The European Legal Technology Association (ELTA) which was founded in Berlin last week is a major step forward in building communities that enhance the cause of Legal Tech in Europe and beyond. ELTA is an association of law firms, companies, legal tech providers, start-ups, and individuals with an interest in legal business and legal technology from all over Europe. Its objective is to strengthen legal technology (legal tech) at a European level. The ELTA is based in Berlin.
In addition to the general representation of the members’ common economic, legal, commercial, technical, and scientific interests, the specific goals of the ELTA are:
- To raise awareness of technology and software supported solutions and processes in the European legal market as well promoting companies, law firms, start-ups, and initiatives that are active in this area;
- To create a transparent platform to facilitate and support networking among the various European protagonists and stakeholders in the fields of legal tech;
- To regularly inform its members about important current topics, trends and developments as well as arranging legal tech events;
- To promote academic surveys and studies, as well as research in the fields of legal tech and its neighboring disciplines;
- To make a contribution to vocational training and to ongoing and further education in the fields of legal tech
The ELTA’s management board consists of the chairman Dr. Hariolf Wenzler (Baker & McKenzie) and his two representatives Dr. Micha-Manuel Bues (Leverton) and Tobias Heining (CMS). The ELTA is open to all legal entities or associations of individuals established under private or public law that are based and/or have commercial premises in Europe and who are interested in, develop, or use legal tech. This includes, in particular, legal departments of companies, law firms, and providers of legal tech solutions. In addition, individuals with an interest in the subject can become members if they are involved in the legal tech sphere occupationally or personally and want to promote the goals of the ELTA.
ELTA chairman Hariolf Wenzler came up with the idea of founding the ELTA during a conference in the USA: “I am very pleased indeed that we have been able to establish the ELTA, a goal that I have been working on for some considerable time. Legal technology is going to change the legal market, presenting both opportunities and risks for existing business models. We want to highlight developments, bring the relevant players together, and take a pioneering role in Europe.”
“In matters of legal tech, Europe is still years behind the US. With this in mind, by providing a platform for bringing everyone with an interest in legal tech together at a European level, the ELTA will play an active part in the race to catch-up,” adds board member and legal tech blogger Micha-Manuel Bues.
ELTA board member Tobias Heining sees more opportunities than risks in the legal market’s digital transformation: “The intelligent combination of technological, efficiency-creating solutions and specialized legal expertise holds a great deal of potential for the future. Legal tech offers lawyers the opportunity to concentrate more intensively on the particularly sophisticated, fascinating, and challenging advisory assignments.”
