Three Use Cases of Blockchain for Lawyers

Many administrative duties that take up most of a lawyer's time may be automated with blockchain technology, reducing expenses and passing savings on to the end-user.

Apac CIOOutlook | Thursday, September 02, 2021

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Many administrative duties that take up most of a lawyer's time may be automated with blockchain technology, reducing expenses and passing savings on to the end-user.

Fremont, CA: The blockchain, smart contracts, and other blockchain-based technologies will almost certainly have a long-term impact on various businesses. It is not a question of whether lawyers will embrace blockchain or not but a question of when they will no longer be able to compete without it. Many administrative duties that take up most of a lawyer's time may be automated with blockchain technology, reducing expenses and passing savings on to the end-user.

For instance, smart contracts can standardize the drafting and editing of legal documents, lowering transaction costs and speeding up a settlement between parties. Smart contracts, best of all, run on their own. While this may not look good for law firms that are used to collecting huge fees for effectively busywork, smart contracts provide enterprises a strong competitive advantage. Here are three uses of blockchain in the legal profession:

Governance

Because the information held on the blockchain is transparent and publicly accessible, distributed ledger technology can not only make elections more transparent, but tokens can also be programmed with voting rights and rewards.

Protections of intellectual, creative, and other property

Copyrighted material can be protected and monetized using the blockchain. Without the need for a third-party middleman, explicit rights to intellectual and creative property can be stored on the blockchain in perpetuity and sold and traded. Likewise, blockchain has the potential to simplify land title registration and storage.

Removing Intermediaries

Merchant payment processors and credit cards help in the transaction, and for a long time, this was an immensely beneficial way to boost business between two parties. On the other hand, the blockchain eliminates third-party intermediaries from the transaction, allowing two parties to trade directly and preventing value from leaking into the pockets of multibillion-dollar corporations.