Innovation, interoperability, openness: here are some of the themes covered by the 2018 Legaltech Village which took place on November 27 and 28 at the Cité des Sciences, in Paris.
Legaltech Village 2018: successful independence
After two editions in partnership with the Paris Open Source Summit, the 2018 Legaltech Village was designed by the organizers, Open Law and Village de la Justice, as an event in its own right. A successful bet in terms of attendance, the diversity of the ecosystem and the variety of conferences!
The choice of location was there to recall the profoundly scientific nature of the transformation underway. Both in terms of law and IT, the term Legaltech advances the law thanks to technology.
3.000 visitors attended the conferences dozens of start-ups of Legaltech. 60 exhibitors, more than 30 workshops and conferences, numerous university players, the entire ecosystem was represented.
It was therefore a mature event that took place, in terms of attendance and quality of debates.
Themes in the spotlight at the 2018 Legaltech Village
Innovation was of course one of the important themes of this edition, like the previous ones. We can cite artificial intelligence solutions (with HyperLex, Juri'Predis ou Doctrine), cloud solutions in API (like Jarvis Legal), blockchain (with DeepBlock) or platforms with high legal added value (eJust in arbitration, DataLegalDrive in Regtech). Innovative value propositions, both in terms of law and technology, are now there. It is no longer a question of the future but of productivity gains and transformation for the present.
Then, interoperability is another essential theme. Indeed, the diversity of solutions and business practices naturally lead users to wish to interconnect their different tools. For example, a lawyer accesses his legal search engine directly from his business software and has the finalized contract electronically signed. This centralizing interface allows for productivity gains and unparalleled ease of use.
Finally, the notion of openness is decisive. Between legal professionals – legal departments, lawyers, bailiffs, notaries. Openness between professions (computer scientists, accountants, the State, etc.) in order to design truly adapted solutions. A group like ELS (Dalloz, Francis Lefebvre, Editions Legislatives), strategic partner of Jarvis Legal since 2014, has been part of this tradition for a long time. Another of our partners, Seraphin Legal, develop and spread throughout the profession of technology and innovation.
The API, the keystone
Above all, openness is a state of mind, a cultural value. This means sharing its value, its technology with others and in return benefiting from the contributions of others. Where some are still in a lock-in logic (I work exclusively only with people I control), the tendency is resolutely to work ecumenically within the ecosystem. This is indeed the logic carried by openlaw or eJustice Consortium with the notion of “commons”.
The user must be in the center. He wants to decentralize tools, work with each specialized solution, and at the same time centralize access to information and all its tools in a simple way.
For this, a transversal solution coupled with standardized connectors addresses the problem. It is Jarvis Legal's approach to offer a cloud and API-based law firm management solution. L'API consists of a connector allowing information to flow from one software to another automatically.
So, you synchronize your emails and calendars, you connect your contact database with a communication solution like Mailchimp. The electronic signature, the RPVA, dynamic models are all functional benefits made possible by this approach.
Focus on the conference: “For an open Legaltech”
La conférence organized by Jarvis Legal, “For an open Legaltech” highlighted this notion of ecosystem and sharing, for the benefit of the user.
Our speakers all shared their desire to work together within the ecosystem. Thus, the Great Witness of the conference, Me Mamadou Konaté, lawyer, arbitrator, former Minister of Justice of Mali, delivered a vibrant plea to promote access to law and justice thanks to technologies.
Find a summary of this event very soon on our blog.
The 2018 Legaltech Village was therefore a real success. The term Legaltech has established itself as the symbol of an intelligent, rational, controlled digital transformation. The time is no longer for evangelization and conquest. The time is now to deploy and reap the benefits promised by these new technologies.
So, a big congratulations to the organizers and participants for these 2 quality days. A modest proposal for the next edition: foreign players, notably German, American or Dutch, to position French Legaltech in relation to global trends. Openness and interoperability also apply internationally!
