‘What we need is a paradigm shift’ — GLH team member on smart contracts
Ohio-based hackathon team proposes smart-contract solution to help businesses navigate international purchasing contracts
The first Global Legal Hackathon finals are now behind us, but the innovations, connections, and enthusiasm that manifested during the hackathon will continue to have an impact on the global legal community.
One team based in Cleveland, Ohio, expertly leveraged their global perspective and demonstrated its utility for the future of the legal industry.
“Team INCO-herent” is anything but. They turned their global outlook into a solution that helps streamline an important part of international trade — an increasingly relevant yet complex area for even the smallest of businesses all over the world.
Their solution is INCOtelligent, a platform that uses smart contracts to help businesses choose their Incoterms, ensuring purchasing contracts are fulfilled under the correct terms.
The five-person team behind INCOtelligent comprises an engineer, trade expert, developer, and law students. Despite their progress, they believe that what the industry really needs is a paradigm shift from traditional to smart contracts, explains team member Jackson Biesecker.
We heard from the team about their platform and what the future holds for them. First, let’s meet the talented — and very coherent — individuals behind INCOtelligent!
Kevin Burwell is the trade and customs manager for TimkenSteel Corporation. In this role, he focuses on developing international trade and government contracting compliance policies. Prior to joining TimkenSteel in 2014, he managed the North American logistics efforts of Zim American Israeli Shipping, and he served as director for the Virginia Port Authority, where he was responsible for managing and providing multi-year strategies and trade development plans for one of the largest foreign trade zones in the United States. During that time, he was also on the Executive Board of Directors of the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones. Burwell is currently a 2018 JD candidate at the University of Akron School of Law and remains active in the field of international trade, serving as a featured speaker at Congressional events, the World Free Zone Conference and Journal of Commerce conferences.
Mara Hirz is a project engineer at SMART Microsystems. In this role, she focuses on semiconductor and micro-electronic packaging and process development. Hirz graduated from Cleveland State University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently earning a Juris Doctorate at Cleveland Marshall Law and a Master of Business Administration at the Monte Ahuja College of Business.
Dana Beveridge is a third-year law student at Cleveland Marshall College of Law, with an interest in international human rights and civil rights laws. She hopes to use technological innovations in these areas of the law. Beveridge graduated from Kent State University with a bachelors in visual journalism and a passion for advocacy. She has worked in information discovery services for a major insurance company and currently works as a legal clerk at a civil rights law firm in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a senior editor of the Cleveland State Law Review and a newly-minted member of the CM Law Trial Team. This summer she will be interning at the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
Mark Bruening is a developer in the innovation and emerging technology group at BakerHostetler.
Jackson Biesecker is currently a law student at Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He has a background in technology and has worked in both the public and private sectors. His goal is to marry his tech background with his legal training and hopes to work at the forefront of law and technology.
Why did you decide to help businesses with INCO terms?
Kevin Burwell: INCOTERMS are a significant problem for cross-border buyers and sellers. We know that they are misunderstood and misapplied.
Why use smart contracts? Can you explain how/when exactly they’re deployed?
Jackson Biesecker: We are trying to shape human behavior. Smart contracts are like a carrot/stick approach to encouraging parties to adhere to contract terms. Smart contracts provide a way to simplify a part of traditional shipping contracts that are often misunderstood and get overlooked.
Which businesses do you foresee using your platform?
Kevin Burwell: Typically smaller to medium sized businesses who do not have a lot of standard shipping concerns. For the businesses who buy unique items that take a long time to deliver and for those businesses who do not have internal shipping chain controls.
What was the biggest challenge in developing the platform and how did you overcome it?
Mara Hirz: The biggest challenge has been working with new technology. Blockchain technology is still developing, so many problems do not yet have well defined best practices or common solutions. Many members on our team have a legal background and, at the onset, did not know what blockchain is or how it works.
Can you briefly explain the underlying tech and business model?
Mark Bruening: We are using standard web application technologies (HTML and Javascript) with hooks into the Etherium Blockchain using web3.js.
Mara Hirz: We are offering subscription-based services as well as single-use contracts so they are accessible to businesses all over the world, regardless of how large or small.
Why accept ETH as a currency?
Mark Bruening: Currently, we are using ETH because it is most suited for smart contract applications. It is open source and has a strong developer community. Our future plan is to expand and accept other token-based payments.
You mentioned that other companies offer similar services, but yours is the only one that uses blockchain. Is that primarily what sets you apart?
Kevin Burwell: In addition to that, we deal directly with buyers and sellers rather than the shippers, freight forwarders, brokers, etc. Blockchain is about control and it’s the buyers and sellers who need to remain in control of their operations.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for the industry to accept a solution like yours?
Jackson Biesecker: The biggest challenge going forward is facilitating a paradigm shift from traditional contracts to smart contracts. The way we transact business is evolving. What tends to lag in any innovation is the human element. People get comfortable with the way things are done, and can be reticent to change.
What’s next for the team?
Mara Hirz: Team INCO-Herent is committed to learning, developing, and implementing emerging technologies in the legal industry. The Global Legal Hackathon has been an extremely fulfilling experience and we are excited to see what the future holds.
What has been the most exciting part of building INCO-telligent during the hackathon?
Jackson Biesecker: Overcoming obstacles and feeling the drive to innovate have been amazing. One of the most impactful parts of this experience has been having the opportunity to meet some of the most incredible people in the industry; people that are effecting real change. Even within our team, we’ve gotten to know each other better than we would’ve, otherwise.
For more information on the Global Legal Hackathon, visit globallegalhackathon.com and follow us on Twitter @worldhackathon. To learn more about INCOtelligent, visit bakerlawlabs.github.io/GLH2018/.
