engineers, enforcement of judgments against cloud-based entities, and numerous other emerging legal problems.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
Many governments are issuing white papers with regulatory guidance on FinTech and digital assets. There is a lot of breaking daily news in online specialty publications, and increasing coverage of the area by the mainstream financial press. I read CoinDesk every day and talk to many attorneys in and around New York.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
Distributed ledger technology and blockchains are viewed as "job killers" in many industries, because they are likely to automate functions that have been performed for centuries by bankers and accountants, among other white collar professionals. I think the situation will be far different for lawyers, however. Some routine legal work, such as foreclosing on assets of a debtor in default, may be superseded by smart contracts, and legal practice areas will need to change. However, it is abundantly clear that many novel legal problems are being created by this new technology, and this is a huge opportunity for the legal industry. Lawyers with backgrounds in computer programming or data analytics are likely to experience especially high demand.
Ben Kingsley
Ben, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
The birth of fintech law is the most significant development for me as a fintech lawyer. 5 years ago what we would now casually refer to as fintech clients would typically have been serviced by tech lawyers odd-jobbing on the financial services aspects, or by financial services lawyers odd-jobbing on the tech; but now there is a cadre of specialist lawyers with genuine knowledge and expertise across both waterfronts. My hope is that over the next few years this will further enhance the UK’s ability to nurture, attract, retain and support the growth of world-leading fintech businesses.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be talking about the global legal support programme for fintech and emerging tech businesses that I co-founded in London in 2016 – one of the flagship innovation programmes of my firm in recent years.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
For a general introduction to fintech law, I would suggest reading the ICLG Fintech Guide, of which I am a contributing editor; this provides a very accessible overview of fintech law in more than 30 relevant jurisdictions.
Thank you! Is there something else that you would share with our readers?
Please visit my emerging tech microsite at www.slaughterandmay.com/eutech
Philipp Kadelbach
Philipp, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
The use of AI-based technologies in law will continue to spread in particular in some areas. The quality of the findings of those systems will increase and the application possibilities will broaden. This provides an opportunity to massively improve access to justice for certain groups of people and companies. I think that would be very good.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will tell my own story. I will talk about disrupted flight from Amsterdam to Berlin in 2009. And that I realized that no meaningful way of enforcing (small) compensation claim against airlines existed. What resulted in founding Flightright. I will also explain why we had to embrace technology to survive. And that our competition forced us to build a new product with instant payout to passengers in 7 minutes.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
We all have been inspired by Richard Susskinds books. My next best advice is to think about recent flight disruptions. If there are any then instruct Flightright and experience legal tech in action. Following Markus Hartung on social media is fun. I also recommend the legal-tech-blog.de (its mostly in English).
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
I am very happy to be able to speak about Legal Tech in Amsterdam, because Flightright (see above) is inseparably connected to Amsterdam.
Karl Haraldsson
Karl, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
My area of expertise is legal data science. The most important development in this space has been the emergence of legal-specific document analysis tools. One of the legal industry's biggest challenges in legal analytics is the dearth of good structured data that characterizes the practice of law. Very few firms, for instance, track detailed matter outcome information (e.g., dispute settlement amount). Today, we can use machine learning and natural language processing to extract that kind of information--and many other pieces of information that are not publicly available--from settlement agreements, contracts, demand letters, and more. This breaks down a substantial barrier to collecting data, which, in turn, makes sophisticated data analysis possible.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18? At Lexpo'18?
I will be speaking about strategies for propelling data science into legal practice. In my work, I focus almost entirely on "practice data," which looks beyond time and billing information to attempt to better characterize elements of the practice of law itself. Thus, in my talk, I will speak about ways that lawyers can use data to inform their legal strategy, underpin negotiations, and forecast matter outcomes. More importantly, however, my talk will focus primarily on practical ways that corporate legal departments and private practice law firms can actually use legal data science.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
Some interesting reading might include: alt.legal: The Forecast For Legal Analytics Is Mostly Sunny by Ed Sohn, Why The Best Supreme Court Predictor In The World Is Some Random Guy In Queens by Oliver Roeder Quantitative Legal Prediction - or - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Preparing for the Data Driven Future of the Legal Services Industry by Daniel Martin Katz Noise: How to Overcome the High, Hidden Cost of Inconsistent Decision Making (https://hbr.org/2016/10/noise) by Daniel Kahneman, Andrew Rosenfield, Linnea Ghandi, and Tom Blaser You Don’t Need ‘Perfect’ Data for Analytics by James Guszcza
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
Don't sleep on the power of contemporary data visualization tools to jump-start a legal analytics program. Lawyers rarely see the results of the data that they enter. Tools like Tableau and Microsoft Power BI make it possible to not only build on the static reporting that lawyers and clients already receive, but also display new metrics that reach beyond the basic financial figures that everyone has become so accustomed to. We see basic data visualization as a gateway to more profound analyses.
David Fisher
David, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
I am focused on blockchain, and it's fair to say that the industry mostly didn't exist five years ago. But as we witness the global explosion in development and investment in blockchain technology over just the past two years, it's fair to say that this is an extremely important technology that seems likely to impact all aspects of our digital lives.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be talking about the application of blockchain technology to the business of law (asdistinct from the practice of law), as well as the powerful combination of AI and blockchain technology.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
Most legal professionals think of blockchain in the context of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts, but blockchain is the technology that underpins those applications. I recommend that legal professionals seek basic educational materials that explain blockchain as a general technology, rather than the applications that can be built on it. To truly understand cryptocurrency and smart contracts, you must first understand blockchain technology.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
The combination of AI and blockchain is going to impact all aspects of the legal industry in the next three years. These will not be "point solutions" in the form of much legal software, but instead will be ecosystem innovations that will change the very nature of the way legal services are delivered. It is important for legal professionals to engage these technologies now, even though their full impact will not be felt for some number of years.
Oliver N Oram
Oliver, what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years
1. Smart contracts, 2. Intellectual property, 3. Blockchain law, 4. Property rights, 5. Chain of custody, 6. Financial transactions, 7. Notary public - Of these seven topics that were highlighted in January 2018, I would like add one thing that in my opinion encompasses the seven that being intelligent contracts which in essence will cover the seven above. Working with many different sectors we see the adaption of intelligent contracts and development of these as agnostic to both blockchain/protocols and agnostic to many sectors.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be speaking about how we are developing intelligent contracts that sit alongside intelligent commodities and how the combination is very pervasive across both public and private sectors.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
In the first instance I would say please reach out to me and discuss with me what we are doing at Chainvine, we are in trenches every day working with Blockchain technology with both theirs peers in the legal industry and perhaps some of their very own clients.
Shruti Ajitsaria
Shruti, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
I think the general rise of legal tech and the growing pace of change are the most significant developments from the last few years. The practice of law is changing and changing fast. We’ve seen numerous incubators and accelerators pop up in law firms and a real focus from lawyers on identifying the smartest, tech-enabled solutions to clients’ challenges. It’s an exciting time to be a lawyer.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I’ll be talking about the experience of launching Fuse – our tech innovation space in London – including its aims, the process of getting it off the ground and what we’ve learnt from it so far. I’m looking forward to hearing from my fellow panellists on their own incubator experiences, too.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
Attendees should feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, and if they’re interested in Fuse I’d encourage them to check out the relevant pages on our website.
John Alber
John, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
The most hopeful sign I have seen recently is the introduction of Design Thinking disciplines into the discussion of how to transform legal services. Wave after wave of new technology has broken on the shores of law, to little or no effect. The bulwark of stare decisis thinking—the way we have always done things is the way we shall continue doing them—has proven too formidable. But Design Thinking can change that. It’s a set of disciplines rather than a mere exhortation to change. And lawyers have always been good at discipline. Our job in legal technology should be to continue and expand that discussion of new disciplines for a new age. And thereon we may build a small monument to hope.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be a cheerleader for Design—with a capital D. The legal profession has been paralyzed for a generation as new technologies have taken hold elsewhere in the global economy. It’s time for us to redesign our profession. We focus on service in the same way that, say, an old-fashioned switchboard operator tried to be friendly.
But, as nice as we are, the fact is our service is antiquated. Our clients expect iPhones not RCA plugs in a switchboard panel. It’s time for us to redesign that service model.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
I’d like it if folks read my blog: rethinking.legal. But I’ll also recommend a very good, but little appreciated, book by Ben Barton called Glass Half Full: The Decline and Rebirth of the Legal Profession.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
The “artificial” in “artificial intelligence” means that it is not going to think up a new service model for the legal profession. That remains a human problem. So, too, is the “business” in “business intelligence” a human-focused concern. Machines don’t define markets. As much as we like to talk about the wonders of AI and BI, our real work is in redefining the human systems that form the context in which those tools operate.
David Rueff
David, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
For me personally, acquiring training in process improvement methodologies. Lawyers are not trained in law school to evaluate their approach to production and look for ways to deliver services better, faster and cheaper. Process improvement techniques such as the Toyota Manufacturing Production System (Lean) can provide lawyers with tools to identify waste, improve workflows and provide services more consistently. In the coming years, a clearer understanding and model for legal process and production will help lawyers identify how to integrate technology and alternative resources into their practice.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be speaking about how I personally embraced project management and process improvement disciplines in 2010 to improve client relationships and avoid write offs of my legal fees by clients. After seeing the results in my own practice, I then worked with my firm leadership to develop an internal program to implement these techniques with our 750+ lawyers. I currently oversee a team of professionals responsible for project management, process improvement, pricing and technology development, however, at this conference, my objective will be to translate my experience into practical solutions for individual lawyers.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
I co-authored a comprehensive book on legal project management for the American Bar Association titled, The Power of Legal Project Management. It was the ABA's best seller in 2014. In 2016, my co-author, Susan Lambreth and I, published an updated book titled, "Implementing Legal Project Management: The Legal Professional's Guide to Success." I have also authored several articles on project management, budgeting, pricing and process improvement for the International Technology Association and other trade publications. These and other articles are accessible from my bio page on Baker Donelson's website (under Publications): https://www.bakerdonelson.com/David-A-Rueff-Jr
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
I would like to share a quote from my Lean sensei which has stuck with me over the years - "excellence in operation is a strategic weapon." Project management, process improvement and even pricing are all operational techniques that can help us improve our products and services for a client. The key is to embrace change now, integrate it into your practice, and continuously improve your service delivery with every matter.
Nick Kirby
Nick, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
The availability of machine learning/AI software, as this has enabled lawyers to significantly reduce the amount of time they spend carrying out due diligence, freeing up time for other areas of work that can add value for clients.The providers of these tools initially focused on large scale corporate transactions but recently their focus has shifted towards real estate. For example, we have partnered with Kira Systems to develop UK real estate focused machine learning models to extract information from real estate documents. A number of other providers are also turning their attention to the UK real estate market and the increased competition will only further increase the speed at which improvements are made. An important area of focus over the next few years will be creating an ecosystem in which all of the tools we are using can exchange data seamlessly. We are working on being able to pull publically available data and data scraped from real estate documents into centralised databases which allow us to communicate important insights more effectively and efficiently with our clients and their service providers.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
How a legal tech incubator can drive change in a law firm. We are committed to technologically transforming the firm, so that we can automate tasks and processes and utilise AI and cloud technology as key elements of everyday practice. A part of my role as the technology specialist in our Real Estate department has been to drive change throughout the department and the firm, and MDR LAB is a big part of that. MDR LAB allows our lawyers to engage with new technology in a meaningful and detailed way, encourages cultural change and creates a generation of employees who embrace technology (rather than fear it!). The first year of MDR LAB saw real estate lawyers exposed to dynamic startups and enabled them to get involved in sprint sessions, designing new products from the ground up – something you wouldn’t normally see in a law firm.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
Keeping up to date with the news is a great place to start. City A.M. has a dedicated Proptech section on its website, and the Financial Times and Telegraph often cover the latest trends in this area.
Law firm websites and blogs can also be a great place to find information, and signing up for updates from law tech incubators such as MDR LAB will make sure you receive the latest news as it is released. There are now a number of conferences that take place throughout the year focusing on Proptech, so attending will not only give you the chance to hear the latest updates but also provide an opportunity to network with the people working at the forefront of the industry.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
I think aggregation and analysis of law firm data is going to be big over the next few years. Historically, law firms haven’t been very good at collecting data regarding their own businesses, or what they have been doing for clients. With advances in data analytics, and the availability of more data surrounding what we do and how we spend our time, I think there are going to be some really interesting analyses coming out of law firms which will change the way things are done. For example, this could enable much more accurate budgeting for large litigation and transactional matters.
Susan Lambreth
Susan, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
I think one of the most important developments is the growth in the size and scope of legal operations functions in legal departments as they are pushing greater efficiency from their outside counsel. That is driving more emphasis on legal project management by law firms in all sizes of firms. The upcoming CLOC Institute in late April will have over 2000 attendees and CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) now has over 1000 members around the globe. As I have written in some pieces lately, it makes it harder to “fake” LPM.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I will be talking about legal project management — what it is, why it is important and examples of how to do it.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
One of the other speakers (David Rueff) and I have co-authored several books on LPM. My company also developed an online, e-learning course that provides the LPM LaunchPad Certificate in the Fundamental Skills of Legal Project Management. It is quite reasonably priced and a lawyer knows how to apply LPM to his or her matters when they complete it. We are offering a shorter, awareness course later this spring. Beyond that, there are articles about LPM almost weekly in the legal press.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
LPM is not about buying a certain technology or tool but rather is a way to enhance relationships with clients and improve communication with clients and within matter teams.
Kim Craig
Kim, If you should pick one - what, in your opinion, is the most important development in your area of expertise over the past 5 years in the Legal Market, and how will it affect the upcoming years?
In my experience sitting table-side in countless sales meeting with clients, I’ve seen their expectations change drastically over the last decade. Legal expertise has become table stakes and a law firm’s ticket for entry. As law departments are under more pressure for cost saving, improved financial predictability and deeper alignment with the business objectives, those pressures have transcended to the law firms that service them. Clients expect firms to provide deeper insights into HOW the legal work will be provided and define the value to the client for those services. These changing mandates have required law firms to invest in and leverage business professionals who can broaden and deepen the value of the legal services provided. These professionals consist of client-facing legal project managers, pricing specialists, data analysts, technologists, efficiency experts and so on — a/k/a “nonlawyers” (a term despised by some and embraced by others) or “non-practicing lawyers."
These roles have gained traction over the past five years with the rise of the emerging legal ops roles in law departments who focus on many of these core disciplines and there is a synergy we have observed between the law firm’s business professionals in these roles and the legal ops members. This momentum will continue and pick up pace as those organizations that invest in the “business of law” by increasing skills, talent and expertise in these area will have a significant competitive advantage.
What will you be talking about at Lexpo’18?
I am excited to share Seyfarth’s journey as a pioneer in legal project management and lean six sigma. Being the first one out of the gate has its challenges and I’ll share those hurdles as well as the wins. After a decade, we have learned much and can safely say that our program is not a “fad” but one that created a true cultural transformation, strongly supported and encouraged by clients. We believe that the core tenets of these two disciplines are applicable not only in BigLaw but in all organizations regardless of size or focus. I’ll share some examples of where our consulting arm has helped apply tools and techniques to optimize performance of law departments, legal aid organizations and investment in law students who have tested their learnings out in five-person size firms. It’s been a fascinating experience and we believe in sharing with other legal service providers for the benefit of clients.
When the legal professionals at Lexpo'18 want to learn more about your area of expertise or the developments in this expertise, what do they need to do or read?
The legal market is flooded with information about legal project management so a quick internet search will result in a wealth of valuable information. More and more seasoned experts are publishing materials sharing their lessons learned. At Seyfarth, our LPMs are Project Management Professionals (“PMPs”) through the Project Management Institute. This organization also has a wealth of information about project management that is applicable in every vertical for which LPMs can learn and apply these core tenets to the delivery of legal services. With regard to lean six sigma, there are limited resources specific to legal. However, investing in LSS and obtaining at least a yellow belt level certification can be extremely valuable in helping to understand the applicability of process improvement to legal service delivery. Most importantly, after investing in these areas, TRY IT! Roll up your sleeves and use your strongest change management skills to test LPM and Lean out. Practice makes perfect.
Thank you! Is there something else or an insight that you would share with our readers?
While the technical skills in these referenced roles is key and valuable, they fall short without the soft skills required to successfully execute in this field. The ability to influence and be persuasive, as you introduce new disciplines to legal practitioners and suggest different methods and approaches, is absolutely critical. Being an exceptional change agent will go far and knowing how to navigate resistance to change will aid in your success. It takes confidence and humility to drive change along with empathy for those you are trying to “move.” It’s not all just about shiny tech, charts or graphs, it’s about connecting and understanding people, meeting them where they are, so that you have the best change of helping them to move forward.
For those that master this challenge, the rewards will be immense.
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