The prestigious ‘Bridging the tech and legal sectors event is happening at the British Embassy in Bucharest. It has been a busy morning with keynote speeches from His Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania, Giles Portman, and Chair of LawtechUK, Christina Blacklaws. The event, held at Hotel Marmorosch in Bucharest, marks a significant milestone in the intersection of legal technology and regulatory advancements. Verify 365’s attendance reflects our commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovations in the legal sector.
An Introduction To Legal Tech and Its Impact
Giles Portman’s speech at the LawTech UK event began with a strong declaration, the United Kingdom’s unwavering dedication to fostering international technological cooperation. The Ambassador’s talk highlighted the practical opportunities that AI brings to the legal field, focusing on promoting international cooperation, aligning regulatory frameworks, and leveraging technology to enhance legal efficiency.
Portman’s address showcased the UK’s position as a hub for LawTech innovation, with the British legal sector being the largest in Europe, only second to the US as a market. The UK’s vibrant community of LawTech startups which has a seen 40% increase demonstrates the appeal for private investments and opportunity for growth. Portman stressed the growth of AI within the legal sector noting 75% of the largest solicitor firms were using AI while over 60% are exploring generative AI.
Interwoven in Portman’s speech were the guiding principles that shape the UK’s approach to AI – transparency, responsibility, and resilience. A transparent approach that promotes freedom and democracy alongside being responsible, demonstrating a degree of consistency with the rule of law. Portman stressed the importance of safety and resilience, ensuring the right balance between risk and value.
Portman concluded his speech with a key message which highlighted the great potential of law tech. The powers it can bring to the legal sector including greater efficiency, better responsiveness, and an appealing natures to all sectors including government figures and regulation professionals.
A Guide to the Role of Technology Within the Legal Sector
Following the opening key note speech, Chair of LawtechUK, Christina Blacklaws was next to speak. She began by making a strong case that technology is not just an option, but a necessity for the survival and success of legal businesses today emphasising the importance of adaptation. She discussed the problems that may arise and how legal firms and professionals can fit themselves into a future where technology’s presence is growing.
She outlined a degree of expectation from a client’s perspective noting the adaption of legal tech is crucial to improve the overall experience of a client. Law firms must understand the key role technology is playing in enhancing other services but also to stay ahead of the game and remain competitive within a saturated sector. Her key message here was adaption equals survival.
According to Blacklaws, technology will shape the future of legal services, offering benefits like improved information storage, automated work processes, and enhanced workflow management. She emphasised that technology can exceed expectations and drive significant growth in the legal sector. However, an underlining message within her speech highlighted the importance of education and understanding how to use the technology. 70% need to improve their digital skills as she argued the tech isn’t the problem but the people who struggle to utilise and understand the technology available.
Blacklaws continued by showcasing the benefits of innovative technology within the legal sector noting the improvements in storing information, improving the automation routine of an onboarding process and creating better work floe management overall. Blacklaws referred to the McKenzie report noting an 87% improvement in information storage and 61% improvement in the automation routine.
There are more improvements to come according to Blacklaws, who stressed other areas will be improved in the near future including contract management, paperless trade, risk management, risk prediction, e-billing, e-signatures, identity verification, client onboarding and integrated case management.
Blacklaws also discussed generative AI and how its powers can transform the legal sector. How generative AI is playing a key role in streamlining processes, improving efficiency and unlocking brand new opportunities. A major positive that is transforming the operations of a firm and essentially breaking new ground.
AI certainly offers exciting opportunities for growth and it’s an opportunity firms must seize upon. Blacklaws referenced Travers Smith, a case study which offered organisations an opportunity to develop their own enterprise chatbots. The YCN bot was used by over 100 organisations, they would clone this code and plug this into open APIs, they protecting data. AI offers a mouth watering prospect for growth as Blacklaws noted AI could drive growth by 71%.
It has already been an incredible morning of learning, engagement, and relationship building, and there is more to come, including a panel discussion with Verify 365 director Azeem Rashid and a speech from Chris Handford of the Solicitor Regulations Authorities who will delve into the role of the SRA and the importance of regulations.
