Dentons is developing an innovative suite of technology solutions designed to help clients plan around the uncertainty created by last month’s Brexit vote, and navigate the legal complexities that the UK’s departure from the European Union will entail.
Working with Nextlaw Labs, the venture development company launched by the Firm last year to develop, deploy and invest in new technologies, Dentons is in the advanced stages of developing a cognitive search engine tool that can be used for Brexit-related contract reviews. Collaborating with Artificial Intelligence software experts RAVN Systems and using an application of their Applied Cognitive Engine (ACE) Robot, the technology automatically reviews high volumes of contract documentation to identify provisions that could potentially be impacted by the UK’s secession from the EU. Once contracts have been interrogated according to pre-determined “touch points” using a bespoke algorithm that has been developed by RAVN with input from Dentons’ subject matter experts, a report is produced highlighting areas that merit further investigation and where appropriate giving legal advice as to the steps they should consider. RAVN’s cognitive technology has already been proven to dramatically cut down review time, increase productivity as well as eradicate human error from the review process.
Separately, Dentons and Nextlaw Labs are also developing a software application that automatically creates a “Brexit Action Plan” for clients based on their key areas of risk exposure. Clients will be able to log into a secure website that will ask them to select the key issues their businesses are primarily concerned with, such as data protection, the environment, immigration, and more. Based on this information an action plan will be produced that identifies concrete steps clients need to take in order to understand their exposure and plan an appropriate response.
The Firm has already launched “Brexit Connect”, a secure online portal enabling clients to access useful information such as briefing notes on the impact of Brexit across different sectors; materials from the Firm’s internal “Brexit Bootcamp” fee-earner training sessions; recordings of webinars that have been delivered to clients across North America, Europe, Asia and the UK; third party source material; an events calendar; and an “Expert Locator” of key partner contacts. The benefits of the portal concept is that content is constantly being updated with new material as it is developed.
Jeremy Cohen, Dentons’ CEO for the UK, Middle East and Africa Region, comments, “Brexit will lead many of our clients into uncharted territory, and our experience since the referendum is that both domestic and overseas companies are looking for legal advice that ‘cuts through the noise’ and helps to deliver practical and cost effective guidance with respect to the many complex challenges that leaving the EU will present them with.”
Dan Jansen, CEO of Nextlaw Labs, adds, “Nextlaw Labs was created for exactly this type of challenge. By drawing on feedback from lawyers across Dentons’ regulatory and risk group covering industries such as financial services, IP, media, transport, environment and telecoms, we are collecting ideas on products and services that will help them to deliver better service, and then engaging the technology community to develop innovative solutions.”
Peter Wallqvist, CEO at RAVN Systems added, “We are excited to be developing this innovation with Dentons to address the practical legal challenges Brexit may bring to organisations across the world in an efficient and risk averse manner.”