REFLECTIONS- JULY 26, 2021

A WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF LEGAL & TECH EVENTS GLOBALLY | July 26, 2021

THIS IS REFLECTIONS, our weekly roundup of events in the legal and technology sector, covering various topics and interesting learning points for today’s professionals. If you couldn’t make an event, don’t worry, we probably made it and have all the juicy scoop for your reading pleasure and learning.

Do you have an upcoming event you would like us to know about or attend? OR do you know of one you would like to read about? Send an email to us HERE.

EVENT ONE

TRANSFORMING THE FACE OF LEGAL PRACTICE: GETTING AHEAD IN THE MARKET

The Speaker, Senator Ihenyen during the event discussed technology and the day-to-day operation of law practice and law business, the place of law practice management solutions in building and running a successful law practice and law business, his experience as a law firm owner who has used technology to transform his legal practice. The objective of his discussion at the event was to open the eyes of the attendees to the disruptions around them and help them see why law firms or legal departments must leverage technology for competitive advantage in the legal marketplace.

He stated that while its true that in the information age, data has become ‘oil’ and technological advancement has resulted in commoditization, automation, and abundance, the result today is that if not managed, disruptive technologies will negatively disrupt lives, businesses, and governments, resulting in a widening gap between the rich and the poor, skills gap, and broader polarization. This will be especially bad for professionals who fail to adapt before they are disrupted by those who do, often from outside the territory.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the failings of existing business models in the legal industry and outside of it. The ongoing threat to businesses presents an opportunity for law firms and legal departments to disrupt before becoming (further) disrupted. “To disrupt” starts from becoming more conscious about what impact technology is having on the industry and begin to leverage technology for growth, not to keep pretending its not there or hoping it’s still in the future. The future is NOW.

He listed the major features of Industry 4.0 and the Legal Marketplace to include: Digitization and integration of value chains, Digitization and product and service offerings and digital business models and customer/client access. He also listed the disruptive technological innovations that are disrupting traditional legal services today to include: Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALPs), Robot Lawyers, Virtual Law Firms, Document Automation Legal Analytics with Artificial Intelligence.

Investments in legal tech is growing rapidly. Up from just over $200 million in 2016, legal tech received investments of over $1 billion in 2018. In 2016, $224 million was invested. In 2017, $233 million was invested. 2018 then saw a massive increase with over $1 billion invested in the industry.

Deloitte’s study reveals that conventional law firms are no longer meeting today’s business needs. The majority (55%) of the participants in the study (legal counsel, general counsel- or CEOs and CFOs) have taken or are considering a significant review of their legal suppliers. Legal tech cuts across every aspect of legal services and the justice sector. This includes contract management, document management and capture, case and workflow management, practice and dossier management, document and contract automation, legal research databases and tools, legal document templates and generation, e-Discovery and AI document analysis, GDPR privacy, debt collection, market places, chatbots virtual legal assistant, virtual data room (VDR).

He explained the place of law practice management solutions in building and running a successful law practice and law business: (a) case management: a good case management system will help firms stay organized and access the information needed when and where it is needed. (b) legal document management: this makes sure one can edit, store and organize legal documents securely (c) contact management and communication: good contact management software that lets one manage all their clients and contacts, and ensures one never misses a client interaction. (d) billing: firms should bill clients in a way that’s easy and effective. Good legal billing software automates time-consuming tasks and helps firms get paid faster. (e) calendaring: this helps to note important dates and ensure that a deadline is never missed. (f) time and expense tracking: this helps to track a firm’s work smarter and create more billing time. (g) task management: this helps firms to plan with to-do lists, monitor task progress, and manage their team’s workload and deliverables and performance. (h) accounting: this aids firms to keep good accounts of their money and that of the clients so that decisions that impact profitability can be taken. (i) analytics: this enables firms to access vital data so they can make informed business decisions with them.

The speaker shared his experience as a law firm owner who has used technology to transform his legal practice. The advantages of the usage of technology in his firm include: (a) increased productivity: all party’s contact information, case documents, calendar appointments, tasks, email correspondence, notes, and billing information in a single software (b) work from anywhere: with most of the newer cloud-based, legal practice management applications, access to law firm’s database from the web or from a native app on IOS or Android device is possible (c) better collaboration within teams: the ability to share information between staff members (d) easier to onboard new staff: due to the built processes into the cloud-based software, new staff are able to easily get onboarded (e) quicker ROI: there is a quicker ROI, since it is cloud-based (f) stronger cybersecurity: running a legal practice and law business running in the crowd has made us integrate cybersecurity both by design and by process (g) save money: there has been huge savings since the law firm is virtual. There exist no brick-and-mortar assets.

The speaker concluded by advising firms that before they are crushed by technology in today’s adapt-or-die market, they must up their game as law firms or legal departments otherwise they will be disrupted.

TRANSFORMING THE FACE OF LEGAL PRACTICE: GETTING AHEAD IN THE MARKET

Date: 28^th JULY 2021                          Duration: 1 hr.            From: 12:00pm   to: 1.00pm

SPEAKER

1. Senator Ihenyen

Summary of presentation: The objective of his discussion at the event was to open the eyes of the attendees to the disruptions around them and help them see why law firms or legal departments must leverage technology for competitive advantage in the legal marketplace.He listed the major features of Industry 4.0 and the Legal Marketplace to include: Digitization and integration of value chains, Digitization and product and service offerings and digital business models and customer/client access. He also listed the disruptive technological innovations that are disrupting traditional legal services today to include: Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALPs), Robot Lawyers, Virtual Law Firms, Document Automation Legal Analytics with Artificial Intelligence. He explained the place of law practice management solutions in building and running a successful law practice and law business. These are case management, legal document management, contact management and communication, billing, calendaring, time and expense tracking, task management, accounting, analytics.

Learning/lessons from the event

Law firms must up their game before they are crushed by technology in today’s adapt-or-die market, otherwise, they will be disrupted.

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

The first speaker noted that Arbitration matters starts from the drafting stage and that there is a need to look carefully at how the agreement is drafted there are different models for drafting them and it depends on how complex the matters are, he noted that some contracts require that all the classes are met before arbitration is consigned to.

The speaker noted that there is a need to look at it from the point of the defendant or the claimant, as the claimant will want any case to end fast while the defendants would want to drag and extend it, there is also a need to avoid and make sure that they are on necessary clauses in the contract, also there is also a need to look at alternatives to arbitration.

He also said that there is a need to look at the number of arbitrators to be involved as usually there is always three arbitrators involved, one chosen by each party and the third is appointed by the two chosen arbitrators, and also there are three arbitrators under the arbitrators and conciliation act one by each party, the third one is appointed by two arbitrators, he also noted that appointments can be made by the courts if other parties agree to it, he also mentioned that there should be different qualifications to be considered when arbitrators are being appointed such as their knowledge on the subject matter their arbitration experience procedural experience and other previous experiences.

The second speaker noted that the arbitrator cost assessment must be made and arbitrators fees must also be looked at and also the scale of charges that have been agreed to be charged, he noted that the arbitration body has the fees are usually fixed and non-negotiable while there is the ad hoc arbitration where parties are in charge and they have to agree with the arbitrator’s on the fees to be paid.

The speaker also noted that the counsel or solicitors fee must be considered, also expert witness fees, transportation cost must all be considered also the hours of arbitration must be considered as that will also determine the fees the likely cost award would also be considered.

The speaker also noted on interim injunctions that the tribunal has to be constituted before an interim injunction can be made, he noted that are time limits before a party can appoint arbitrators and there is a need to consider the enforcement of the arbitration award, there’s also a need to consider if the court would be used to enforce the interim measure.

On evidence gathering the speaker noted that the critical thing is getting all the evidence is together, he noted that there should be a witness statement and supporting exhibits that must be gotten, he also noted that there is a need to produce all documents in the possession of both parties which are relating to the disputes and also counsel must ensure that all documents are available, collated and analyzed. There is a need to review and identify the documents.

On Nigeria as an arbitration centre, the speaker said Nigeria has strong ambitions to become an arbitration centre, he said the Lagos State has laws that have been modeled with the arbitration system of London, he noted that Lagos has taken a lot from the English arbitration system, he also noted that the institutional framework is on the ground and all that is needed now is the confidence of the people to believe in arbitration.

On how the pandemic has affected the conduct of arbitration the second speaker noted that before the pandemic arbitration was ahead of litigation and that also during the pandemic arbitration went ahead matters were done online.

SBL INNOVATION HUB: THE APP CHALLENGE (PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)

TIME: 3:0PM- 4:30PM.                                                           DATE: 15TH JULY

The moderator welcomed everyone to the session which was an innovation hub for innovators to pitch their tech innovations.

She mentioned that there have been agitations for innovation and there were over 40 submissions. Out of 40, about 10 made it to the finals and 9 of those will be making a pitch.

The judges were Stella Duru, partner at Banwo&Ighodalo, Olumide Soyimbo, Founder Bluechip Technologies, Basil Utodai, MuyiwaAtoyebi SAN and Rotimi Akapo.

Isaac Somto made the pitch on behalf of Aider. He mentioned the purpose of Aider is to reach out to an ambulance in cases of emergencies. The judges later asked how Aider intends to solve the problems of supply since Aider will not be operating ambulance services. Aider’s response is that there are plans to partner with institutions that offer ambulance services.

The next innovation is programmed to use geo-locations to connect service providers to service consumers. Young professionals are the target market. There will be a ranking of service providers and verification.

BusayoDurojaiye made the pitch for Business Brace 360. Business Brace 360 is a one-stop platform for business support. Business owners and SMEs can access finance management, business management. Legal services etc.

Balla Musa’s Innovation is access to Quality Health Services. It is a platform to communicate with medical professionals. It is also a platform where a person can make an order for a medical professional closest to him.

Victor Oguafor is a legal practitioner and tech enthusiast. Victor’s innovation is Easy Filing. With Easy Filing, a legal practitioner can file his court processes from the comfort of his office.

Gbenga Odugbemi’s innovation is a platform to access privacy laws globally. It prevents the stress of having to search for privacy laws of different countries when needed.

The next innovation is Sealed App. The Sealed App is to provide access to legal services by individuals and SMEs.

UMScope is a platform where students can access quality products and services. Only vendors closest to the customers will be displayed on the platform. The purpose is to bring the local markets closer to the people.

The judges commended all the innovators and declared Aider as the winner of the challenge.

TECH AND FUTURE OF ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: E-VOTING, MAIL VOTING: ARE WE READY?

TIME: 4:30 – 5:30 PM DATE: 15TH JULY, 2021

The moderator of this session was Rufai Oseni. The speakers were

Charlotte Osei mentioned that lawmakers have a key role to play. Their actions must represent what the people want. We must also bear in mind that an election is not an event but a process. Therefore, we should not restrict the use of technology to e-voting but to the whole electoral process right from the time of registration.

We also need to ask ourselves whether technology will enhance electoral integrity.

On the importance of technology in the electoral process, AyshaOsori was of the opinion that technology will bring some sanity to the electoral process. We must however be very careful, asides from that tech is expensive it can also be manipulated. Before we put electronic usage into our electoral process, we must also think of putting the right checks and balances.

Charlotte also mentioned that inclusiveness may be a problem. She noted that in Ghana, there are two sets of regulations one that regulates the registration process and the other that regulates voting and transmission of election results.

On the role of business lawyers, Charlotte mentioned that business thrives when democracy thrives. Therefore, businesses must start making their voices heard. Business lawyers can support CSOs that are calling for electoral reforms.

Aysha emphasized cybersecurity as one of the challenges of using technology. There must be a backup.

Charlotte discussed some of the lessons that can be learnt from the Ghana elections. She first mentioned that the electoral system must support the aspirations of the people. The system built-in Ghana is a continuous process and lessons are learnt from past elections. Charlotte mentioned that we must count on the integrity of the head of the electoral body, the level of inclusiveness must be throughout the entire process.

Aysha noted that when not properly done, voter’s registration is used to exclude people. There is also a need to change the incentives of being in government. There is also much reliance on security agents for logistics.

Oluwole noted that we should look more at the professionalism of security agents but technology is the way to go.

REPORT ON WEBINAR HOSTED by TheEsQ Practical lawyers Academy ON THE 28th July, 2021.     

Topic: Business Development for Litigators: Best Practices & Innovative techniques          

INTRODUCTION

The meeting commenced at 1:00 pm. A welcome address was given by ChidinmaAguwho stated that the major reason for convening the meeting was to develop lawyers on the basics of business development for litigators and to educate new lawyers on the essentials of litigation. She thereafter introduced the speakers in the section in the person of Mr Fernandez Obiene and Miss Yeni Ogunnaike.

1^ST PRESENTATION: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Speaker: Miss Yeni Ogunnaike

Miss Yeni began her presentation by stating the importance of having a business development plan as a lawyer and then went on to articulate the necessary steps in building a business development plan which are;

1. One must have an objective. What is the end goal or ultimate aim of starting the business?

2. Decide the place/space to play and be deliberate about it by providing value and showcasing one’s competence in a field.

3. Building your brand.

4. Developing a personal network and showing genuine interest in one’s clients i.e., what is your unique selling point, what makes you stand out of the crowd.

In conclusion, she mentioned that giving value first cannot be underestimated in building a business portfolio especially as a litigator

The 1^st Session ended at this point and the 2^ndspeaker was called upon for his presentation.

2^ND PRESENTATION: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIENTS

Speaker: Mr. Fernandez Obiene

Mr. Fernandez kicked off from where Miss Yeni ended her presentation by stating that the starting point to having a valid Business development plan as a lawyer is to ascertain the aspect of law one wants to delve into, after which one should define the type of client one wants to attract in that field, the next phase is to know where to actually find those clients and how to connect with them. He reiterated the essence of finding a way(s) to get one’s message across while providing value and proving competence thereby staying on top of their mind in ways that one can. He mentioned that one can do the above by;

1. Take care to have a good website/Google my business profile

2. Promoting one’s services on social media

3. Joining membership of the organization, providing value and being active.

He went further to give tips on how to make the most of the business of being a lawyer by;

1. Being involved in the clients’ lives as much as one can.

2. Being helpful, offer referrals where possible.

3. Being proactive in one’s dealings

4. Understanding what the client needs and proactively pitch it to them as a way of cross-selling

5. Anticipating those clients’ needs

6. Engaging more on social media

CONCLUSION

He concluded his presentation by mentioning that it is of great importance to align oneself with his/her firm especially as a young lawyer which is more effective by knowing the firm and the services it offers to its clients and how it relates to one’s brand and services offered.

The webinar came to a close by 2:15 pm.