Law’19 articling student Egi Troka has come up with an innovative way to bridge a knowledge gap between law and technology during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
Law’19 articling student Egi Troka has come up with an innovative way to bridge a knowledge gap between law and technology during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

Egi Troka, Law’19, was looking for an opportunity to improve the legal system and the Coronavirus pandemic has sparked her imagination. As a technology advocate and through her work in litigation, she became more aware of systemic inefficiencies in the delivery of legal services. These inefficiencies were magnified in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, as she watched courts close, law firms stress over managing a completely remote work force and clients’ rights are at risk. Earlier this month, she launched Innovate Law, a website that brings lawyers and innovators together to collaborate on creating legal tech solutions that will help lawyers and the legal system continue to provide access to justice in times of a crisis. 

In Toronto, she is an articling student and serves on the board of the Workforce Innovation Group. When not immersed in law, her time is spent entrenched in the startup community in Ontario’s capital. 

Egi Troka speaks about her new initiative, Innovate Law, and how it can help during the pandemic and beyond.

How did the idea for Innovate Law come about? 

Our legal system has been in desperate need of an overhaul for a long time. Back in November 2019, I attended a talk at (B.C. legal tech company) CLIO’s headquarters. This turned my mind to “change management” – it’s hard to get lawyers to embrace technology. This is a big issue because technology is only as good as its use. 

The silver lining is that the legal system has now been pushed to modernize. I was inspired by initiatives around the world. There have been “open source” projects where lawyers and tech professionals create tools together. The intertwining of legal and technical considerations is more important than ever. 

We do not know how long COVID-19 will last so we should use this time to implement foundational systems that will prepare us to weather any storm. 

Who will benefit from Innovate Law and how does it help users?

The number of Canadian law firms impacted by COVID-19 is vast. There are approximately 38,754 law firms in Canada. Around 97 per cent of law firms operate as sole practitioners, professional corporations or firms with two to 10 lawyers.  This demographic may not necessarily have the capacity or funding to deal with the challenges that arise from this crisis. My goal is to set them up for success by advising them about the right tech and infrastructure for their respective practice areas.

What feedback have you received on the initiative? 

I had a discussion with the Law Society of Ontario’s Legal Tech Task Force about the role that Innovate Law can play. The task force is made up of benchers who play an important part. LSO will not promote certain tech to use but there are guidelines in the works. I aim to fix the knowledge gap by focusing on tech is suitable for a range of practice areas and how lawyers can use tech effectively.

I was accepted into the Concept Framework Program at the Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ). Over the next six weeks, I will progress from concept validation to customer development, prototyping, storytelling, business modelling and developing a clear execution strategy. I am really excited to join the LIZ community as it is Canada’s first legal tech incubator. It helps startups build better legal solutions for consumers of legal services. 

Do you feel Innovate Law could be a long-term solution? 

Absolutely! With globalization and the speed of doing business, clients expect more out of their lawyers. This is a new age of lawyers who are willing to break away from the traditional methods of practising law. For law to be sustainable, it has to connect and collaborate across disciplines and across different parts of our industry. 

Do think this will change how lawyers do business in the future?

Yes – there is no going back to old way of practising law. The legal system needs to focus on the people who use the system to resolve disputes. It needs to provide timely and affordable solutions. A solid tech infrastructure at each firm can make a positive difference by allowing lawyers to work efficiently, providing value and reducing costly legal services.  

Chief Justice Morawetz recently stressed this point to lawyers: “The world of a paper-based system is not going to exist anymore. It’s going to put an increased premium on communication, an increased premium on co-operation and collectively, those involved in a matter, you’re going to have to put your heads together and say ‘how do we get from A to B?’ recognizing that there’s going to be extreme pressure put on you by your clients.” 

How has your time at Queen’s Law prepared you to undertake this type of initiative?

Queen’s Law prepared me to advocate for change. I have learned to advocate thanks to the courses like Trial Advocacy and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and practicums like the Conflict Analytics Lab. 

Classes were fundamental to my development as a lawyer while the Conflict Analytics Lab gave me the opportunity to think creatively. Professor Samuel Dahan (Executive Director of the Conflict Analytics Lab) encouraged us to voice our opinions, brainstorm as a team and work together to develop ideas. I worked on a platform using data analytics to calculate non-pecuniary damages. It was a process of trial and error as we coded legally relevant factors into variables that could be processed by our system.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

I hope that law students stay curious, voice their ideas and carve their own path in the legal industry. I highly recommend that law students get involved in non-traditional law school activities like the Conflict Analytics Lab. By interacting with the data scientists and business people, you will learn something new about law and the business of law.