AI-Based Divorce Platform Wins Adieu Legal A Thought Leadership Award

Adieu Legal have been named the winner of the 2018 ALPMA/LexisNexis Thought Leadership Awards, over finalists Mills Oakley, LegalVision and Lawyers On Demand.

Adieu Legal’s winning project is a collaborative divorce platform, combining artificial intelligence with family law experts to create a ‘consensus accelerator’, reaching property and financial settlements in a fraction of the traditional time.

Andrew Wight, CEO of Adieu Legal, is thrilled with the win, saying the consensus accelerator is an audacious project, particularly for the legal industry.

“We’re aiming to completely change the way that humans resolve conflict. Our technology helps people to come to agreements that have legal and financial complexity, in timeframes that just weren’t possible before,” said Mr Wight.

The consensus accelerator platform encourages collaboration between couples and family lawyers, allowing separating couples to create divorce settlements that are high quality and equitable, from anywhere in the world.

“We believe that the Consensus Accelerator addresses a real access to justice issue in the legal system. 71% of Australians conduct post-divorce settlements with no access to legal advice, and these settlements can take anywhere between one to three years.”

“We’ve trialled the process with real separating couples and in these trials, we’ve been able to bring the time of the entire process – from first conversation to signed consent orders – down to four to six weeks. As exciting as that is, it’s not actually about speed. It’s about equality and reaching solutions that are financially and legally viable for both parties, facilitating collaborative, constructive conversations.”

Judges recognised Adieu Legal for their technology-based approach, but also for the way the consensus accelerator could improve outcomes for lawyers and the industry at large.

“Family law has one of the highest rates of burnout, but using our technology, lawyers could work exclusively with collaborative couples, essentially from anywhere in the world,” said Mr Wight.

ALPMA Board Member Jane Ritchard, also the Financial Controller for Clifford Chance, said this year’s finalists showed a real emphasis on technology to deliver thought leadership.

“Advances in technology are changing the way we deliver legal services. ALPMA created the Thought Leadership Awards so that we could recognise firms that were doing something different in this changing legal landscape. By shining a spotlight on their achievements, we showcase what’s possible and inspire members to innovate in their own practices,” said Ms Ritchard.

2018 ALPMA/LexisNexis Thought Leadership Awards

The 2018 Awards were judged by a panel of practice leaders and industry experts, including Legal Circles Principal Shelley Dunstone, Cornwall Stodart Director of Operations Shirley Hamel, Centre for Legal Innovation Director Terri Mottershead and LexisNexis Executive Director, Strategy & Customer Discovery Whit Lee.

LexisNexis returned in 2018 as a major sponsor and supporter, and Executive Director Strategy & Customer Discovery Whit Lee says the innovations uncovered each year make the Awards a valuable contribution to the legal industry.

“Leveraging technology to operate a firm more efficiently, leveraging new ways to structure a firm and finding new ways to bring a better outcome for clients – each year the entries raise the bar, representing the cutting edge of the legal industry.”

The sixth annual 2018 ALPMA/LexisNexis Thought Leadership Awards were held as part of the annual ALPMA Summit at Sydney’s International Convention Centre.

Previous winners include Mills Oakley, Maddocks, LegalVision, Hive Legal and Anderssen Lawyers.

2018 ALPMA/LexisNexis Thought Leadership Awards winners are now crowned.