New technologies are throwing out the book on law procedures, and Aussie legaltech startups are helping them do it

With Alexa drawing up documents and blockchain explainers going viral, there’s no question the legal community is waking up to the wonders of modern technology. But are these developments purely disruptive, or are there benefits for the legal system?

Either way, there are opportunities to be grabbed, and Aussie startups are at the forefront of the revolution.

Legaltech startup Smarter Drafter has launched a prototype of its ‘virtual lawyer’, built into Amazon’s Alexa, that allows lawyers to verbally input information, which is drafted into legal documents that are sent to their inbox almost instantly.

Smarter Drafter uses artificial intelligence to help law firms draft documents in a matter of minutes, rather than hours. Founded in 2016, it completed a funding round in 2017, and now has more than 100 law firms on board.

Adam Long, co-founder and chief of Smarter Drafter, tells StartupSmart the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal profession “fundamentally shifts the way lawyers do their jobs”.

However, he maintains it’s “not all doom and gloom”.