AI meets the power of networking at our Global LegalTech Venture Days

IE Law School’s Global LegalTech Venture Days have been devised as a way to help young companies in a burgeoning industry realize their potential. Coming together with sector experts and peers at locations all around the world, startups find opportunities for networking, innovation and even competition in New Delhi (India), New South Wales (Australia) and Turin (Italy).

This year’s event in New Delhi, organized by IE Law School, LexisNexis and Law Schools Global League (LSGL), was hosted by Jindal Global University, where participants presented pitches to a panel of renowned experts and thought leaders from both tech and legal sectors.

One of the finalists represented amto.ai, an artificially intelligent (IA) digital legal assistant powered by ChatGPT. Avinash Tripathi, speaking after his team’s triumph, was “astonished” by the potential of ChatGPT and similar technologies, and saw opportunity in its capability not only to undertake various legal activities and processes but to revolutionize how legal professionals work.

“Thanks to your Global LegalTech Venture Days, our startup will soon be published in one of India's leading business newspapers. We gained exposure, feedback and mentorship from experts and peers in the legal industry.”

Solving familiar problems

A lawyer by training, Avinash had already been running a legal tech company for seven years when he founded his new venture. His initial role was to establish law firms’ and legal departments’ expectations by speaking to their employees, before creating courses that imparted the learning they were looking for.

Using publicly available AI tech including GPT4 and PaLM2—though the startup is now developing its own proprietary LLM—amto.ai solves problems that many legal practitioners will recognize all too well. The solution addresses extremely demanding hours, with particularly long periods spent drafting; often as much as 30–50% of their total time. It also eliminates the need to jump back and forth between different applications and platforms, depending on what they’re doing. And it provides a personalized, bespoke service in the process.

A valuable experience

Avinash was left in no doubt as to the value of his Global LegalTech Venture Days experience. He told us it had been of enormous help to be able to network with legal professionals, investors and academics, all working at the intersection of law and tech. For Avinash, it’s an opportunity for startups like his, particularly in developing countries, to showcase their innovative solutions and connect with potential partners and clients on a global scale.

Offering advice to fellow entrepreneurs, Avinash told them to make the most of opportunities like Global LegalTech Venture Days. “Get out in front of users as early as possible,” he urged. “Starting a business requires a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance. You should also be willing to take risks and learn from your mistakes.” He also stressed the importance of a clear vision for your business, a sharp focus on its objectives and surrounding yourself with people who share your vision.

A promising future

His own vision of the future of tech in the legal sector is “very promising.” He only sees positives in the increased use of AI and machine learning. Legaltech startups, he says, are delivering efficiency and improved services to lawyers, and saving them time and money.

What’s more, he concludes, the trend for innovation is going to continue in future; a 2020 Gartner survey of sector leaders showed that the proportion of legal budgets spent on technology is going to increase drastically by 2025. Thanks to their innovative mindset, an already digitalized world, and events like Global LegalTech Venture Days, he concludes, there will be a lot more opportunities for startups in the future.