2016 will see the advent of Smart Apps in law; law firms enabling their clients to self-serve legal questions online. These Smart Apps or Smart Advisors will be deployed by more innovative law firms both to create a better user experience for their clients and to improve internal efficiencies within their firms. There are currently vast opportunities for firms to showcase their innovative expertise to their corporate clients in this area. They will distil rules, logic, expertise and judgement into digital form to drive these Smart Apps, thereby creating the beginning of Algorithmic Law. This will be the start of this digital evolution, with growing understanding of the proposition and wider adoption of the practice.
Deeper education in the area will occur – with progressive universities looking to provide courses teaching technology adoption and Smart App creation. The momentum will continue into 2017 and beyond with stronger competitive forces in play between legal algorithms online. A market-place for legal Smart Apps will appear, likely in the form of a GC Portal on the commercial side and through government and not-for-profit sites on the consumer side.
Exciting times to be involved in Algorithmic Law.
{b}Greg Wildisen is International Managing Director at Neota Logic{/b}
