The Transformation of the Legal Industry
We live in a time when new emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, 3D printing, blockchain and more are transforming entire industries and occupations, ultimately changing the world as we know it.
Several years ago, I attended a legal innovation conference in Europe, where I heard an interesting expression that ‘Change has never happened this fast before and will never happen this slowly again.’ It made me think about the legal industry, which has traditionally been slow to adopt technological advances compared to other industries where technology is progressing at an accelerated pace. This powerful message is even more relevant today when organizations must react quickly, as the pace of change has only sped up and continues to accelerate and innovation has become essential for business continuity.
Innovation is gradually starting to penetrate the legal market, and LegalTech is a major part of this transformation. LegalTech tools are being increasingly adopted worldwide. Across the globe expressions such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, big data & analytics, e-discovery and legal KM (knowledge management), are not just buzzwords anymore and have all become commonplace among the legal community.
LegalTech is gaining worldwide momentum, and as studies show technology will have the greatest impact on the legal industry over the coming years. In fact, 2021 has been a record year for LegalTech: over $1.4 billion was invested by venture capital firms in the legal technology sector.
Israel: A Start-Up Nation Embracing Legal Innovation
While the Israeli LegalTech industry is still in its relative infancy, it seems that the realization that change is inevitable and will happen faster than expected is starting to penetrate the Israeli legal scene. Recent developments in the legal sector in Israel show promising prospects for the future of the local LegalTech industry and legal innovation in Israel.
As an experienced attorney and legal technology expert, I believe that incorporation of technology within the legal practice will undoubtedly accelerate the pace of legal innovation and the transformation of the global legal industry towards a more efficient and improved legal service delivery, and I've been actively working towards raising awareness in the Israeli legal industry about the importance and the potential benefits of integrating technology within the local legal sector.
With the hopes of boosting the local LegalTech ecosystem, I initiated, organized and hosted the Israeli chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon (GLH), the largest legal innovation initiative in history spanning over 75 countries around the world, and over 20,000 participants, with the aim of improving the business of law and facilitating access to justice by leveraging technology.
This was the first legal hackathon in Israel and has become the main legal innovation initiative in Israel since its inception in 2018, with over 250 participants, including start-ups, entrepreneurs, technologists, legal professionals, academics and students, as well as mentors and judges comprising leading legal, technology and academic experts, coming together to collaborate on creating innovative technological solutions to overcome legal challenges in the private and public sectors. The solutions that were created as a result of the Israeli chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon generated great projects with public, private, academic and social legal benefits.
When I initiated the Israeli chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon in 2018, I was hoping to encourage the development of the LegalTech ecosystem in Israel, and the results were beyond my wildest expectations! The hackathon has certainly spurred interest in the LegalTech field within the local legal scene in Israel and marked a new chapter in its development and helped in positioning Israel on the global legal innovation map.
Over the course of the hackathon, it was fascinating to witness how collaboration among technologists and legal professionals around a common social and business objective can fuel real innovation within a short period of time and produce working solutions to real problems within the legal sector.
I am proud of the movement that was started with the Israeli chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon, and hope that the developed solutions will continue their paths toward implementing successful legal innovations in Israel and beyond.
Israeli LegalTech sector is making progress. In a country where innovation and entrepreneurship are native languages, Israel's LegalTech industry has all the conditions to succeed – we are the 'Start-up Nation' with a highly developed hi-tech ecosystem alongside our vast legal experience as a 'Land of Lawyers' with the highest ratio of lawyers per population in the world. The hackathon has proved once again that the connection between these two worlds of technology and the law creates innovative solutions that can lead the local legal sector forward. Israel's legal industry is ripe for change and I envision positive prospects for the further development in this area in the future.
The Innov8 Legal Vision
The global legal industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Much like any profession or industry, lawyers, law firms, and the legal profession as a whole must evolve to meet their client’s needs. After all, as John F. Kennedy stated, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
This is why I founded Innov8 Legal, a platform aimed to foster the development of a diverse and vibrant community, where legal innovators can come together to share thoughts, experiences and best practices and collaborate on creating innovative solutions to legal challenges through leveraging technology and innovative methods for legal service delivery ultimately to change the legal industry for the better.
With Innov8 Legal’s core values as Innovation, Creativity & Disruption, and Technology Orientation, hosting Innov8 Legal Hackathon – the Israeli chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon 2022 – is a testament to our continued commitment to bringing innovation into the legal industry.
You're invited to participate in Innov8 Legal Hackathon - Israel's main legal tech & innovation event! Don't miss your chance to be part of World's Largest Legal Hackathon and position yourselves at the forefront of legal and business innovation!
See you at Innov8 Legal Hackathon on March 22, 2022!
About the Author
Esther Dediashvili, Adv.
- Founder of Innov8 Legal
- Founder and Organizer of Innov8 Legal Hackathon -
the Israeli Chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon
- Israel’s Leading Legal Technology Expert
Adv. Esther Dediashvili, Founder of Innov8 Legal initiated, organized and hosted the Global Legal Hackathon's Israeli chapter since its inception in 2018 and served as a judge on the main judges' panel in the first and second rounds of #GLH2018 - #GLH2020. Under Esther's leadership the Israeli chapter of the Global Legal Hackathon has become the main legal innovation initiative in Israel.
As a leading legal technology professional in Israel Adv. Esther Dediashvili has been selected to serve as a judge on the final Global Judging Panel at the Global Legal Hackathon 2018 and 2019 Finals in New York and the 2020 Virtual Finals, alongside world-renowned legal and technology experts, and represented Israel in this remarkable global legal innovation event.
Adv. Esther Dediashvili is an experienced attorney and legal technology and legal knowledge management expert. She serves as Director of Solution Architecture at LawGeex, a leading force in legal innovation revolutionizing the legal world through its award-winning AI-powered Contract Review Automation (CRA) platform, helping lawyers focus on high-impact work. Prior to this, Esther served as Head of Innovation and Legal Technology Implementation and the first Legal Knowledge Manager at Israel's leading law firms.
Esther writes and speaks regularly on the subject of law and technology, innovation and knowledge management in various Israeli and international publications and venues.