Allens on board with global Accord Project

With growing interest in the use of smart legal contracts, Allens has joined the global Accord Project, a collective of leading law firms working together to establish a common, universal implementation for smart legal contracts.

Allens has been following developments in the use of blockchain technology and smart contracts for some time and believes there are significant benefits for clients in the automatic execution of contractual obligations.

Head of Innovation, Anna Collyer said the Accord Project provides a platform to enable greater collaboration and experimentation across the legal profession.

'Smart contracts have the potential to make contract execution less cumbersome and time consuming giving clients - and their law firms - a more efficient process.

'By automating the agreement process, smart contracts give all parties certainty without the need for third party intermediaries.

'The opportunity to develop common standards and protocols, which will ultimately help build adoption of smart contracts across the legal profession, is exciting.

'The Accord Project offers lawyers the opportunity to take part in various working groups developing smart contract solutions within the framework of different areas of law. Collaborating to find solutions is very much in line with our approach to innovation and solving problems with our clients,' Anna said.

The works streams include:

• Supply Chain
• Financial Services
• Intellectual Property
• Venture and Token Sales; and
• Dispute Resolution.

'Having the skills to advise our clients in the continually evolving technology environment is critical and bringing the best thinking and practices from around the world makes the Accord Project an important collaboration,' Anna said.

Allens will have lawyers working on each of the work streams reporting back to clients and the firm on a regular basis.

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