A Legal Renaissance, Blockchain Style – CoinDesk

January 16, 2018

Maybe it makes sense that the old, siloed law firm models need to evolve, as well.

We are experiencing a technological tidal wave of new business models and novel legal questions, and regulators, market participants and lawyers all are trying to navigate the current.  The entire blockchain ecosystem arguably benefits when lawyers focus some of their energies outward, beyond their individual firms – advancing legal discussion and theory and grappling together to interpret and apply legal frameworks – rather than solely inward.

Source: A Legal Renaissance, Blockchain Style – CoinDesk, Joshua Ashley Klayman Kuzar, January 7, 2018

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Blockchain reinvents the consumer experience | IBM

January 16, 2018

Executive summary

The IBM Institute for Business Value surveyed executives from 203 organizations in the consumer industry – which includes both retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) organizations – from 16 countries. We found that 7 percent expect to have a commercial blockchain solution at scale in 2018. Even more are working with and investing in blockchain now – a total of 18 percent.

These “First Movers” expect blockchains to take down the frictions that hold them back. Three-quarters of them have their eyes on new markets, while 69 percent expect to strip away information risks and 64 percent to better navigate the regulatory environment.

First Movers see broad benefits from blockchains across six areas: product safety and authenticity, supply chain optimization, finance, operational processes, promotional strategy management, and customer engagement and co-creation. In each case, they don’t just expect targeted business benefits, such as time and cost savings or risk reduction, but the opportunity to create new business models or disrupt the industry. Ultimately, no matter where they start, they aim to expand new blockchain solutions to cover virtually every aspect of their value chains.

First Movers recognize that the opportunity introduced by blockchain covers both the supply side of their businesses and customer-facing interactions. They can use blockchain to dynamically reconfigure networks for real-time optimization or, in collaboration with other institutions, to gain deeper insights into their consumers. They can better assure the safety and quality of goods and also establish new markets, enabling them to transform the way they see and do business.

Source: Blockchain reinvents the consumer experience | IBM

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Canadian Spy Agency CSIS Labels Blockchain a ‘Mega Trend’

January 16, 2018

CSIS expressed a view that, if approached correctly, blockchain could become the “plumbing” for all transaction-based systems. This would include government services, healthcare records, and real estate.

This presents a huge opportunity for blockchain, as it shows that government agencies want to engage with its underlying mechanisms. We’ve grown accustomed to companies having perspectives on the blockchain, but adding more government agencies into the mix is a strong signal.

CSIS expects technology-minded millennials to play a key part in the upcoming social, political and technological disruption in society. Further, the agency expects that millennials could be the conductors for the next industrial revolution and a major economic boom.

Source: Canadian Spy Agency CSIS Labels Blockchain a ‘Mega Trend’, Melanie Clay, January 15, 2018

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Enterprises Have Extremely High Hopes For Blockchain Technology

January 10, 2018

This is the key takeaway from a study of 3,000 executives, conducted by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, which looked at the enterprise potential of blockchain, a distributed global ledger or database that facilitates and tracks “smart contracts” between people, systems and organizations. Blockchain has no single owner or centralized hub, and it has potential to enable direct and secure management of engagements with customers and partners over the Internet, without the need for third parties or intermediaries.Overall, the survey finds, 33% of executives are already “actively engaged” or are “considering” using blockchain. A handful, 8%, are among those already working with the technology approach. Among members of the 33% using or considering blockchain, 100% expect it to support their enterprise strategy in some way. The vast majority, 78%, are investing in blockchain in hopes of responding to disruptions in their markets — financial shifts or developing new business model. Close to two-thirds see it as a way to increase the transparency of their transactions.

Source: Enterprises Have Extremely High Hopes For Blockchain Technology, Joe McKendrick, May 22, 2017

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Forging ahead with Blockchain in 2018: My Focus in 2018 for Blockchain Technology and Transforming Industries, Government and Our Lives | LinkedIn

January 6, 2018

The blockchain ecosystem, driven by new business models, promises of disintermediation, and interesting technological innovation, has behaved much like an adolescent by throwing tantrums, challenging the status quo, and defying all odds to make a point.

The permissioned network, which is the realm for regulated, conventional, and enterprise business networks, may also have to embark on a journey of uncovering the right incentive and economic model for enterprises and organizations to join a platform that leverages the notion of creation, distribution, and sharing of rewards benefitting all stakeholders. While not all conventional business and industries can blindly adopt the economic incentives of tokenomics (either due to product catalogues, legacy systems, or regulation, or simply the will of the participants), it is imperative that industries start the journey to explore the right business model that will not only enable value creation but also elevate the modernization efforts that many industries desperately need to combat disruptive forces.

Source: Forging ahead with Blockchain in 2018: My Focus in 2018 for Blockchain Technology and Transforming Industries, Government and Our Lives | LinkedIn, Nitin Gaur, December 31, 2017

Here’s my $0.02 USD or, as of this post’s date, 0.000001 Crypto Comment on the post:

I find the Divide a funny thing. Do you think Enterprise players would be so quick to adopt these technologies if it were not for the whacky ICOs and crypto market capitalizations? Congrats to both sides of the Divide; the decentralist trailblazers and players like IBM and other Linux Foundation members for recognizing they are on to something but need to focus on matters like those posted by Nitin for enterprises to start listening.

Happy Trails to both sides of the divide in 2018!

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Solo and Small Firms Face Many Challenges, Survey Shows, But Few Have Made Changes to Address Them | Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites

December 4, 2017

… when you combine the numbers for firms that have either implemented changes or that have plans in place, the numbers of firms that are addressing their challenges range from roughly half to two-thirds:

  • Challenges acquiring new client business, 63%.
  • Getting paid by clients, 65%.
  • Demonstrating the firm’s value to potential clients, 65%.
  • Keeping up with competition from other firms in your practice areas, 54%.
  • Lack of internal efficiency, 55%.
  • Spending too much time on administrative tasks, 47%.
  • Cost control and expense growth, 54%.
  • Managing staff, 68%.
  • Clients demanding more for less, 42%.
  • Increasing complexity of technology, 52%.
  • Retaining client business, 67%.
  • Increasing pace of legal and regulatory change, 46%.

Source: Solo and Small Firms Face Many Challenges, Survey Shows, But Few Have Made Changes to Address Them – Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites, November 30, 2017, Robert Ambrogi

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The Legal AI ‘Barbarians’ Have Already Taken the Gates |Artificial Lawyer

December 4, 2017

Strangely, it’s not the legal IT people in law firms who seem to have most grasped just how important AI and automation is, it’s the managing partners. This is because it’s their job to look at the bigger picture, the economic and strategic picture, not just how the machine functions day to day.

Great list of legal Artificial Intelligence providers. Looking forward to “AI and blockchain fusion initiatives.”

Source: The Legal AI ‘Barbarians’ Have Already Taken the Gates – Artificial Lawyer, December 01, 2017, Richard Tromans

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IBM + Integra Ledger Launch World NDA Project in Global First | Artificial Lawyer

November 28, 2017

The project will take NDAs and place key identifier information onto the Integra permissioned blockchain; for example, the names of the parties, companies involved and other information that may need to be shared according to the non-disclosure document. This will provide a secure, single version of truth for the NDA. IBM Watson’s AI technology will then be applied to deliver insight into that data, covering legal and business intelligence issues.

Source: IBM + Integra Ledger Launch World NDA Project in Global First, 27th November 2017

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