‘Focusing on solving a particular problem could be a good way to start an innovation journey’ — Legal knowledge manager, FBC & Co
Global Legal Hackathon Finals judge Esther Dediashvili discusses GLH’s lasting impact in Israel and how to innovate in firms
The inaugural Global Legal Hackathon launched in February 2018 and has since grown to become one of the largest legal innovation initiatives around the world. As GLH co-founder David Fisher told Above the Law, “We may have set something in motion that actually changes the legal industry.”
It seems that’s the case for the dozens of legal tech communities across the globe that took a leap and organized GLH events. The worldwide hackathon kicked off with Israel’s 1st Legal Hackathon in Tel Aviv, hosted by one of Israel’s largest law firms, Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co (FBC & Co), in collaboration with Tech&Law Israel, and has signaled a new chapter in Israel’s legal tech sector.
Esther Dediashvili is the Legal Knowledge Manager and Head of Legal Technology Implementation at FBC & Co. She organized Israel’s 1st Legal Hackathon on behalf of the firm. Dediashvili believes that individuals and firms must be willing to risk failure in order to foster innovation.
“Innovation is not necessarily related to ‘shiny’ new technology,” says Dediashvili, “and the value of technology alone without an organizational mindset that supports an innovation-friendly environment is questionable.”
Dediashvili was selected to serve as a judge on the final global judging panel at the Global Legal Hackathon upcoming finals in New York, April 21, where she’ll be looking for legal tech solutions “with the potential for the biggest impact within the legal industry, and the most believable path to that impact.”
We heard from Dediashvili about innovation in the global legal industry, how the GLH initiative influenced Israel’s legaltech sector, and what she anticipates from the finals. This is what she told us.
Legaltech is up and coming in Israel. How has the GLH made an impact in the community so far?
The hackathon has certainly spurred interest in the legaltech field within the local legal scene, and hopefully has marked a new chapter in its development. As the country’s first legal hackathon, it’s been featured on the main financial news sources in Israel, and has prompted many articles and subsequent discussions on the subject of legal technology showcasing the local hackathon.
Most legaltech products mainly support the English language, which is the international language of the business world, whereas Hebrew is only spoken by 9 million people around the world, a fact that can make the development of Israeli legaltech solutions less financial-worthy. In order to help solve this problem we encouraged hackathon participants to try applying their diverse skills towards generating legaltech solutions in the Hebrew language. It was very inspiring and exciting to see that within such a short timeframe many participants rose to the challenge, and created impressive solutions geared towards progressing the business of law and facilitating access to justice for a Hebrew-speaking audience.
The solutions that were created as a result of the local hackathon exceeded our expectations, generating some great projects with both public and private social legal benefits. So far, several teams have already launched their projects, while others have reached considerable progress and started gaining traction. The winning teams were also invited to present their solutions before the senior technologists within Israel’s Ministry of Justice.
What has been the most fascinating aspect of watching this inaugural Global Legal Hackathon unfold?
In recent years there has been much discussion about innovation in the legal sector, which hasn’t necessarily resulted in tangible actions having significant impact within the global legal industry. The Global Legal Hackathon initiative has been instrumental in moving the needle towards attaining legal innovation on a global scale, bringing together the legal industry with tech and innovation across 6 continents, reaching over 40 cities in 22 countries. It really illustrated that the best way to predict the future is to invent it. GLH hosts and participants across the globe have certainly done that!
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 — to improve legal processes by leveraging technology — can fuel real innovation within a short period of time, and produce working solutions to real world problems within the legal sector with the aim of facilitating better access to legal systems and improving legal service delivery worldwide.
“ As a judge I would look for a solution with the potential for the biggest impact within the legal industry, and the most believable path to that impact” — Esther Dediashvili
I’m very excited and honored to have been selected as a judge on the final global judging panel at the GLH finals in New York on April 21st, along with world-renowned legal and technology experts. As a leading female legal technology professional in Israel, I’m proud to be representing ‘Startup Nation’ in this remarkable global legal innovation event.
As a judge at the GLH finals, what will you be watching for as the hackathon finalists present their solutions?
Broadly speaking, as a judge I would look for a solution with the potential for the biggest impact within the legal industry, and the most believable path to that impact, considering what kind of progress the team has made on its path to that impact. More specifically, the main criteria for judging at the GLH finals are the same as during the first two rounds of the hackathon, focusing on the following three aspects — user validation, design & implementation, and business model:
First, for teams to stand out, they should demonstrate that they “did their homework”, and have a clear understanding of who their target audience is and what its needs are. It’s critical to have these considerations sorted out. For example, if the proposed solution is directed at lawyers in general, it’s important to understand that lawyers do not represent a homogenous group — a solution that can fit a commercial lawyer may not necessarily meet the needs of a litigation lawyer.
Second, the best technological solutions would be the ones that have a clean design, are user friendly and easy to navigate.
Third, what could set a team apart is a credible business model, clearly showing the intrinsic value of the proposed technological solution that gives it an advantage over competitors within the same market space, as well as demonstrating the team’s scalability and customer acquisition plan, and the potential ROI for prospective investors.
Finally, I would like to congratulate all the teams presenting at the GLH finals and wish them best of luck as they continue their preparations towards the final round of the hackathon. Although the Global Legal Hackathon is a competition, I believe that all teams competing at the finals should be very proud of their accomplishments, as by being finalists in the biggest celebration of global legal innovation around the planet they are already winners!
Is there something you’re looking forward to most at the event finals (gala)?
I’m looking forward to seeing the finalists’ presentations, learning about their projects and the progress they made throughout their GLH experience. I’m very excited to meet and exchange experiences with the GLH team, fellow judges, and legal innovators from around the world. I’ve also been following Dera Nevin’s fascinating updates about many of the teams, hosts, and sponsors that participated in the Global Legal Hackathon, telling the story of legaltech innovation around the world as part of her “ToTheMars” journey across the globe, and I’m curious to see the documentary of the tour that will be presented at the GLH finals in New York.
What is your view on innovation in 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.
As Jack Welch (longstanding CEO of General Electric) observed, organizations are at significant and potentially irretrievable risk when the rate of internal change is slower than the pace of external change. For a profession that is traditionally risk averse, innovation naturally pushes lawyers out of their comfort zones. In order to succeed as a law firm operating in the new economy, I believe that firms should be more open to experimenting with innovative initiatives, including new technologies.
Innovation is not necessarily related to ‘shiny’ new technology, and the value of technology alone without an organizational mindset that supports an innovation-friendly environment is questionable. Naturally, experiments involve both successes and failures, and failure should be an option for an innovation to thrive. After all, it took Thomas Edison more than 10,000 tries to perfect the light bulb, after which he famously stated, ‘I have not failed. I have just found 9,999 ways that do not work.’
“Experiments involve both successes and failures, and failure should be an option for an innovation to thrive.” — Esther Dediashvili
What advice do you have for people looking to implement legal innovation in their firms?
I believe that the best way to implement innovation in a law firm context would be to have support from senior leadership, as well as involve other functions in the organization including lawyers, interns, administrative staff, IT, finance, marketing & business development, human resources and etc. Focusing on solving a particular problem could be a good way to start an innovation journey. That sometimes can be a very small project whether internal or client-oriented, and the overall initiative doesn’t have to change radically the way the entire firm operates. Nonetheless, it’s important to understand that engaging employees throughout the entire process is a necessary condition for the success of the innovation initiative. Naturally, the significance of involving clients along the various stages of client-facing innovation processes cannot be overstated.
Can you tell us about a legal innovation project that you’re involved in these days?
Our firm has recently joined the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium (GLBC), the non-profit group positioned to lead standards and governance for the adoption of blockchain technology in the legal industry. Other members of the consortium include key stake holders of the legal industry — leading global law firms, technology companies and academic institutions such as BakerHostetler, Dentons Canada, Fasken, Orrick, White & Case, IBM, Integra Ledger, Suffolk Law School and others.
Joining GLBC’s innovative initiative goes hand in hand with FBC & Co being at the forefront of innovation in the Israeli legal scene, and we are proud to be the first law firm representing Israel in the consortium. We look forward to exploring the various applications of the blockchain technology within the local legal framework and cooperating with GLBC and fellow members of the consortium.
What kind of lasting impact do you hope initiatives like the GLH will have down the road?
We are really proud of the movement that was started with the Global Legal Hackathon, and hope that the developed solutions will continue their paths toward implementing successful legal innovations in Israel and beyond. We expect the next local hackathon to attract even more people from diverse backgrounds, and look forward to collaborating with GLH on this one-of-a-kind global legal innovation endeavor next year.
The inaugural Global Legal Hackathon had a tremendous influence on the local legal scene. There’s a feeling that the wind of change has come and that’s very exciting. And who knows, in a country celebrated as the ‘Startup Nation’, with its unique entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and the highest number of lawyers per capita in the world, perhaps we might soon see Israel becoming a ‘legaltech nation’ as well.
Esther Dediashvili is Legal Knowledge Manager and Head of Legal Technology Implementation at Fischer Behar Chen Well Orion & Co (FBC & Co). Prior to this, she practiced securities and corporate law for seven years in two leading law firms in Israel. Dediashvili writes and speaks regularly on the subject of law and technology in various Israeli and international publications and venues. She can be contacted via email at estherd@fbclawyers.com or via LinkedIn. For more information on FBC & Co, visit http://www.fbclawyers.com/.
To join the Global Legal Hackathon community for the finals and gala April 21 in New York, visit our website for tickets and event details.
