Episode 61
· 06:59
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In today's episode, we'll cover the growth of the legal tech sector in the Middle East; the key trends of open-sourced resources and collaboration in the legal industry; and the formation of a consortium by 11 global law firms to develop generative AI training.
Let's dig in!
Here's what happened in legal tech recently...
Hélder Santos has recently taken the position of head of legal tech and innovation at Bird & Bird. In this role, he is responsible for implementing legal tech solutions on a global scale. Speaking of legal tech, the American Bar Association's annual TECHSHOW is going to be hosting a live pitch competition. The competition will be open to legal tech startups who have not previously had the opportunity to showcase their products at a national legal tech conference.
In terms of technological developments, legal tech companies Zuva and Litera have joined forces to open-source a document classification taxonomy, aiming to simplify document classification and enhance law firm management. SkillBurst Interactive has successfully launched a series of AI training programs for lawyers called "Generative AI Fundamentals for Law Firms." This initiative provides lawyers with the necessary skills and knowledge to leverage AI in their legal practice.
The legal industry is undergoing significant automation, with 60% of law departments implementing legal data analytics tools in 2022. However, this rapid rise in new technologies has led to 'transformation fatigue' within the sector. Despite this, the legal tech industry in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE, has made impressive progress. For example, Clara, an organization based in the UAE, has expanded its operations into Saudi Arabia. Moreover, a number of startups in the region are participating in the 2023 HiiL Justice Accelerator Programme.
The widespread adoption of these innovative tools presents challenges. 'Transformation fatigue' emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between automation and preserving the human touch in legal services. Open-sourced resources such as Zuva and Litera’s document classification taxonomy demonstrate a collaborative future for the legal tech industry. In the future, the success of legal tech players will be determined not only by the innovativeness of their technologies but also by their accessibility and interoperability within the broader ecosystem.
Coming next, we dive deeper and review a couple of key stories.
Eleven international law firms have joined forces to embark on a collaborative project aimed at developing a series of on-demand and interactive training courses in generative AI. This initiative, known as "Generative AI Fundamentals for Law Firms," is spearheaded in partnership with SkillBurst Interactive, a leading provider of on-demand learning solutions for law firms and businesses alike.
Responding to the resounding demand from law firms for impartial and comprehensive training in generative AI, this consortium project seeks to address various critical aspects of the technology. The training modules cover essential subjects such as privacy, security, data bias, ethics, liability, accountability, and collaboration skills. By offering such high-quality and relevant courses, the consortium endeavors to equip legal professionals with the requisite knowledge and skills to navigate the complex landscape of generative AI, ensuring they remain at the forefront of their field.
To extend the benefits of this unique endeavor beyond the consortium, law firms outside the collaboration can access these valuable training modules through a subscription model. This inclusive approach aims to provide widespread access to vendor-neutral training in generative AI, enabling a broader legal community to harness its potential effectively.
Through this pioneering project, the consortium of major law firms is driving innovation and knowledge-sharing in the legal profession, further solidifying their commitment to staying ahead of emerging technologies and fostering professional growth within the legal community.
Zuva and Litera, two leading legal tech companies, have partnered to create a comprehensive multi-level document classification taxonomy. This taxonomy is intended to standardize legal data and facilitate its use by legal professionals and firms. As part of their commitment to the legal community, Zuva and Litera have made this taxonomy available as an open-source resource through the SALI Alliance.
The document classifier developed by Zuva and Litera offers an impressive 225 document classifications. It is accessible through Zuva's API, enabling easy integration into existing systems. This collaborative effort addresses the challenges associated with using multiple systems for contract analysis and document management. By providing a standardized taxonomy, the aim is to enhance consistency, interoperability, and the role of artificial intelligence in legal technology.
The taxonomy also brings advantages by streamlining document recognition, retrieval, and review processes. This optimization simplifies and accelerates these essential tasks, improving efficiency within legal firms and corporations. Most notably, it promises to automate document tagging, which can consume significant time and resources. This feature alone is expected to generate substantial time and cost savings.
By making their classification taxonomy open source, Zuva, and Litera are contributing to the advancement of legal technology. The availability of this resource will empower legal professionals to efficiently manage their document systems. The impact of this collaborative effort is set to revolutionize the way legal documents are classified and managed, delivering immense benefits to the legal community at large.
And that's a wrap.
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