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Incorporight – Legal Blockchain Without Fanfare – Artificial Lawyer
Remember the idea of using blockchain for legal needs? Well, it’s still with us and the legal tech startup Incorporeal is based on it. The difference now: no hype, no boasting, just the practical application of the technology. And maybe this is how blockchain returns to the legal sector on a large scale?
The first thing you’ll notice, or rather not notice, when you look at the website for Incorporight, which helps lawyers and business owners securely manage and edit business information, is that there’s no big, flashy statement about blockchain or “DLT”—just a small bit of text about the topic halfway down the main page, and another mention at the bottom.
There is not even a “coin” or cryptocurrency associated with the product. There is not even a “paradigm shift” style sermon posted on the site, stating that all centralized databases must end immediately.
The Canada-based platform simply provides a wide range of business formation, structuring and data recording capabilities, including assistance in managing annual returns and key business documents. And that’s based on DLT.
In short, technology has become secondary to its function, which is as it should always be. The same goes for AI. If you use genAI because you think you need to use genAI, then you’ve already gotten off to a false start. Use technology X because it’s the best tool for that need.
CEO and founder, Patrick BenolielHe told Artificial Lawyer that the company uses Hyperledger Fabric, a DLT solution developed on Linux. He is also painfully aware of how badly things have gone for the blockchain brand.
“Blockchain has been contaminated,” Benoliel noted, and mentioned the problem of cryptocurrency’s close association with it. In fact, he even prefers to use the term DLT (distributed ledger technology) as we chat to avoid overusing the B-word.
But despite the hype and bust that fiat blockchain technology has experienced, Benoliel sees one clear and basic fact when it comes to distributed ledgers: They are perfect for keeping a secure record. There’s no need to shout it from the rooftops, but it’s a useful thing when providing a platform to record business information.
“For hundreds of years, business accounts were on paper. There were binders with all the records. On the back of the binder was a ledger that showed the sale of company stock, who owned what, and so on,” Benoliel said.
But that approach has presented many challenges. So, here are the digital ledgers, which for some companies might be nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet, for others something a little more robust. But, Benoliel pointed out, “a digital ledger can be hacked,” fraudulent parties can manipulate it and leave no trace of what they’ve changed.
“So, the idea is to have a decentralized ledger where everything is authenticated by the nodes,” he concluded.
Now, maybe you’re saying, “I’ve heard that part before.” And you have. The thing is, from Benoliel’s point of view: Why not just use this approach if it works?
Despite this, Artificial Lawyer asked again: “Sure, but why blockchain? Why not create a website with good security where companies can store data?”
Benoliel responded: “Because blockchain is immutable.” And maybe that’s just the right answer? When you strip away the hype, the overly ambitious claims that DLT will change the world of tomorrow, what’s left is a practical way to securely record data. So why not use it?
That said, Benoliel is a believer, though not an evangelist like many of the first wave of legal blockchains. He believes that eventually the business world will move to decentralized databases and that “Web3 is the future.” However, this will happen not because some techno-libertarian in Berlin or Oregon thinks it would be cool, but rather because to Benoliel it makes the most sense to do.
And maybe he’s right? Maybe the legal DLT field will come back to life, not because of a new wave of VC money or wild promises of radical change, but because it works and it’s practical.
Benoliel also said that it has received the seal of approval from the local Ontario bar association to offer the service to consumers and has also partnered with one of Canada’s leading law firms.
“We’re here for the long haul,” he concluded. “We’re not a blockchain company, we’re a legal technology service that’s simply using the best technology for the job: DLT.”