Making It in Hong Kong | Episode Three
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How Talent, Location and Global Links Drive Hong Kong’s Legal Tech Scene
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"I wanted to come to Hong Kong because I felt that it was the right place for the work I was doing,” says Bill Novomisle, general manager and head of process and technology at KorumLegal, a legal tech start-up headquartered in the city’s Central district offering legally informed business solutions to clients around the world.
Having trained and practiced as a lawyer in the U.S. and worked for several years in the legal innovation, technology and operations sectors, Novomisle moved to Hong Kong after three years in Shanghai, where he co-founded one of China’s first legally focused business consultancies. For him, moving to Hong Kong offered many advantages for his line of work.
“The fundamental appeal for both multinationals and homegrown business is that Hong Kong remains a rising star,” he says of Hong Kong’s attraction. “It serves as a gateway to mainland China — you have rule of law, a stable international friendly banking system and a respected dispute resolution system.”
The company he works for was established by Titus Rahiri, a New Zealander, in 2016 to address the problem of expensive, confusing and opaque legal services. “The founders wanted to do something to change that by focusing on people, process and technology,” Novomisle says. The in-house team of 13 advises on technology solutions to improve working processes and connect clients to a large network of virtual legal consultants.
"In terms of technology consulting, we are legal-tech agnostic. We don’t sell any proprietary legal technology to the market,” Novomisle explains. “And, in terms of our legal consultants, they can work both within a legal team — either at a law firm or an in-house department — or through virtual consultancy.”
The majority of the 240 or so legal consultants that KorumLegal currently has on its books are based in Hong Kong, with some across Asia, the U.S., Canada and the U.K. As an easy place in which to relocate, work flexibly and stay connected, Hong Kong is an ideal base for KorumLegal’s consultants. Some are trailing spouses not wanting to put their careers on hold, while others use the opportunity to work in new industries.
From the client side, the flexibility of part-time, virtual or contractual legal expertise has obvious attractions. “Clients may simply need to fill in for someone on leave,” says Novomisle. Many companies headquartered in the U.K. and expanding into Asia look for a more cost-effective solution than hiring full-time in-house counsel. “That’s where we step in with our process and technology solutions to identify improvements,” he says.
One of the technology solutions Novomisle may recommend is Zegal, another Hong Kong legal tech start-up that’s the fastest-growing in the Asia-Pacific region. Based in Cyberport since its founding in 2013, Zegal offers cloud-based legal software for both businesses and law firms.
“Hong Kong was an awesome place to get started,” says its founder, Daniel Walker. “We were able to raise cash very quickly, meet fantastic advisers and go out and build technology.” Zegal’s success has helped shift the mind-set around legal tech across the region.
Over at the University of Hong Kong sits Brian Tang — a lawyer, entrepreneur and educator working to champion innovation in the legal sector. This year, he launched the new interdisciplinary Law, Innovation, Technovation and Entrepreneurship (LITE) Lab at the university.
"Our very first class comprises 39 students from law and other faculties, including translation, civil engineering, business and even literary studies,” he says. Focused on growing the legal technology ecosystem in Hong Kong, Tang hopes to facilitate collaboration between students, start-ups and law firms through events such as the Global Legal Hackathon, where mentors come from global firms, multinational corporations and local businesses such as KorumLegal.
At LITE Lab, technology is woven into the students’ work from day one. Instead of essays, Tang asks for deliverables in the form of chatbots or video explainers that serve as legal tools. Two teams are currently competing for a place at Georgetown University’s Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational 2020. The LITE Lab students, focused on technology enabling greater access to justice through partnering with a real-world nonprofit, will be the competition’s only participants from a university in Asia.
Because Hong Kong is a city respected for its rule of law, it is perhaps no surprise that access to justice is a strong and growing principle in its legal tech scene. One of its greatest champions is Sebastian Ko, chairman of the Law Society’s InnoTech Law Hub and a lawyer turned technology entrepreneur. “I want to see if technology can be a kind of legal aid,” he says. “In order for legal tech to be effective in promoting access to justice and reaching out into the community, it can’t stay as legal tech. It needs to be integrated into people’s lives.”
The InnoTech Law Hub will be able to leverage support services from the Hong Kong Science Park, an important step for the legal technology community as a whole. “We have a strong interest in promoting the rule of law and the administration of justice. These are core parts of Hong Kong’s value. I see technology as a platform for our legal values to go further,” says Ko.
Hong Kong’s rule of law offers a compelling foundation for the city’s burgeoning legal tech scene. Not simply a place where access to justice is championed, Hong Kong has long been positioned as a center for cross-border dispute resolution. Set for launch next year, the online deal-making and dispute resolution platform known as eBRAM (Electronic Business Related Arbitration and Mediation) will provide an efficient, cost-effective and secure platform for deal-making and dispute resolution. “Hong Kong is a place that people feel confidence in,” says Tang. “There are ways for legal tech to be introduced to ensure that Hong Kong’s role can remain preeminent in this space.”
Back at KorumLegal, from Novomisle’s perspective, Hong Kong has it all. “In mainland China, you still have a relatively closed market for legal services and a different understanding of what it means to be involved in legal,” he sums up. “For international companies, Hong Kong is a very strong and rational contender. Plus, you have got a lot of talent here.”