On September 5th, Wintertaling, in collaboration with the Association for Legal Interim Professionals (VVJIP), organized a seminar on Legal Tech – technological developments with a direct or future impact on legal services. With top-of-the-line speakers and a fantastic and engaged audience, it was a resounding success. Here's a glimpse:
A Tuesday afternoon in early September. Downstairs, some children are playing soccer on the AFC pitches, the evening rush hour begins early on the ring road, and a little further on, the cluster of high-rises of law firms and banks on the Zuidas gleams. Slowly but surely, the Wintertaling room fills up with members of the VVJIP (Association of Legal Professionals) and clients, a total of about forty legal counsels. This packed house isn't surprising: that afternoon's topic is Legal Tech, and that's... hot.
Erik Vermeulen kicks off. He is a professor of Business and Financial Law in Tilburg and VP Governance at Philips Lighting, but don't expect a gray mouse, no boring story: in top gear (and in jeans and sneakers) he outlines the meteoric rise of tech in the world, his audience breathless from beginning to end. Witty and very knowledgeable, he explains how the legal world will change: now Suits, but soon Silicon Valley. Lawyers become Delft residents, that's basically what it comes down to.
Than Diogo Pereira Nunez, Portuguese, and like Erik, affiliated with both Philips and Tilburg. Just as engaging ("You don't expect such lively speakers on a topic like this," someone tells me during the break), he continues to discuss AI, artificial intelligence, and how it can—no, will—simplify the work of lawyers, but at the same time, how much work will be automated. And thus, many lawyers will become redundant: attorneys, notaries, but also judges. Computers can do it better, it's that simple.
Break, also necessary.
Than Guido Visman, student. Back again: Law & IT now, having already spent some thirty years in Delft where he became an engineer. "Nerds making smart contracts even smarter," that's his story, just as captivating, told with just as much enthusiasm. "How well prepared are you?" he asked. "How tech-savvy are you, really?" (much more so than his fellow students in Groningen, who, to his dismay, mostly surf the Zalando website during lectures, but have no clue or interest in the ins and outs of that site).
Finally Kristina Kalcheva. Young, Bulgarian, and quite brilliant. Her company, Jelurida, is involved in blockchain (currently in an ICO), and she explains how it works, how it's safe, and what we can do with it.
Panel discussion with a barrage of questions, moderated by Mark Schalekamp, chaired the day (lawyer, now journalist), and then off to drinks. Plenty to discuss.
No, that internet, it could become big…
Contribution by Mark Schalekamp.
