Wait... A UK Gov minister flies all the way to Tel Aviv to praise the Israeli tech startup scene?

Earlier this week the UK Minister of State for Digital & Culture Matt Hancock said Israel was ripe for creating disruption in the global law profession at an inaugural legal tech event held in Tel Aviv.

The RT Hon Matt Hancock in his second visit this year to the “startup nation” hosted a roundtable of leading Israeli players in the emerging Legal Tech industry on Tuesday night hosted by Barclays (20 December). The Minister said the UK legal profession was notoriously slow to change,  but that the potential of technology - from the UK or abroad - to transform the industry was inevitable “as every other industry has been disrupted”.

The inaugural UK-Israel Tech Initiative involved an intimate discussion on the future of law and technology bringing together: Minister for Digital and Culture Matt Hancock, British Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey, Ilan Admon CTO and Co-Founder of AI contract review and negotiation software LawGeex, Noory Bechor, CEO of LawGeex (and former corporate lawyer at Meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem Brandwein), Len Rosen CEO Barclays Capital Israel, Professor Niva Elkin Koren, Director Haifa Center for Law and Technology, Jeremy Lustman, Partner and head of DLA Piper’s Israel Country Group, Zohar Fisher of the Tech and Law community in Israel, Yoram HaCohen, President of the Israeli Internet Association, and Michael Goren-Miller, Legal Advisor to Digital Israel.

CEO of LawGeex Noory Bechor said: “We are one of a number of firms revolutionizing the legal world through innovative technology. Using the latest advances in AI, our contract review and negotiation platform allows lawyers to automatically review and approve standard contracts at a speed and scale that humans cannot achieve. This frees up lawyers’ time to focus on deep and more complex advice to clients.”

Ilan Admon, CTO of LawGeex, added: “It was an extremely frank and open discussion and a great honor that the Minister came to Israel to learn about the best technology and the future for disruption in the legal market.”

RT Honourable Matt Hancock said: “I admire the tenacity and drive of the Israeli tech community. Of all the places we have to compete to be the best place to set up the leading tech firms, we have one really difficult competitor in Israel and that is why I come here so often, to find out what you are up to.”

Picture Noory Bechor CEO of LawGeex with RT Honourable Matt Hancock - we'll leave you to guess who is the startup techie and who is the government minister.

​COMMENT: Well good news for LawGeex but hello minister, shouldn't you be promoting the UK legal tech startup scene?

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