The Law of Tech: Recent Episodes
Hadassah Drukarch
Digital technologies are disrupting and transforming the law and legal industry. The question is: how do we prepare the legal world of tomorrow for the enormous challenges and exciting opportunities at the intersection of law and digital technologies?
Join Leiden Law School graduate Hadassah Drukarch as she interviews industry experts and leaders in law, and, together with them, delves into some of the pressing questions, topics and issues at the intersection of law and digital technologies that are (re)shaping the law as we know it, and guiding the legal profession towards the future.
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Jillian Bommarito, Chief Risk Officer at 273 Ventures. Titled “At the intersection of AI and ethics in LegalTech: a deepdive into KL3M”, discusses KL3M and its journey toward becoming the world’s first ever ethically trained legal LLM, unpacking the the practical applications of KL3M in the legal context, and stressing the need to foster of ‘Responsible AI’ projects.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast are Antti Innanen and Aura Eriksson-Häikiö from LEGIT. Titled ‘Getting hands-on with legal AI to determine its fit and role within your organisation’, in this discussion we highlight the power of reductionism and continuous iteration when exploring the role of Legal AI to drive innovation within your organization. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast are Liezl van Zyl, Information Designer and Director at Hey Plain Jane, together with Chris Williams, experienced innovation consultant and community builder.Titled ‘Design meets Tech: where magic innovation happens’, in this discussion we push over the existing (or presumptive) frictions to better understand why Design and Tech industries seem still too far behind from each other, considering nowadays exponential growth rate with (legal) innovation. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is doctoral researcher at KU Leuven CiTiP – imec and an External Collaborating Expert on Data Protection of Big Data and Real-World Data at the European Medicines Agency.As the concept of accuracy is gaining momentum in the context of data and AI regulation, Elisabetta takes us on a journey to better understand its practical meaning and identify existing gaps in its implementation in her domain of expertise: healthcare innovation. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Magdlena Konig, General Counsel, member of the Executive Leadership Team, and leader of the Legal, Governance and Compliance function at AIQ.Titled ‘Why we need cross-jurisdictional collaboration for AI regulation’, this discussion couldn’t be more timely and relevant as we head towards the formal adoption of the world’s first piece of comprehensive AI legislation. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Marie Potel-Saville, founder and CEO at Fairpatters and Amurabi. Titled ‘Design-thinking as a facilitator of responsible innovation by design’, this episode unpacks the meaning of human-centricity in the development and governance of digital technologies. Guided by the design-thinking methodology, we uncovered the danger of dark patterns in the digital environment and potential solutions to overcome them, discussed the role of multidisciplinary teams in driving user engagement, understandability and usability, and highlighted the value of trust for growth. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Anna Posthumus Meyjes, founder at Aclara Legal Design. Titled ‘Combining creativity and legal problem solving: exploring legal design as a tool to deliver legal innovation’, this episode covers Anna's journey into legal design, the importance of bridging communication gaps by creating a common language, and practical examples of some of her recent projects.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Dom Woolrych, Co-founder and CEO at Lawpath. Titled ‘Legal Advice and Accessibility: where should B2B LegalTech companies strike a balance?’, this episode offers an honest and charismatic discussion breaking down the challenges and opportunities in encouraging legal accessibility while preserving the quality of legal advice. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Michael Bommarito, CEO of 273 Ventures and Lecturer at Michigan State University College of Law. In the latest episode, entitled: ‘Legal certification 2.0: Are LLMs turning legal education upside down?’, we continued our journey of discovery along the evolving landscape of AI-driven legal transformation, this time focussing on the role of AI in legal education and certification.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Joining us on the latest episode of The Law of Tech Podcast is Nir Golan, Product Lead at Recital - a contract negotiation software company offering advanced tools for contracts professionals. In the latest episode, entitled: ‘Exploring the role of AI in contracting: fast-forward in the acceleration of party agreement?’, we continued our journey of discovery along the evolving landscape of AI-driven legal transformation, this time focussing on the role of AI in contracting and exploring its potential to facilitate sustainable business relationships 🤝Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Introducing the latest episode of The Law of Tech podcast subseries 'LegalTech Startup Spotlight', where we zoom in on some of the amazing LegalTech companies across the globe and the incredible minds behind them. Returning to this episode of the LegalTech Startup Spotlight is Nicole Clark, co-founder and CEO at Trellis.Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What is AI and how does it fit within our regulatory landscape?In the latest episode, entitled: "How does AI fit within the EU AI regulatory landscape? A discussion in light of the EU AI Act” We interviewed a well-established rising star in the legal field: Racheal Muldoon, Barrister at Maitland Chambers.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Introducing the latest episode of The Law of Tech podcast subseries 'LegalTech Startup Spotlight', where we zoom in on some of the amazing LegalTech companies across the globe and the incredible minds behind them. Joining us for this episode of the LegalTech Startup Spotlight is Aliza Shatzman, president and founder at the Legal Accountability Project.Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Sometimes the simplest questions are the best ones.
In this episode entitled: "What is Legal AI? An educational perspective on the ‘what’ behind AI in law” we interviewed one of the most inspiring personalities in the field: Uwais Iqbal, founder at Simplexico. Amongst different topics, we touched upon the role of law firms in legal AI and how they can leverage open-source LLMs for internal use cases.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Introducing the latest episode of The Law of Tech podcast Season 3, where we uncover misconceptions about innovation in legal with our wonderful partner Betty Blocks, featuring Betty Blocks CEO, Chris Obdam, and Head of Community, Chris Williams.
In this episode, we learned the true importance of cutting through the noise and hype when it comes down to designing, developing, and deploying LegalTech solutions in the legal domain and how to do so in practice.
We learned that we all need a meaningful end goal if we want to deliver top-quality products. But to achieve this, we need to start from the basics and build the foundations by reframing our KPIs and following up on them through meaningful communication and collaboration.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
From Law and Technology to Law + Technology: Has a New Era Started?
Central to the first quarter of The Law of Tech podcast Season 3, we wanted to set the scene of our discussion to understand whether we are facilitating a shift in focus in the field of legal innovation by changing our approach to this matter in line with the importance of problems, the ideation and adoption of new solutions, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration.
In this episode of The Law of Tech podcast entitled: "Putting the law + technology approach into perspective in the context of legal innovation” your Host Hadassah Drukarch interviews Dr. Thibault Schrepel in a really inspiring, practical, and challenging discussion on the topic.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Introducing the latest episode of The Law of Tech podcast Season 3, where we zoom in on the controversial dilemma: ‘do we need non-lawyers to boost legal innovation? Coding or no coding, that’s the question’ together with our great guest Marc May - Industry Solutions Director, Legal at M-Files and Founder of The Legal Technologist.This is the third episode in our first season 3 subseries answering the following research question: ‘From Law & Technology to Law + Technology: Has a New Era Started?’ In this episode, Marc opens up to our listeners by genuinely sharing his personal and professional journey in the legal tech and operations space, also touching upon some delicate aspects of his experience with legal education and alternative ways of qualifying as a lawyer.Marc also shared more with us regarding his great project The Legal Technologist, which we strongly recommend to follow for top-notch content and interesting characters in the legal innovation space.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Introducing the latest episode of The Law of Tech podcast subseries 'LegalTech Startup Spotlight', where we zoom in on some of the amazing LegalTech companies across the globe and the incredible minds behind them. Joining me for this episode of the LegalTech Startup Spotlight are AThoughtRiver's Tim Pullan - founder and CEO -, and Laila Khan - customer success manager. Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Legal innovation: everyone talks about it, but not many understand its true meaning and wider applications in different contexts. This episode of The Law of Tech podcast entitled: ‘How innovative is legal innovation’? Understanding change between transformation and disruption.’ aims to shed some light on this much discussed and debated topic. This is the second episode in our first season 3 subseries answering the following research question: ‘From Law & Technology to Law + Technology: Has a New Era Started?’ In this episode, your hosts Hadassah Drukarch and Marco Mendola will take you on a journey to discover how innovative legal innovation is in practice and what this means for the role of legal professionals and others involved in this complex process. As usual they do not do this alone, but are joined in this discussion by another excellent guest: Aleksandra Wawrzyszczuk, Head of LawtechUK and co-founder of the Just Theory podcast, who combines academic research with practical background in change, innovation and strategic development.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How can we best empower women in LegalTech? Law is still viewed by some as a traditionally male profession and nowadays we often lack sufficient women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Nevertheless, women, technology companies and progressive law firms are eroding that view, and within the legal tech community, there are more and more women with thriving careers.In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, we sat down to chat with 2 amazing and inspiring female LegalTech leaders from across the globe - Leila El Gharbi and Nicky Leijtens - to discuss empowering voices of women in LegalTech as part of an International Women's Day special of The Law of Tech podcast. Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Introducing the latest episode of The Law of Tech podcast subseries 'LegalTech Startup Spotlight', where we zoom in on some of the amazing LegalTech companies and their founders across the globe.Joining me for this episode of the LegalTech Startup Spotlight are Annabel Pemberton, Nathan Corr, and Amy Conroy, founders of Law School 2.0 - an organisation aspiring to reform legal education to meet the requirements of the modern day lawyer.Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
This episode kickstarts the first TLOT subseries of season 3 of the podcast and aims to answer the following research question: ‘From Law & Digital Technologies to Law + Technology: Has a New Era Started?' In this episode, your hosts Hadassah Drukarch and Marco Mendola discuss the importance of getting comfortable with being in the problem space from a legal innovation perspective with Nikki Shaver – CEO of the LegalTech Hub. As part of this, we discuss how to properly identify a problem, make sense of and frame a problem, and act upon a problem in the LegalTech space.Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How do we make law fun in an age of change?
Most recently, studies have presented the rising levels of depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health issues among legal professionals. The outcomes of these studies are shocking, indicating that the mental health statistics in the legal industry are staggering. At the same time, developments within the legal industry, among which also technology-driven, are increasingly leading (aspiring) legal professionals to question and re-explore the way in which their work offers meaning and adds purpose to their life. All of this, while the outside world is demanding the legal profession to become more transparent, accessible, and fun.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed how we can make law (more) fun in an age of change with Elizabeth De Stadler, founding director at Novcon and director at the Rehabilitated Lawyer.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How do we effectively balance innovation and privacy in the digital age?
Tim Berners Lee once noted: ‘It is difficult to imagine the power that you’re going to have when so many different sorts of data are available.’ In the age in which data has been coined the new oil of the digital economy, fundamentally driving innovation and economic growth, nothing seems to be more true. While the economic benefits abound, however, the mass-exploitation of data - in particular personal data - for these purposes may be at odds with existing privacy expectations, bringing about complex challenges for individuals, groups and societies as a whole. Although governments across the globe have been prompted to address some of the major economic and societal challenges and risks associated with large-scale data-processing activities by businesses in order to benefit from the potential of DDI to the fullest extent possible and assure that its benefits apply to all citizens, the legislation that is often the result of such efforts may not be enough.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discuss the challenge of balancing innovation and privacy in the digital age, and the opportunities that may hide within it, with Bart Voorn and Pim Nauts, founders at STRM Privacy.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What does pursuing an alternative legal career look like in practice?
With the rise of - among other things - new and increasingly sophisticated technologies within the legal domain, traditional legal practice has progressively been subjected to major changes and unimaginable paths for legal professionals have been and continue to be paved. For (aspiring) legal professionals this shift away from traditional legal practice may seem scary and even unimaginable. However, with it come new and unprecedented opportunity and flexibility to explore what the law can bring to our ever changing society and shape the future of the legal profession.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed alternative legal careers with Marco Mendola, trainee lawyer in-house and legal design professional.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Innovating the legal industry is not an easy task, and requires a vision, conviction and perseverance. But what does this look like in practice, and how do you pick yourself up when you face obstacles along the way?
Check out the latest episode of the LegalTech Startup Spotlight subseries of The Law of Tech Podcast with Mert Can Boyar - founder and CEO at Verilogy - to find out more! In this episode we talk more about Mert's professional journey and the story behind Verilogy, and delve deeper into some of the current gaps and opportunities in the privacy space.
Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How can AI be used for legal research purposes by legal teams?
Data has the potential to transform the global economy by offering insights that were previously considered to be impossible to reach. Among the many domains in which the value of data has proven to be invaluable, is the domain of legal research. A perfect example of this can be found in the United States (US), where in particular state court data has for long been inaccessible to legal practitioners. Realising the opportunities offered by AI, Trellis was established. Trellis is a state trial court legal research and analytics platform with AI-based insights on judges, opposing counsel, motions, dockets, and legal issues.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed the use of AI for legal research in US legal teams with Nicole Clark, co-founder and CEO Trellis.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How can we best empower women in LegalTech?
Law is still viewed by some as a traditionally male profession and nowadays we often lack sufficient women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Nevertheless, women, technology companies and progressive law firms are eroding that view, and within the legal tech community, there are more and more women with thriving careers.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I sat down to chat with 3 amazing and inspiring female LegalTech founders from across the globe - Cherilyn Tan, Namita Shah and Dorna Moini - to discuss empowering voices of women in LegalTech as part of an International Women's Day special of The Law of Tech podcast.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What is the role of human dignity in governing Artificial Intelligence?
Progress in science and technology makes our lives more comfortable and extended. Nevertheless, it also certainly presents massive challenges, among which related to the dignity of the users of new technologies. It is for this reason that in more recent times, the topic of human dignity has been raised in discussions on the way forward regarding technological development, in particular in relation to robotics and AI technologies. Yet despite the large and erudite body of available literature, there is currently still little or no consensus as to what the concept of human dignity demands of lawmakers and adjudicators. This, despite the fact that we continue to emphasise the importance of human dignity in order to ensure the development of ‘good’ technologies.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed the role of human dignity in AI governance with Lexo Zardiashvilli, Ph.D. researcher at Leiden University (The Netherlands).
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Building a sense of culture and community is essential to the operation of a company. But what does it take to build such a culture and community in practice?
Check out the first episode of the LegalTech Startup Spotlight subseries of The Law of Tech Podcast with Tom Dunlop - founder and CEO at Summize - to find out more! In this episode we talk more about Tom's professional journey and the story behind Summize, delve deeper into the topic of culture and community building, and offer some tips for those aspiring an entrepreneurial career in LegalTech.
Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What will 2022 bring for the European Data Strategy?
In 2020, the European Commission unveiled its data strategy, which looks to make the EU a leader in our data-driven society, empowering people, businesses and organisations to make better decisions based on insights from data, which should be available to all. While it has been frequently stressed that the EU has missed the boat in terms of consumer data at the height of the platform explosion not too long ago, through the European Data Strategy the EU is currently seeking to redress the balance by strengthening its position among global leaders in the data economy. Although certainly only the beginning of the story, 2022 promises to be a pivotal year for the European Data Strategy as it will require the EU to at least find a balance, establish some of the necessary trade-offs and come to a reasoned compromise in terms of how to move forward from here to ensure that all puzzle pieces that make up the European Data Strategy fit well together and with other existing EU instruments.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed predictions, promises and expectations in light of the European Data Strategy with Thomas Tombal, post-doctoral researcher at TILT and TILEC at Tilburg University.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What is the Code for Children’s Rights and why is it so important?
Digital technologies and services, among which various apps and games, play an increasingly important role in children’s lives. While digital technologies and services make a valuable contribution to children’s development, however, practice has shown that the design choices related to their development are not always made in the best interests of the child. To ensure that digital technologies and services are designed in a childfriendly manner, Simone van der Hof of the eLaw Centre for Law and Digital Technologies - in collaboration with the De Waag Technology & Society and commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations - has drawn up a code for digital children's rights which aims to give technology designers and developers concrete tips and tools for the implementation of children's rights in their products to ensure that new technologies exposed to children - whether directly or indirectly - are created with the best interest of the child in mind from the very start.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I explored the origins and contents of the Code for Children’s Rights with Simone van der Hof, Academic Director and Professor of Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden Law School.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
Why should we encourage the transition towards the LegalTech profession?
Of all traditional business sectors, the legal sector has been one of the slowest to join the digital revolution. This, however, is rapidly changing. In particular, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated virtually every industry's path towards digitisation, and the notoriously old-school world of law is no exception with many law firms starting to take innovation more seriously. Depending on their position in the legal value chain, legal professionals may benefit from a transition towards LegalTech even though the legal sector has traditionally been described as risk- and, by extension, tech-averse.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed in more depth why it is important to encourage the transition towards the LegalTech profession with Sally Sfeir Tait, CEO of RegulAItion, a knowledge-tech company helping to unlock intelligence by reimagining the way in which organisations across the globe access data.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What is the value of social media for law students and legal professionals?
It should come as no surprise that over the last two decades, social media has become a large part of the lives of many people across the globe. Interestingly, in more recent years there has been a large uptake of social media use within the legal profession, despite not long before that merely very few lawyers saw any value in learning about social media since they didn’t believe it would impact their bottom line.
These days, it’s a very different story. Social media has become extremely important to legal practitioners whether it is used to market a law practice or to simply maintain a professional presence online. While social media encompasses any digital tool that allows users to quickly create and share content with the public, however, when it comes to social media marketing, and a social media presence in general, there really is no one-size-fits-all strategy. What is the power of social media within the context of the legal profession? What platforms offer a valuable forum for legal professionals, law students and law firms? How can they use social media to distinguish themselves and build valuable and meaningful connections? And how can they move from building a valuable network online to using and strengthening that network in the offline world?
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I explored the power of social media within the legal profession with Colin Levy, corporate lawyer, LegalTech evangelist, speaker and writer, and legal change agent.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
What does it take to build a LegalTech startup in Law School?
As an industry, LegalTech has only started to scratch the surface, and many valuable companies at the intersection of software and law have yet to be built. With benefits and opportunities abound, LegalTech has captured the attention of the legal industry and beyond. As legal continues to move towards the introduction and adoption of new technologies to improve the provision of legal services, legal practice and access to justice, not only existing legal and other professionals but law students too have become increasingly interested to capture a piece of this growing field of opportunity and source of a much needed transformation. An example of a LegalTech startup built in Law School is Evisort, an AI-powered contract management company founded in 2016 by Harvard Law and MIT graduates to develop AI algorithms to help companies mine contracts for data.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I discussed the process and experience of building a LegalTech startup in Law School with Memme Onwudiwe, Harvard Law School graduate and Executive Vice President at Evisort Inc.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
To what extent do current and proposed legal frameworks sufficiently address the risks of technology-facilitated domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse is not new to this age, yet technology has enabled perpetrators of such abuse to take their acts of harassment and violence to new and unprecedented levels. While many of these efforts are concerned with 'conventional' cyber risks such as abuses on social media platforms and restrictions to devices such as laptops and phones, emerging "Internet of Things" (IoT) technologies such as 'smart' meters, locks, and cameras expand domestic violence victim's risk trajectories further.
In response to these developments, UCL STEaPP researchers in collaboration with UCL's Department of Computer Science are conducting a research study that analyses these evolving IoT privacy and security risks in the context of domestic violence and abuse. More specifically, the Gender and IoT research project - led by Dr Leonie Tanczer - studies the implications of "smart", Internet-connected devices on gender-based domestic violence and abuse and what socio-technical measures will need to be implemented in order to mitigate against those risks.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I explored the legal implications of technology-facilitated domestic abuse with Francesca Stevens, Research Assistant at the Gender and IoT project at UCL.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How should we reshape legal professionals to meet a new demand for legal services?
For years the notoriously static legal industry has shielded itself against the prospect of undergoing significant technological and cultural transformation. Yet for some time, there has been a call for the legal industry to innovate and to change not just what legal services are provided but also how they are provided. ‘And for me, I think that is the biggest shift - the focus on how we do things as legal professionals versus what we do’.
But what does innovation mean in the context of the legal services ecosystem? To what extent are (aspiring) legal professionals sufficiently equipped to meet the new demand for legal services and encourage further innovation? What knowledge and skills will become more relevant? How can we tackle existing barriers? And where do we move from here?
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I explored these and many more related questions with Michele DeStefano, professor at the University of Miami School of Law, Affiliated Faculty at Harvard Law School Executive Education and IE Law School, author, speaker, and independent consultant on innovation, technology, culture and cross-practice, cross-border initiatives.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference!
How can we make education more digitally accessible?
In its effort to share Europe’s digital future, the European Union has taken several regulatory initiatives to promote digital accessibility, thereby aiming to build a social and inclusive European “union of equality”, where all Europeans can take a full and active part in the digital economy and society. Strong accessibility requirements make a real difference for disabled people but they affect many others too, including professions, businesses and public organizations, among which in particular educational institutions. While a major cause for concern with regard to the accessibility of legal education, new digital technologies, paradoxically, have a lot to offer education in terms of accessibility, for example in the field of enriching course material, increasing the accessibility of education, reducing disadvantages, enabling new forms of education and reaching new target groups.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I explored the existing and upcoming requirements towards making education more digitally accessible with Raffi Lion, former business developer at the young tech-startup Amberscript.
Want to know more? Take a listen to the podcast episode on your podcast platform of preference