Throwback: Book launch “New Suits. Appetite For Disruption in the Legal World”

Co-authors: Dr. Matthias Trummer, Dr. Krzysztof Nowak, LL.M.; Mag. Katharina Seethaler, LL.M.

On 11 September 2019, PwC Legal invited for the book launch of “New Suits. Appetite For Disruption in the Legal World” co-edited by Michele DeStefano (Professor of Law at the University of Miami) and Guenther Dobrauz (Managing Partner of PwC Legal Switzerland) and published by Staempfli Verlag. More than 70 participants attended this premiere in the DC Tower in Vienna.

Guenther Dobrauz fascinated the audience with his introductory speech on transformation of the legal world. With his thoughtful insights into theory of innovation and current developments on the global legal market, Guenther reminded of the challenges and – at the same time – opportunities awaiting lawyers in the years to come. In particular, he demonstrated that the legal industry faces unprecedented change.

Guenther Dobrauz continued by briefly presenting the individual chapters of the book. The book consists of contributions by more than 40 renowned theorists and legal practitioners.

Following this key-note speech, Matthias Trummer (PwC Legal Austria) offered a glimpse into the chapter “Strategic Mapping of the Legal Value Chain” written by him jointly with Ulf Klebeck and Guenther Dobrauz. He explained how the understanding of lawyers has changed – and sometimes still has to change – from “providers of answers” to “deliverers of solutions” through the entire value chain of providing legal advice.

Eva Maria Baumgartner talked about her chapter “Virtual Lawyering – Lawyers In The Cloud”. She gave exciting insights in questions legal service providers should ask when moving their operations to the cloud and the compatibility of the cloud with the GDPR.

Last but not least, Silke Graf and Christian Oehner (both PwC Legal Austria) shared their experience and knowledge on lawyer bots and automated documents. Using fascinating examples, they demonstrated the extent of the current and possible future use of lawyer bots in the day-to-day work of a lawyer.

More insights to be found in “New Suits. Appetite For Disruption in the Legal World”.