by: Laura Bingenheimer & Karoline Dotterweich
The LEGAL LIVE Fall Congress took place virtually from November 9 to 11. According to Jochen Brandhoff, CEO of LEGAL (R)EVOLUTION GmbH, the conference aims to close the gap between theory and practice. Closing this gap is a major challenge, but important to ensure long-term success in the legal world.
Attendees were able to network on the LEGAL LIVE platform via chat and video telephony, as well as interactive conference offerings such as roundtables and panel discussions.
The moderator Shenna Büchler led through the various program items. She welcomed all attendees in the morning and closed the event in the evening.
Here are just a few impressions from the event. Please note that these insights do not reflect all topics and speakers of the event (as they would be far too numerous to mention here). If you would like to see a full list of topics and speakers, please have a look at the LEGAL LIVE website.
1. Fostering sustainability
Martin Fries, private lecturer at LMU Munich, emphasized the importance of sustainability and the responsibility of lawyers. He suggested using concepts known from behavioral economics to encourage environmentally friendly behavior.
2. Changes in legal and compliance departments
Compliance needs to be constantly monitored, because at a certain point, loopholes are exploited. The compliance regulations must be constantly reconsidered, especially in the digital transformation. In a subsequent discussion, it emerged that especially those who have to pay attention to the regulations on a daily basis need to understand the meaningfulness of the regulations in order to implement them effectively.
Furthermore, KPIs are gaining importance for legal and compliance departments, Shenna Büchler said at the very beginning of the event.
3. Covid-19 effects on M&A and everyday work
Despite the pandemic, global merger and acquisition transactions have reached a new high, said Nitin Potdar, M&A partner. North America and Europe are the main centers of activity. Employee health and dealing with cultural differences have become more important. However, Dagmar Mundani and Andreas Krause, both general counsels, stressed in a GC panel that companies will not reverse the digital transformation created by Covid-19: using online tools is time and cost efficient.
4. Legal innovation through improved soft skills
Attendees had the opportunity to work on their soft skills in numerous workshops. From voice training to networking skills to stress and conflict management. Soft skills are of tremendous importance. They are the key to a successful customer relationship.
5. Access to justice in Germany and Africa
In his presentation about the symbioses of law and digitalization, Dr. Ulrich Wessels, Chairman of the German Federal Bar Association, advocates strengthening everyone’s access to justice. Access to justice also plays a central role, especially in Africa, according to Thabo Magubane, Business Development Manager at Legal Connection. He spoke about the rise of virtual law firms and the new legal sharing economy in Africa to protect the vulnerable who cannot protect themselves. Part of this is the rise of cloud computing systems. He pointed out that legal tech in Africa is not so much about saving money as it is a matter of life and death.
6. Digital Study and Digital Awards
Sandra Lühr, Project Manager at Lex Superior, and Tianyu Yuan, CEO of Codefy, have presented this year’s results of the Digital Study, a study on digitalization in legal education and work. It was interesting to note the clear trend in favor of digitalization among trainees who prefer to take the second state exam on a laptop.
The following Digital Awards were presented this year:
- Best Digital Curriculum: University of Jena
- Best E-learning concept : Bucerius Law School
- Innovation & Teaching: eLegal
- Innovation in studies: recode.law
- Digitization in legal clerkships: German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer
7. Female Empowerment in the legal technology sector
The focus of the congress was on women’s empowerment. More than half of the speakers described themselves as female. This is an important step towards greater visibility and awareness. According to Fatima Hussain, Lawyer and Legal Innovation Advisor, 90% of all legal tech founders are men, and only 8% are women. Finally, empowering women does not mean oppressing one gender, but striving for equal opportunities and rights.
This also applies to LGBTQ+ communities which should be supported according to Shenna Büchler.
Outlook
On May 17 and 18, 2022, the next LEGAL LIVE will be held live in Nuremberg, Germany, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. It is the long-awaited face-to-face reunion of the legal world in partnership with NürnbergMesse. The Bavarian Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich will be the patron.
The congress was hosted by Legal (R)evolution. LEGAL LIVE Autumn is an international online congress fair for law and compliance. Once a year, it brings together decision-makers and designers from legal and compliance departments, law firms, the judiciary, academia and politics.
