FUTURELAB MAGAZINE
0202 | 1O .ON EMULOV
ALICE BLAZEVIC
GRO.NOITADNUOFOKEREP.WWW
LAW, TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS TRENDS
THE LEGAL TECH LAWYER ON THE MOVE! An exclusive interview reveals the lawyer of the Future
REDEFINING LAWYERS & LAW FIRMS
HYBRID PROFILES FOR DIGITAL LAWYERS
THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY; A COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID19
CONTACT US FUTURELAB MAGAZINE P.O. Box 1972 AAD, Gaborone, Botswana (+267) 71 404 194/ 72 614 848 fergusonjunior.rk@gmail.com www.perekofoundation.org
EDITORIAL
WELCOME We bring you the latest trends at the intersection of Law, Technology and Business. I’d like to welcome you all to the first issue issue of FutureLab Magazine. This publication will serve as an extension of my interests on Access to Justice, with articles written by some of the great authors, I’ve come to know over my nearly 10 years working at the intersection of law, technology and business in both the For-Profit and Non-Profit Sectors. All of the articles have been written exclusively for this publication. For many years people have been asking me why I didn’t have a career in motivational speaking. The answer was quite simple: I couldn’t find anything that added value to what I did on access to justice. I wanted something more than a speaking platform that basically imitated what I’d already linked to or written on the Web site.
Anyway, we hope you enjoy this one. RETHABILE KONOPO Editor-In-Chief
RETHABILE KONOPO Editor-In-Chief
SAMANTHA REFILWE PILANE Operations Editor
TYLER MAJAGA Technical Editor
CONTRIBUTORS Alice Namuli Blazevic, Tefo Modise Setlhare, Ajuni Chawla, Morgan Apollo Muhindo, Karol Valencia
SUBSCRIPTIONS SUBSCRIBE ONLINE www.perekofoundation.org
HOTLINE (+267) 71 404 194
ALICE NAMULI BLAZEVIC INTERVIEW BY RETHABILE KONOPO
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH LAW TECH NETWORK IN UGANDA AND THE LEGAL INNOVATION HUB? The Uganda Legal Tech Network is a platform that fosters conversation at the intersection of law and technology. It also fosters collaboration, information & opportunities sharing for Ugandan tech lawyers, tech enthusiasts, tech entrepreneurs, innovators, regulators and policy makers. THE LEGAL INNOVATION HUB The hub fosters innovation in the legal profession, focuses on supporting building legal solutions that enhance the mode of delivering legal services, and access to justice in Africa. It began as a series of ad hoc efforts and "legal hackathons" but has developed into a broader "legal tech", "law tech", "civic tech", "policy tech" and "reg tech" community. The Hub drives LegalTech and LawTech to give practitioners and entrepreneurs the knowledge and the opportunity to take advantage of 21st century trends and movements. Our collaborative approach empowers Law firms, consumers of legal services, innovators and supports local startups.
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- EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW -
What inspired you to kick start
Most of the legal tech solutions
these organizations
were designed for lawyers without
Many of the legal tech solutions that
profession and the needs of the
were available on the market where not
lawyers. So, I thought of creating a
appreciated by legal practitioners,
platform that would provide a safe
partly because lawyers were not ready
space for legal tech practitioners,
for the changes the legal profession was
tech enthusiasts and technologists
facing due to the disruptive
to collaborate, understand each
technologies but most importantly, the
others needs and find practical
solutions did not provide practical
legal tech solutions for the legal
solutions for lawyers.
profession.
understanding the ethics of legal
"I AM BECOMING BETTER AT WEARING DIFFERENT HATS EVERYDAY..."
Advice to others thinking of taking a similar route Up skill or explore and or study new fields of law that have emerged due to the disruption of technology on the legal profession, like cyber law,
I wanted to create a platform to foster conversations at the intersection of law and technology, an open source forum for information sharing among legal tech practitioners, create awareness of the disruption of the legal profession by emerging technologies and build capacity for the future lawyer of the 21st
What is a LawTech Lawyer?
data protection & privacy, Blockchain, AI, ethics of AI, Robotics,
A specialist of legal
coding for lawyers, etc.
implications at the intersection
Embrace and maximize the use of
of law and technology.
technology tools available on the market to enhance the way they
The challenges of
deliver legal services.
transitioning to a Tech
Embrace online learning platforms to
Lawyer
access legal knowledge & professional skills required to
One of the major challenges
understand the relationship between
was that there are very few
the law, technology and innovation.
practicing lawyers in this field.
Learn soft skills that are not taught in
Which meant that there was
law schools
hardly anyone to learn from
Be part of conversations at the
or to share experiences and
intersection of law and tech both at
knowledge. The transition also
local and global level.
meant that I had to up skill
Seek collaborations with other
and train myself about all the
professionals like programmers,
And up skill or learn new skills
new emerging technologies
cybersecurity experts, innovators,
that are not taught in our law
that where disrupting the
etc
schools but essential for the 21st
legal profession and client’s
Century lawyer.
businesses.
Century. To provide a platform for young lawyers and law students to be creative and innovative, build solutions that enhance the mode delivering legal services and access to justice. To help them think outside the box.
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IF A LAWYER IS TO COMPETE IN THE 21ST CENTURY AND COME OUT ON TOP, I RECOMMEND THAT THEY START WORKING ON THESE SKILLS NOW. ABOUT ALICE NAMULI BLAZEVIC Alice Namuli Blazevic is a Partner at Katende Ssempebwa &co in Uganda. An award-winning lawyer, international speaker, and author. She specializes in Technology and the law with a keen interest in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Fintechs, Cyberlaw, and Data Protection. Her background is in PPP’s, Infrastructure projects, Project Finance, Mergers, and Acquisitions. A Founder of Africa Innovation Law & Tech Academy; Co-Founder of Legal Innovation Hub; the Chairperson of Uganda Legal Tech Network; Co-Founder of Kampala Legal Hackers; and Board Member of the Innovation Advisory Board of the Uganda National Social Security Fund. Alice is also a Cybersecurity expert for the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa at the University of Stellenbosch. Faculty Advisor for the Digital Legal Exchange (A unique, global organization created to teach, apply, and scale digital principles to the legal function)
REDEFINING LAWYERS & LAW FIRMS By Tefo Modise Setlhare Studying law at university was my first third option. Basically, I applied for admission three times, the first two attempts were met with phone calls from the admission’s office that they have misplaced my application. With every phone call my true first option (and second one for that matter) slipped away. So it was always clear to me that at some point I would move away from it.
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DISRUPTION 101 FOR LAWYERS Even as I proceeded to register and complete my LL.M, I had no doubt in my mind that at some point in my life I would neither be practicing law nor giving legal advice in some corporation. This is why it was imperative for me early on in life to try and understand what my purpose was, or just cause as other people call it, or being the BeVos (Best Version of Self) as I prefer to call it. So I settled for - always challenging legacy thinking and the status quo. Evidence of this is that 20 years later after attaining my LL.B I have worked for 6 companies that are market leaders in their industries, in sectors and transitioned from law to insurance, to risk management, to pension fund management and investment to now enterprise and entrepreneurship development. So, having been on both sides, I think I have earned the right to provide a view on the value proposition that exists for lawyers and law firm to redefine themselves in order to not only survive but to thrive in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. THE AIM OF THIS ARTICLE The aim of this article is therefore to attempt to provide a blueprint that will assist practicing lawyers, those considering to start their own firms and even those still at law school to challenge legacy thinking, the status quo and contribute to the next generation legal entrepreneur. It will cover: a) Redefining the lawyer b) What Corporates want to hear from lawyers c) Restructuring existing law firms d) Considerations when starting a law firm e) The BeVos REDEFINING THE LAWYER In the past legal counsel was able to get away with sitting in the office and waiting to be called to put out a fire or be invited to a meeting – normally one that in the end it turned out that they were not needed after all. Similarly, external counsel could provide an opinion which restricted itself to just what had been requested. However, with legal information becoming more available in a value adding form through advancements in data management and an increase in competition because of newly established law firms there is now a pressing need for a wider value proposition by legal practitioners, one that identifies opportunities right across the value chain of an organization and goes beyond the bare minimum of what has been requested and provides other value enhancing insights.
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Corporates no longer require just lawyers; their needs have significantly changed. They are looking for risk managers who can understand their entire value chain and identify and then identify and indeed mitigate legal liability risks along this chain. This to a certain extent then forces lawyers to be, think like and act like entrepreneurs and provide a service that solves business problems by creating value in the entire organization and supporting it to achieve its objections. Therefore, if lawyers are to think, act and be different then the structures and ecosystems within which they operate in should also be transformed - the foregoing redefinition will therefore necessitate a change in how law firms are structured as certain systems and processes shall be required to make the above impactful. In fact, this change should probably go as far as even the way that law course is made up and even taught. However, the latter will not fall within the scope of this article – that is a conversation for another day.
“So it was always clear to me that at some point I would move away from it.” WHAT CORPORATES WANT TO HEAR FROM LAWYERS Traditionally it was okay to send a proposal to a corporate indicating an offering of services like debt collection, institution and defense of lawsuits. However, business risks have evolved so much and so have requirements and needs of companies. So whilst it is okay to open the door to a company with the above, there is a lot more compelling business case around understanding the immediate client needs and indicating this through a tailor made proposal which shows appreciation of the internal context of the organization and the context that it operates in such as corporate governance, risk management, business continuity, transformation, technology & innovation, artificial intelligence, data management, cyber security etc. The foregoing will give a competitive advantage, importantly it will show a great understanding of your prospective client and how value will be created in the delivery of certain services.
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RESTRUCTURING EXISTING LAW FIRMS In order to start rendering a different type of service over and above the usual traditional suite of legal services, law firms will need to start leveraging enablers that have been previously been underutilized such as technology e.g. risk management, compliance and data analysis systems. However, because of the intensive capital investment requirements of technology law firms will need to evolve from partnerships or small / medium business to entities that can attract a significant valuation and thereby attracting investment that allows it to scale up. Consistent with this should be lobbying for regulation to transform and allow for such operational structures to occur.
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN STARTING A LAW FIRM
All of the above provides a strong argument for would be law firm owners to approach establishment of a law firm from an entrepreneurial perspective – what is the problem that requires to be solved and what is the service and product that is being developed to solve the problem. This is important as it informs the people, processes and systems that will be required in the law firm in order for it to successfully deliver the solution.
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Corporates no longer require just lawyers; their needs have significantly changed. They are looking for risk managers who can understand their entire value chain and identify and then identify and indeed mitigate legal liability risks along this chain. This to a certain extent then forces lawyers to be, think like and act like entrepreneurs and provide a service that solves business problems by creating value in the entire organization and supporting it to achieve its objections. Therefore, if lawyers are to think, act and be different then the structures and ecosystems within which they operate in should also be transformed - the foregoing redefinition will therefore necessitate a change in how law firms are structured as certain systems and processes shall be required to make the above impactful. In fact, this change should probably go as far as even the way that law course is made up and even taught. However, the latter will not fall within the scope of this article – that is a conversation for another day.
BEING THE BEVOS In conclusion - we are in an era where the lawyer has to evolve in order to survive and thrive in these challenging times. In my view when all else fails, the present-day lawyer will have to rely on what I call being the BeVos (Best Version of self) – this essentially reminds one of their purpose or just cause and has been proven to provide enough resilience for one to get through moments of crisis. Whilst not entirely exhaustive, over time.
I have personally developed my own blueprint on determining how one’s BeVos looks like and it is made up of the following: (i) fail fast, fail forward (ii) learn.unlearn.relearn (iii) the power of narrative (iv) stop.breathe.go! (v) challenge the status quo
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BETWEEN STIMULUS AND RESPONSE THERE IS A SPACE. IN THAT SPACE IS OUR POWER TO CHOOSE OUR RESPONSE. IN OUR RESPONSE LIES OUR GROWTH AND OUR FREEDOM ABOUT TEFO SETLHARE Tefo Modise Setlhare is a leader who challenges legacy thinking and status quo, in order to create value and achieve growth in organizations. With more than 20 years experience of working and being a Board Director in the insurance, pension fund, non - bank financial, mining & metals industry. Has strengths in transformational leadership, enterprise development, business growth, and social entrepreneurship. Has a legal background and completed a Global Executive Development Programme and a Professional Business Coaching Programme, respectively, at Gordon Institute of Business Science. A speaker, with a focus on transformational leadership.
RETHINKING THE FUTURE: SKILLS REQUIRED BY NEXTGEN LAWYERS
By Ajuni Chawla
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“Welcome to a Global Phenomenon! Rethink law!” We are in an era where new technologies are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds. A revolutionary era that is impacting all disciplines, economies and industries. Well, it is even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. My point here is that the world is changing faster than our current capacity to keep apace and adapt. This is not just because of the evolution of technology, including complex computational learning systems, but a result of the impact of global forces. Climate change, environmental degradation, loss of food and water security, corruption and inequality confront us globally and our responses are shaped by polls and clickbait self referential news. The erosion of once trusted institutions of church, state and judicial processes compound our current wicked problems. SO A WORTH ENQUIRY MIGHT BE – For Law Schools: Is it to maintain relevance? Is it to create a body of qualified lawyers? Is it to create profit centres? Is it to teach a cohort of students how to solve legal problems? For Bar Associations: Is it to help the courts deliver just outcomes by setting standards of professional conduct and competence? Is it to make individuals who are agents of change? For Practicing Lawyers: What is the purpose of law? And, what should the purpose of a law degree be? In other words, is a law degree merely a decorative permit to be a professional? What is the objective of being a lawyer? For Budding Lawyers: Is it to foster international trade and or human rights observance? To support a generation of contributors to public debate in support in democracy? To deliver justice and equality? To address the wicked problems of our age? It strikes me, listening to the history of the last 30 years since the Pearce Report, that this has been a contested space. We have not been short on vision, but we have been led to a compromise.
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WHICH LEADS ME TO MY POINT- WHY? WHY SHOULD WE SETTLE? WHY COMPROMISE? In this day and age that is full of boundless possibilities and unlimited opportunities- Why not harness the accidental skills of future lawyers to empower worthy contributions to public debate about best outcomes? Why not create lawyers who are leaders of the new world that is on the horizon? Maybe we should preparing them to be more flexible, collaborative, multi-dimensional professionals who are able to excel legal boundaries, speak the language of the client and be motivated to draw on innovative techniques of modern management and information technology for their next-gen law practice rather than restricting them to specialize in the white and black letters of law. Maybe we should be training them to be full of zeal, courage and to be as united and as strong as an army- a troop of empowered lawyers- leading them to be focused and loyal to the universal legal goali.e. access to justice and prepare them to follow orders and take directions, while also to analyze and react to situations with intelligence and determination- rather than training them to be traditional professionals motivated by personal and professional goals. Maybe we should be preparing them to be architects of their own professional journey rather than infusing the same old-rules, procedures. WHAT IS MY ADVICE TO NEXT-GEN LAWYERS They are the future and the future is right here. We are at the brink of entering a new dimension. The transformations that this 4th Industrial Revolution shall bring into this world- shall have an intensified ripple effect on the practice of law, both in substance and in form. We must be prepared to embrace the change, adapt rapidly and respond while making sure we are not left behind. We must make sure- the very purpose of law- access to justice- is not refuted.
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WE CAN’T SOLVE PROBLEMS BY USING THE SAME KIND OF THINKING WE USE WHEN WE CREATED THEM.
ABOUT AJUNI CHAWLA
Ajuni Chawla is a founder and CEO of Innovatia Legal- Tech Platform using IT to streamline and automate legal work. This initiative enables sustainable integration of technology to foster speedy results and case closures by the Indian Jucial System. Find out more about Ajuni here
LEGAL TECHNOLOGY
LegalTech Botswana Academy The Academy improves the tech literacy of law students and legal professionals who want to understand how complex technologies function, how systems of technologies interconnect, and how systems of systems interact. Contact us at fergusonjunior.rk@gmail.com or (+267) 71 404 194
www.perekofoundation.org
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THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY; A COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID19
By Morgan Apollo Muhindo
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CONTACT TRACING AS A TOOL
WHAT REALLY IS CONTACT TRACING?
The world continues battling the outbreak of COVID19 pandemic, governments and decision makers continue taking unprecedented and stringent measures. Like the adage, to have an omelet a few eggs must be broken, it is a price we must pay to end the pandemic.To remain socially and economically sound, business and governments have embraced technological tools to fight the pandemic. The National Information technology Authority-Uganda has created over seven innovation tools, ranging from USSD codes to a Tracing App- TraceUg.
Contact tracing is a long standing public health technique that works to identify everyone whom a sick person may have exposed, helping them identify their risks and take appropriate action. It’s labor intensive, and often slow compared to fast moving pathogen like Corona Virus. The alternative is the use of technology assisted contact tracing Apps which are problematic, they collect sensitive information without a proper legal regime and policy framework on data storage and retention among others.
Like tools have emerged all over the worlds, and there is unanimity that big data is key for their efficiency and consequently the fight against COVID19, How far these tools can be trusted with people’s data is the elephant in the room. The unchecked collection of personal information is in no doubt palpable. Protection of personal information is a limb of the right to privacy, the latter without restricting further definitions, is understood as a right to be free from intrusion or interference by others. THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY The right to privacy is not absolute; it has to be considered in relation to its utility in society and balanced against other fundamental rights and in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Legality of processing personal data – even special data like data about health – can be achieved where the processing is necessary for reasons of public interest which should be proportionate to the aim pursued. It can be said that any personal data collected under the dictates of law on privacy and data protection, can be justifiable, worries roll in through the canoes of uncertainty on retention and integrity of data collectors and processors to only use this data for the intended and justifiable reason like fighting a pandemic that is a public health threat.
For this, Human rights defenders have successfully litigated against tracing system for being intrusive and a threat to civil rights and civil liberties. The Supreme Court of Israel faulted the employment of the tools without a proper legal framework. The American Centre for Civil Liberties Union on 16th April 2020, came up with basic principles for appraising technology assisted contact tracing (TACT), which I believe should shape the debate on the like tools. Every tool we are using for ordering, food, holding meetings and conferences, finding a suitor or talking to a doctor knows you more than your pastor. That is why a case for data protection and privacy has to be made. HOW DOES DATA PROTECTION COME IN? Data protection is a Wall of Ston protecting the inner sanctum of a person instrumentally valued for one’s autonomous identity. In return it is a protection of human dignity. Privacy certifies that a human being can lead a life of dignity by fortifying the inner recesses of their personality from unwanted intrusions. This right is a necessary condition precedent to the enjoyment of any of the guaranteed rights under the international, regional and domestic legal instruments. Privacy has both positive and negative content, the latter restrains the State from committing an incursion upon the life and personal liberty of a citizen. Its positive content imposes an onus on the State to take all necessary measures to protect the privacy of the individual. Any intrusion on this sacred right must only be impinged with a just, fair and reasonable law and after meeting the well settled test of proportionality. Therefore, any tool or system that is developed must be scrutinized for the protection of rights of data subject.
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DATA PROTECTION IS A WALL OF STON PROTECTING THE INNER SANCTUM OF A PERSON INSTRUMENTALLY VALUED FOR ONE’S AUTONOMOUS IDENTITY.
ABOUT MORGAN APOLLO MUHINDO
Morgan Apollo Muhindo is a human rights lawyer, Heading the Digital rights and cyber law department at Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates a human rights law firm based in Kampala, Uganda. A founder of Enset Tech Limited, a cyberlaw consultancy, offering consultancy services to startups and Digital rights activists/NGOs. Email: morganapollo22@gmail.com
HYBRID PROFILES FOR DIGITAL LAWYERS By Karol Andrea Valencia Jaén
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There is a Chinese proverb that reads: "I wish you to live in interesting times", in fact, there are those who far from seeing it as a proverb see it as a curse, but I will not exhaust myself at that point, what if it is true is that we are indeed living in much more interesting times perhaps not on a musical level, except with few exceptions - but yes at the level of the development of technology , and it is that the strong impact that it has on how we propose the future changes radically in such a way that from the exponential development of the technology both existing and emerging is that we go from thinking some solutions for the future to questioning, rethinking many things and above all "RE THINK" the pillars of the law on which we have built our legal and justice system , which apparently often does not satisfy the users who are citizens.
SOME HYBRID ROLES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING AMONG LAWYERS
IN THE FACE OF THIS SITUATION, HOW HAVE WE REACTED?
His main areas of knowledge are: Technology, Engineering, Design Systems, Product and Data. They create diverse and inclusive technology and algorithms, understand human and business impact.
As legal professionals a large number have chosen to digitize processes, such as mailing, creation of modern databases, and acquire licenses or digital marketing services for their firms and even employ Legal tech – technology applied to simplify or enhance some tasks of the legal exercise – all this is very good but from my point of view there is one thing that we are missing and is that the fact that we adopt and implement technologies without having to understand them fully and worse without knowing the previous versions or the platforms on which they were based does not make much sense. As a result, another series of lawyers, the so-called 'disruptives' - I prefer to call them rehabilitated- as Elizabeth de Stadler often says, they are the ones who have really taken the decision to REINVENT, not only have they adopted the practices mentioned in the preceding paragraph, but have also given it a turn of 90, 180 and even in some cases much more specific a 360degree turn, that is, they have completely reinvented themselves which is great, and really inspire and give a fresh meaning and purpose to the practice of law.
It is from this reinvention in the roles of the lawyer and the legal exercise that we can identify the following hybrid profiles, for which I proceed to make an adaptation of the talk of my mentor and friend Andrés Botero , who in their talks of the future, humanity and design comments on 4 profiles within which I will mention some hybrid roles that have been developing among lawyers- and not lawyers in the sector who have reinvented themselves, and who do not even know it- but there is already a name for what colleagues have been doing: FIRST: TRAINERS - They are those professionals who design systems from the human for their sustainability and self-handling.
Within this space I allow myself to highlight the role of legal engineers, whose function is to interact between legal and technological professionals in order to build software to interpret, enforce or demonstrate compliance with the law. Some legal engineers are developers or data scientists who developed an interest in legal processes. I also highlight legal project managers, who have the role of managing teams, estimating budgets and managing economic and human resources, using work plans, managing multiple tasks and broken down in multi-project environments.
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SECOND: FUTURISTS - Someone who builds future scenarios and imagines fictions; to help anticipate and design for post-normal times. Being his areas of knowledge: Prospective, fiction design, business, strategic design, service design, history, art, design. They do not intend to predict, but because of their great knowledge and expertise in the field and the sector-and even multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral knowledgethey can anticipate the trends and things that may occur when requested by their customers, either to choose the future that seems to them to be the best option-viable, sustainable and with the greatest positive impact- or the one they want to be able to create it and / or redesign the context in that sense. They are usually high-end consultants, with quite seniority and who have already advised, not necessarily large companies, but to companies in the technology sector and that lead their own projects, collaborative, or work with governments in some cases in regulatory or regional impact initiatives, but they mostly have an extensive network of contacts, multi-language mastery and are generally characterized by being able to provide a holistic perspective of the global landscape, are the right arm of many decision makers worldwide, founders and investors of every level. The most important thing to consider is that "... When someone becomes a futurist, he begins to question everything he does and its impact on society..."[1]
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Indeed, all of us who operate under the law, servants of the public justice system, legal technologists who comply with this profile but above all the jurists - who by their function, whether in the private or public sector, have issued value judgments or had to do so as the exposed case of the legal Ops - can also be considered in this category. FOURTH: HUMANISTS - Someone who observes the human as an object of design, as a challenge and anticipates and monitors the human impact of technology. His areas of knowledge are mainly: strategic design, psychology, sociology, philosophy, technology. It incorporates relationships between people and how technological change will affect us. This is certainly the place where you find designer friends and where "with a lot of work of UI & UX “ you achieve the wonderful intersection between technology, design and law, a role for those who not only understand the technology but who are in love with it and take it to the next level where they are allowed to visualize, create and design – upon identification of pains and problems – viable, friendly and understandable solutions for all that allow full access to justice for all end consumers and users of the law who are nothing more and nothing less than us, people, even starting - and in addition - from the redesign of the training of lawyers from law schools.
THIRD: THE ETICISTS - Someone who builds value judgments on technological impact, product decisions and other design outcomes. His areas of knowledge are: Philosophy, Technology, Design, Product, Anthropology, Sociology. They analyze human behaviors a lot to determine whether they are oriented to good or evil in itself, how they affect us and the decisions that should or should not be made. Here I must highlight the role of Legal Operations Managers, which in addition to the "... Obvious naming functions, such as taking care of outside consultants and suppliers, many legal operations managers also oversee budgets and legal department staff. They have implemented e-invoicing systems and electronic contracts and other technological initiatives. In some cases, they can also monitor the diversity and pro-bono programs that the firm wants to promote..." . 12 | WWW.PEREKOFOUNDATION.ORG
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In this area I highlight the role of legal designers [3] lawyers and not lawyers who help us -with all their nuances because in the end we focus on making everything simpler, friendly and more accessible because a right that is not understood generates problems that result in conduct - we study and analyze behavior in depth - as well as in high procedural load, among other disjunctives that would not originate if in principle the laws were designed with care using the scientific method and apply any other science, discipline or an approach of art to law nor makes us fewer lawyers, let alone makes us bad lawyers, it simply invites us and gives us leave to think outside the box and devise in different way to the "normal" – that word displeases me and worse the new normal one - finally by that line we go , being normal is not bad but maybe it was time to discard things, recycle others, redesign others and create so many others, not for seeking a eureka moment but for that spirit of doing things better for- and even if it sounds idealistic- to create a better world where as operators-and users- we have a high role and responsibility. [4] With all of the above, I believe that we should focus and concentrate our forces on "working hard to make sure that technology fits our values." [5] Technology is neither neutral nor objective, it needs human intervention to be designed, and that is precisely why technologies have biases and it is important that we understand this and guide our training as lawyers in that regard, and with that I think I have good news regarding our robot friends or artificial intelligence that from my opinion precisely because of the mentioned biases will not be objective or neutral, will remain in the service of humanity and in this case the practice of law and I fear that it will not be able to match our wonderful humanity and ethical sense, which varies between one individual and another.
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Finally I invite you to reflect on what you are doing with your legal practice to this day, have reinvented themselves, you want to reinvent yourself and that process of what kind of purpose is accompanied, I quote here another friend and mentor Luis Felix, founder of en estado beta , who usually says "neither lack of time, nor any other excuse when we really want to learn and that we never lose that". By virtue of this, let us look at where we want to guide our practice while recognizing and learning from those who are already within the profiles mentioned, to those who are on their way to formation, and those who may appear, for the future we create in the present.
Notes [1] I particularly hope to get to this point and on that path I focus my vocation, although right now I question it and form it steadily, so we will see. [3] There are many friends with which we work and collaborate on this exciting mission. [4] Really because we are human, we should aim to the positive impact of our actions and decisions, even if it is not always achieved, the trend should be that. [5] Erik Brynjoffsson-Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
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LEGAL DESIGN IS A CREATIVE PROCESS WHERE WE IMAGINE WHAT THE FUTURE OF LAW MIGHT LOOK LIKE, CHALLENGING THE “CONVENTIONAL” AND “OLD SCHOOL” WAYS OF DOING THINGS. ABOUT KAROL ANDREA VALENCIA JAÉN
Karol Andrea Valencia Jaén is a Human or Digital Nomad; BeSci & Tech Lover; A Legal Service Designer at eID; A Facilitator in Legal Design & mindset frameworks; A Teacher & Mentor; Speaker and a Futurist Enthusiast. Find out more on Karol here
