This article was written thanks to investigative work with LegalTech in many countries carried out by the village of justice.
Thanks to the development of the possibilities offered by digital technology, law and technology have achieved a successful marriage by LegalTechs around the world. However, each country has given birth to very different LegalTechs. What are the inspiring innovations that could arrive in France? Embarking on a world tour of the most innovative practices.
The best LegalTech innovations in the world
LegalTechs have a different face depending on the countries where they are established. More or less mature, they depend closely on the legal environment in which they operate. Thus, in China, the opportunities for the legal market are very significant thanks to a large and connected population. Also, LegalTech benefits from a government financial support which invests in artificial intelligence which encourages the development of the sector.
The impetus given by the State may also be crucial in terms ofopen data. For example, in Russia where the opening of data is favored by power. This support has enabled the emergence of a dynamic incubator of more than 150 specialized companies.
Seen as a real financial opportunity but also as the possibility of modernizing the world of law, the most mature LegalTech is undoubtedly that of the United States. She is around 20 years ahead of France! However, the growth of the sector is mainly driven by the American legal system, centered on litigation and very different from ours.
It is therefore difficult to compare with European countries like Belgium where the market is still in its infancy. The Belgian market is 6 times smaller than in France!
Generally speaking, in Europe, LegalTech is unevenly developed: certain sectors such as information and legal knowledge are overinvested while others are struggling, such as predictive justice.
To USA, LegalTech focuses on the idea to save time and simplify the lives of professionals. It aims in particular at 3 things:
– Facilitate the search for documents and access to legal information with a view to litigation
– Work on compatibility between software and technologies
– Host (via the cloud) and store data securely
One of the challenges of LegalTech in France as elsewhere is to make the use of technologies easier, more ergonomic and more intuitive. Allowing dialogue between man and machine in a way!
For example, these technologies could become even easier to access if they were available through one and the same interface. Solutions already exist such as Jarvis Legal.
They allow centralized access to all digital tools from a single portal. The user only has to go through law firm management software that brings together all the technologies in one place. This makes it easier to use and manage.
Often several years ahead of us, the United States is now looking into major challenges of LegalTech for tomorrow. For example, data protection faced with the increase in cybercrime but also the training of future professionals at university or through the bars (with incubators, etc.).
How are LegalTechs perceived abroad?
In European countries, in Spain for example, this lack of information among professionals on the possibilities offered by these start-ups is pointed out as an obstacle to the development of LegalTech.
Show the offices the benefits what they could obtain by using a LegalTech is a key issue for the future.
In the absence of information, LegalTech is sometimes perceived with suspicion, for example working on a freelance basis in Germany or in Belgium. In reality, its image suffers mainly from a lack of communication on the subject. Looking at the American example, we also see that it was exactly the same thing in the beginning in the United States!
Far from being unfair competition for lawyers, it provides daily assistance by allowing lawyers to concentrate on their core business.
It will never replace the lawyer because pure legal matters are not its profession. On the other hand, it brings him a real additional daily skills. For example, saving time on tasks by delegating the most boring and time-consuming tasks to technology. Automation can be good if it is limited to simple, repetitive tasks.
As to public, he welcomes this new legal ecosystem as the possibility of a better service offering. The expectations of the population on the issues of accessibility to the law and the dissemination of information can be significant, particularly in the countries ofAfrica.
In conclusion, in France as elsewhere, the prospects for LegalTech are certain even if certain sectors will develop while others will gradually be neglected.
France, often cited as an example abroad, benefits from a favorable and attractive environment. Inspiring, this world Tour organized by the Village de la Justice was an opportunity to look at the practices of our neighbors but also to see our own from a different perspective. So, when will there be other countries for the next world tour?
