Key Collaboration Positions Companies to Disrupt Legal Tech & Lead on Legal Blockchain Development
NMBL Technologies LLC (pronounced “nimble”) is partnering with Seattle blockchain platform provider, Dragonchain, Inc., on an initiative aimed at accelerating innovation in the Legal Tech market. Under the deal, NMBL will develop cloud-based legal workflow, collaboration, and document management products on Dragonchain’s enterprise-grade Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) backbone. The companies will also collaborate on the development and deployment of a US-based blockchain, specifically for the legal ecosystem.
“Inefficiencies brought about by antiquated processes, lack of adequate controls, poor collaboration tools, and the generally ineffective use of technology plague the legal market,” said Daniel Farris, a NMBL founder and the company’s so-called Chief Man in Suit. “Corporate legal departments feel the effects more acutely than most.”
The legal tech market is still somewhat segregated, according to NMBL. Most legal tech products look to solve a specific problem or automate a specific task. “NMBL, on the other hand, is embracing the legal ops movement, viewing in-house legal departments as business units, and developing enterprise solutions for the corporate legal ecosystem,” said Farris. “Partnering with Dragonchain is a no-brainer for us – their enterprise platform is yet another differentiator that creates competitive advantage for our company.”
“Blockchain is something of a buzz word these days, primarily because the technology holds so much promise,” said Joe Roets, Founder and CEO of Dragonchain. “While its application to cryptocurrencies and smart contracts is exciting, blockchain is so much more than that. Part of our mission at Dragonchain is to identify opportunities to meaningfully implement blockchain technology in new ways. Highly regulated yet inefficient industries like healthcare and law are particularly attractive, especially where market penetration of enterprise solutions is still limited. NMBL is like-minded in its pursuits, and I am excited to see what our companies can build together.”
The two companies see a significant opportunity in legal tech, specifically in managing the delivery of legal work performed within companies by in-house counsel.
“Cloud adoption in the legal market still trails other sectors significantly,” said Farris. “The most-cited reason is concern about privacy and data security. Blockchain-enabled solutions are a natural fit for an industry focused on not only ensuring the privacy and security of information, but also on faster, better, more effective ways to establish and confirm the authenticity, accuracy, completeness, chain of custody/control, and integrity of documents and data.”
“Seventy-five percent of all U.S. legal work is now performed by in-house counsel, but the majority of legal technology products and solutions are still targeted at firm lawyers,” said Christopher Hines, NMBL’s so-called Uber Geek. “Combining legal ops, workflow management, and a secure cloud platform powered by Dragonchain, will provide corporate legal departments with greater control of their legal function, improve efficiency, and provide actionable data and intelligence.”
For its part, Dragonchain believes the partnership with NMBL can help it establish and expand its enterprise-grade Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) platform.
“Dragonchain is looking to establish strategic alliances with disruptive tech companies,” said Roets. “Our scalable, serverless platform offers best-in-class architecture and the convenience and power of well-established programming languages. NMBL wants to leverage Dragonchain to disrupt an industry ripe for technology-driven change.”