The legal services industry is currently entering a phase of deep transformation. The most basic tasks are automatized, simple services are commoditized, clients are empowered and professionals must increasingly focus on value-added services.
Similarly, to other industries previously, legal services are being industrialized and standardized. Starting with simple contracts and services, ultimately every aspect of a lawyer’s day-to-day job will be touched by automation. Customers will benefit from a price drop and a better access to justice. But faced with increasing competition, lawyers will need to rethink their business model. Numerous Swiss start-ups are digitalising traditional sectors and various organisations support them. The chances are good that Switzerland will be among the winners of digitalisation.
The Swiss Legal Tech 2017 is a three-day event, bringing together a community of legal professionals and digital innovators in order to discuss and develop the legal industry of the future. Our goal is making Switzerland a Leading Digital Legal Tech Hub by connecting national and international pioneers in the Legal Tech area.
On October 2nd, the 3-day event begins with a 48h Legal Tech Hackathon, where lawyers and software developers jointly identify problems and develop solutions. Accompanied by legal engineers, lawyers with technical expertise, ideas will be generated in an open format and teams created around shared interests. In organized brainstorming sessions, we’ll cover topics as diverse as Document Automation, Knowledge Management, Templating, Use of artificial intelligence in daily law practice, Competitive advantages through the use of AI, Process Automation & Knowledge Architecture, Blockchain, Smart Contracts. We will touch upon new digital business models and topics such as Legal Tech Start-Up Success Stories and Legal Design Thinking
A parallel full-day workshop track (25 + workshops) on October 3rd provides in-depth lectures and individual discussions in focus groups. We will cover 3 main topics ‘Industrialisation’; ‘Blockchain + AI’ and ‘E-Government’.
‘Industrialisation’: Legal Services will be industrialized and standardized: starting with specific contract types, ultimately every aspect of a lawyer’s day-to-day job will be touched by automation. Increasing complexity requires more qualified legal advice, leading to an increase in cost. Here, industrialization helps to reduce cost and lower the barrier to justice.
‘Blockchain+ AI’: Transactions of all kind will be executed on a globally shared trust infrastructure, giving rise to new levels of transparency and accountability. Blockchain technology is the most promising candidate technology yet to fulfil that vision. Advances in Machine Learning and Big Data influence law in many ways. From cost reduction in legal practice to questions such as legal personhood for machines.
‘E-Government’ is one of the hottest topic for Switzerland. The Confederation, the cantons and the communes are all pursuing a joint e-government strategy. By implementing the strategy, they are striving to implement the following mission statement: «eGovernment is a matter of course: transparent, cost-effective and seamless electronic government services for the general public, businesses and the administration. »
On October 4th, a full day Conference on Legal Tech follows. Renowned speakers with national and international backgrounds will have the opportunity to give their view on how the digital revolution will affect law and legal practice in the near and far future. The winners of the Hackathon will pitch their ideas and prototypes.
This is the first Swiss Legal Tech Conference + Hackathon and we are proud to announce that more 150 Legal Hackers/Engineers from India, Russia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Africa, Germany, Italy and Switzerland will participate in the Hackathon. More than 300 participants form the government, i.e. Swiss Post and Swiss Railway, national and international lawyers, general counsels and entrepreneurs have enrolled for the workshops and the conference. We’ll record the event and will present the results shortly after the conference on our website.
Dr.iur. Petra Arends-Paltzer
Co-Founder Swiss Legal Tech Conference
+ 41 69 247 87 91