Sam Ip, Heidi Wong
Feb 27, 2018
(From left to right): Ian Gilmore (Organizer, Global Legal Hackathon), Sam Ip (Technology Lawyer, Osler), Ryan D’Souza (Full Stack Developer, Osler), Aileen Schultz (Co-Founder of Global Legal Hackathon). Missing: Heidi Wong (Corporate Lawyer, Osler).
Osler is proud to announce that lawyers Sam Ip, Heidi Wong and full stack developer Ryan D’Souza earned a third-place finish in a 54-hour Global Legal Hackathon (Toronto) – the first of its kind – which took place from February 23-25, 2018. The hackathon comprised teams of coders, designers and lawyers from various locations across six continents, with the goal of developing innovative software solutions to address challenges in the legal sector worldwide. The Toronto hackathon was hosted by Dentons, Integra and Faskens, and judges consisted of a panel of legal experts and industry stakeholders.
As part of Osler’s ongoing commitment to legal innovation, Sam, Heidi and Ryan decided to address the common problem of obtaining and documenting informed consent, an issue that has broad legal, regulatory, financial and reputational risks and implications across a number of industries. As a solution, Sam, an associate in Osler’s Technology Group, Heidi, an associate in Osler’s Corporate Group, and Ryan developed iConsent, a Blockchain-based mobile application that collects and uses biometric data to reduce the risks associated with obtaining consent. iConsent scans and records biometric data related to informed consent and stores the results (along with a hash of the consent form) on a Blockchain. Among other features, iConsent uses the native functionality of a mobile phone to take a photo of the subject and record an assessment of whether the subject was anxious, visually impaired or under age – all relevant factors that may inform the validity of consent. The teams presented to a panel of judges and winners were announced at the end of the hackathon weekend.
Participating in the Global Legal Hackathon aligns well with Osler’s focus on encouraging innovative ideas and practices throughout our firm. Osler Works – Innovation is our platform for developing new and better ways to serve our clients. Through Osler Works – Innovation, we foster the development of new products, service offerings and delivery models that will better support your business and your bottom line. This includes embracing disruption driven by technology, and leveraging low-cost delivery and streamlined processes that can lower your legal spend. Osler held its third annual Innovation Month in February, and some examples of Osler’s innovation at work include our Osler Works services, our AccessPrivacy offering and our Emerging and High Growth Companies Group.
The Global Legal Hackathon brings “the legal industry together with tech and innovation,” with the goal of “rapid development of solutions for improving the legal industry worldwide,” according to the website.
Read more about the Global Legal Hackathon.
