A&O opening Fuse tech lab for third round
Thomas Alan reports in Legal Business that Allen & Overy (A&O) will open its technology incubator space Fuse to a third group of companies from early next year, as it partners with University of Oxford on a £1.2m AI legal services project.
Safe Face Pledge Campaign Launches
Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and an AI researcher at MIT, aims to prevent facial analysis technology from leading to collateral damage. Buolamwini has launched the Safe Face Pledge Campaign to prevent facial recognition software vendors and clients from selling or buying technology that can be weaponized for lethal purposes or other abuse.
she is urging public and private organizations to sign the Safe Face Pledge which specifically requires them to Show Value for Human Life, Dignity, and Rights, Address Harmful Bias, Facilitate Transparency and Embed Safe Face Pledge into Business Practices.
Buolamwini warns that “Research shows facial analysis technology is susceptible to bias and even if accurate can be used in ways that breach civil liberties. Without bans on harmful use cases, regulation, and public oversight, this technology can be readily weaponized, employed in secret government surveillance, and abused in law enforcement”.
SRA ‘Technology and legal services’ report released
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has released a report giving an overview of how technology is helping to drive innovation in legal services.
Six ways the legal sector is using AI right now
In tone of a series of articles discussing the evolution of the legaltech sector and how it could revolutionise the legal industry a Law Society article contributed by Seedrs explains how developments within artificial intelligence (AI) are impacting law firms today.
Driving innovation in Scotland’s law sector
Paul Mosson, Executive Director of Member Services and Engagement at the Law Society of Scotland, writes in FutureScot about their ambition to “enable an environment which supports innovative thinking and provides a mechanism to support the development of tech-based solutions which will benefit Scottish solicitors and their clients”.
Clifford Chance Launches Legal Tech Incubator in Singapore
Artificial Lawyer reports on the launch of Create+65 by Clifford Chance. According to the Clifford Chance website:
“Create+65 is a legal tech innovation lab which sits at the heart of the firm’s Innovation & Best Delivery Hub for Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, Create+65 will identify, incubate, test and pilot new legal technology solutions to enhance the firm’s, and the wider industry’s, service offer to clients.”
Law Is Lagging Digital Transformation – Why It Matters
Mark Cohen makes the argument in Forbes that the legal industry should “put digital transformation on the front burner if for no other reason than that’s what’s cooking with legal consumers”.
Big Law Strikes Back: Firms’ Consulting, Crisis PR Test Big Four
According to an article on Bloomberg by Sam Skolnik, global law firms are turning the tables on the Big Four accounting firms’ incursions into the legal industry by setting up consultancies that assist clients with non-legal matters.
Women of Australian Legal Technology Association
Jodie Baker, CEO, Xakia Technologies and Stephanie Abbott, Director, Janders Dean write about how they decided to “take stock and ensure we understood the numbers, the role and the impact of gender diversity” in the Australian legal technology sector, resulting in a new community ‘WALTA’ – Women of the Australian Legal Technology Association.
Why ‘Disruption’ Is Not Confined to Legaltech Software Companies – How Law Firm Rainmakers are Like Startups
Jeremy Elman argues in Law Fuel that whilst the legal world is abuzz with talk of disruption from various “legaltech” software companies, disruption actually happens all the time in law firms.
Photo by erin walker on Unsplash
Also published on Medium.