What’s all the fuss about Blockchain?

13/02/2019


Some ‘experts’ have forecast that blockchain will do in this century what the internet did at the end of the last one. If that’s the case, the sooner we get to grips with it the better. Even if it’s not, all the signs are that blockchain will change how we as solicitors provide services to our clients.        

Technology can frighten the best of us but blockchain seems to hold a special place in the chamber of horrors for us non-techies. Even the word itself is intimidating. But it’s really quite simple; data is stored in blocks linked together in a chain. The blockchain idea may be a simple one even if the technology underlying it defies anyone but the seasoned IT professional.

A blockchain consists of a distributed, or shared, ledger to enable and record the transfer of assets of all kinds in a network that is secured by complex computer technology. It is distributed because the same ledger is shared by all members of the network. The members validate and process asset transfers between each other, and update the ledger accordingly. These assets can be moveable or immoveable property, digital assets such as cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin), cars, or stocks and shares, or almost anything else. In this way blockchain allows the exchange of value directly between peers who are members of a network. They can do so without the need for a ‘middleman’, such as a bank or a broker or, God forbid, a solicitor. 

By removing an unnecessary layer from the transaction, the exchange can happen more quickly and without the possibility of error or fraud because members of the network must approve it. “There is no central authority with blockchain, and that is huge, because it enables trust when there is no trust,” says Antonio Senatore, chief architect of Deloitte’s blockchain lab in Dublin. The data is also more secure. It is secured by an established technology called cryptography which encrypts the data so that a private key is required to de-encrypt it. 

Blockchains can be public, or permissionless, networks or they can be private permissioned networks whose membership is restricted to authorised parties. 

The Republic of Georgia became the first country to validate registration of land titles and mortgages using the technology. Market researchers at IDC forecast that at least 25% of Global 2000 companies will use blockchain-related services by 2021. Blockchain is highly versatile, with a wide range of uses. Perhaps its best-known application to date is the bitcoin cryptocurrency, which lets people send money to each other digitally, without the need for a bank.

Blockchain could change our professional lives. For instance, it could replace the labour-intensive work of filing an affidavit or exchanging contracts. The technology would identify all authorised parties, validate the filing or transaction, and record it in a secure manner. It would also offer law firms a single platform to enable data to be shared with clients and other third parties. For example OpenLaw is a protocol based on blockchain technology for the creation and execution of legal agreements. In this way blockchain is ideally suited to the chain of custody of legal documents.

While many of the benefits of the new technology will only accrue if there’s widespread adoption throughout the profession and beyond, now is the time to explore the possibilities. You will then be in pole position to advise new and existing clients of greater efficiencies and cost savings. Then sit back and enjoy the acclaim of your grateful clients, not to mention their continued (and hopefully ever increasing) instructions to act on their behalf. 

Contact us for more information

What’s all the fuss about Blockchain?

05/07/2018


Some ‘experts’ have forecast that blockchain will do in this century what the internet did at the end of the last one. If that’s the case, the sooner we get to grips with it the better. Even if it’s not, all the signs are that blockchain will change how we as solicitors provide services to our clients.        

Technology can frighten the best of us but blockchain seems to hold a special place in the chamber of horrors for us non-techies. Even the word itself is intimidating. But it’s really quite simple; data is stored in blocks linked together in a chain. The blockchain idea may be a simple one even if the technology underlying it defies anyone but the seasoned IT professional.

A blockchain consists of a distributed, or shared, ledger to enable and record the transfer of assets of all kinds in a network that is secured by complex computer technology. It is distributed because the same ledger is shared by all members of the network. The members validate and process asset transfers between each other, and update the ledger accordingly. These assets can be moveable or immoveable property, digital assets such as cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin), cars, or stocks and shares, or almost anything else. In this way blockchain allows the exchange of value directly between peers who are members of a network. They can do so without the need for a ‘middleman’, such as a bank or a broker or, God forbid, a solicitor. 

By removing an unnecessary layer from the transaction, the exchange can happen more quickly and without the possibility of error or fraud because members of the network must approve it. “There is no central authority with blockchain, and that is huge, because it enables trust when there is no trust,” says Antonio Senatore, chief architect of Deloitte’s blockchain lab in Dublin. The data is also more secure. It is secured by an established technology called cryptography which encrypts the data so that a private key is required to de-encrypt it. 

Blockchains can be public, or permissionless, networks or they can be private permissioned networks whose membership is restricted to authorised parties. 

The Republic of Georgia became the first country to validate registration of land titles and mortgages using the technology. Market researchers at IDC forecast that at least 25% of Global 2000 companies will use blockchain-related services by 2021. Blockchain is highly versatile, with a wide range of uses. Perhaps its best-known application to date is the bitcoin cryptocurrency, which lets people send money to each other digitally, without the need for a bank.

Blockchain could change our professional lives. For instance, it could replace the labour-intensive work of filing an affidavit or exchanging contracts. The technology would identify all authorised parties, validate the filing or transaction, and record it in a secure manner. It would also offer law firms a single platform to enable data to be shared with clients and other third parties. For example OpenLaw is a protocol based on blockchain technology for the creation and execution of legal agreements. In this way blockchain is ideally suited to the chain of custody of legal documents.

While many of the benefits of the new technology will only accrue if there’s widespread adoption throughout the profession and beyond, now is the time to explore the possibilities. You will then be in pole position to advise new and existing clients of greater efficiencies and cost savings. Then sit back and enjoy the acclaim of your grateful clients, not to mention their continued (and hopefully ever increasing) instructions to act on their behalf. 

Contact us for more information


Share this article