Legal disrupter fails to make an impact
By: Stephen Hockey
March 5, 2020
There was an interesting piece by Natasha Gillezeau in todays AFR:
SILICON VALLEY-BASED LEGAL TECH START-UP ATRIUM, WHOSE CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE JUSTIN KAN STARTED THE VIDEO LIVE-STREAMING PLATFORM TWITCH, TOLD STAFF YESTERDAY HE IS PULLING THE PLUG AFTER FAILING TO TAKE ON TRADITIONAL LAW FIRMS.
Mr Kan raised about $US75 million ($114 million) in capital for Atrium, founded in 2017, with the pitch that a combined team of engineers and lawyers could create a new type of law firm that could deliver greater efficiency.
In 2017, Atrium founders set out to disrupt the legal industry. They said they would be building innovative software using cutting-edge technological advances like machine learning, which is a subset of artificial intelligence where humans do not have to program computers, but instead computers start to program themselves. While the term machine learning generated much buzz and helped attract some top engineering talent, the issue turned out to be less exciting. After testing, it transpired that the types of technological transformation most needed in the US legal industry were not the latest and greatest in technology, but simpler changes such as automating routine processes. As a result, Atrium struggled to retain a number of talented engineers sold on the idea that they would be working at the cutting edge of tech, who decided to move on to other companies where they could use and develop AI.
This does raise some interesting points not only about the use of AI in traditional professions such as the law but also the scarcity of engineers and their desire to be at the cutting edge of this technology and not simply automating routine processes. I for one will be watching with interest as this area develops, there is no doubt that the profession needs to reform but quite how it can embrace new technology is still very unclear.