As this year draws to a close, I want to acknowledge how together we have built a platform that has transformed the way users engage with documents in the legal system within Australia. Forced by a pandemic to receive documents electronically, we saw our user base grow from 2,000 users to 25,000 users – including many barristers throughout Australia (for example, over 80% of the Victorian Bar) and more than 1,500 law firms now using the eBrief Ready platform.
The rewards of this transformation are a more flexible and efficient way of working. However, getting to this point was not simple. It required the engagement and support of a number of courageous individuals and organisations who believed it was possible to work online, and actually to work more efficiently.
In particular, I want to thank Lander & Rogers for letting TA Law be part of the Law Tech Hub. I often refer to the Law Tech Hub as a project of “goodness”; supporting startups to find their footing and try their new technology in the real world.
I also want to thank Martin Bartfeld AM KC from Holmes List who contributed significantly in the evolution of the product with new ideas. Martin also supported the Victorian Bar during the pandemic, running numerous education sessions so that barristers could continue to practise remotely.
Finally, the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions adopted the platform to enable a more efficient way to run trials, allowing all trial material to be available online, in one location, and with easy access to individual documents.
These 3 contributions (see links above) were recognised at the recent ALTA Awards, where 2 were finalists and 1 was named a category winner. We were also a finalist in this year’s AIIA awards – Business and Industry Solution of the Year.
eBrief Ready and the pandemic
The pandemic has had an enormous effect on our lives, professionally as well a personally. Sadly, many people have died. Howard Bear, our first paying client on the platform, was one of those people. Howard was the ‘salt of the earth’ and I miss him.
During the pandemic many of us had a chance to reflect, and as a company we made a shift to becoming a people-centred organisation. This has led us to formally adopting the philosophy that the technology we develop needs to serve our users and the broader community, rather than it serving serving profit for profit’s sake. It is a movement away from a Venture Capital type mentality, typically adopted by tech start ups. Instead, it focuses on a commitment to growing organically, and in ways that remain attuned to our user base. Our intention is to participate in a technology-led movement that seeks to positively impact the way the legal sector works, and that supports both community wellbeing and the environment. One demonstration of this relates to a reduction in paper-usage. We now have over 70 million pages on our platform. This represents a saving of 7,500 trees. Under the administration module for the Law Firm version we intend to publish your own contribution to this number so if you are a solicitor you can see how your firm is supporting a more carbon neutral future. Over the coming years I hope you will see this growing commitment to building responsible technology that serves the greater good. You can read more about the humane technology movement here.
Access to technology - one of our guiding pillars
While Access to Justice is a critical requirement of any legal system, we also see Access to Technology as an important part of this charter. To this end, we are pleased that there are now over 20 Community Legal Centres using the eBrief Ready platform at no cost. Legal Aid organisations around Australia, along with numerous courts, are now also able to access our technology free of charge. I want to acknowledge Justice Victoria Bennett AO and Justice Alison Burt for the part they have played in helping move the courts and the profession online during the pandemic and beyond.
Enhancing the eBrief Ready platform for our users
We achieved ISO27001 accreditation (information security management) during 2022. Along with the introduction of mandatory 2FA, this has strengthened the security measures of our system.
Integrating seamlessly with the practice and document management systems used by our clients has been an important focus for us during this year. We have now developed integrations with iManage, Smokeball, Affinity and FilePro. We will continue to build further integrations moving forward, as well as a published API to help you build your own workflow around our platform.
I’d like to thank you all for your support of electronic briefing, and wish you a very enjoyable Christmas and New Year’s break. As we move into 2023 I look forward to understanding how we can continue to build and support our technology, so as to better serve you, your clients and the world in which we live.
Stephen Foley
Managing Director of TA Law
+61 3 9020 4456 | Direct: +61 3 9956 1026
stephen@talaw.com
Level 11, 456 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000