With LegalTech just starting to take off, Holland FinTech has collated list of the top 10 LegalTech events to attend in first half of 2018. Within the FinTech bracket, LegalTech sees financial transactions as a contract and uses technology to improve exchanges. From a legal perspective, all digital transactions have to be predicated on contracts in order to gain legitimacy.
In LegalTech we expect to see increased activity in smart contracts and eSignatures this year. Smart contracts and sSignatures change the legal nature of an interaction. Additonally, AI and ML are important. As algorithms become more intuitive and powerful, there will be legal questions of responsibility to solve if an automated trade platform turns awry.
LegalTech, New York, January 30 - February 1.
Positioning itself as ‘the largest and most important legal technology event of the year,’ Legaltech will explore how technology will change the landscape of legal practice and will be exhibiting an extensive number of innovative legaltech products. More information here.
International Blockchain and Smart Contracts Summit, Berlin, Feb 27-28.
Asking questions such as ‘Where are the Blockchain Regulations in Europe heading to?’ and talking about ‘Blockchain Use Cases in Banking,’ this conference is significant in the legaltech and smart contracts development narrative. Dutch bank ING will be presenting at the summit as part of the Banking use case discussion. More details here.
British Legal Technology Forum 2018, London, March 13.
This event estimates 1,200 visitors from the world of law, legal technology and IT security. The British Legal Technology Forum with conference sessions, keynote presentations, panel discussions, knowledge sessions, interviews, interactive demonstrations will exhibited by over 90 of Europe’s best known technology and IT security suppliers. More information here.
Blockchain WTF: Disrupting Legal Industry Meetup, London, April 11.
As part of the Legal Geek ‘Disruptive Tech Meetup’ series sponsored by Axiom, they are planning a Meetup to demystify ‘Blockchain WTF’. The meetup will also be featuring TED talk style speakers from across the profession including: Casey Kuhlman, CEO of Monax a blockchain-based platform for micro-contracting. Check out their website here.
Lexpo’18 - The Legal Innovation Event, Amsterdam, April 16-17.
Lexpo’s 4 main themes are: business intelligence and data science, dynamic knowledge management, the legal blockchain and legal project management. A common focus of many LegalTech events in 2018, there will be a focus on new technologies. A keynote will be given on the topic: AI and Blockchain - ‘Why the next technology revolution will begin in the legal industry’. Click here for more details.
Women in LawTech, London, April 18.
Organised by Legal Geek, this is a networking event in London for women in the legaltech industry. More here.
Smart Contracts for Smart People, Vancouver, April 26.
Organised by iComply Investor Services Inc, the Smart Contracts event will involve a panel discussion, Q&A opportunities and networking opportunities. iComply Investor Services Inc. is a RegTech platform for ICO/Token compliance that automates legal processes involved in legitimising ICO Securities as an emerging financial instrument and enable lawful secondary trading of regulated digital assets. More information here.
By Grace Appleford, Research Analyst at Holland FinTech.