Canadian Lawyer

18 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m T E C H S U P P O RT Good examples of these kinds of true platforms in our everyday lives would be: Uber, AirBnB, and eBay. Taking the first of these through the definition: 1. Layers of infrastructure Uber provides a well-marketed app with sophisticated GPS functionality for all of its driver "contractors." The layers of infrastructure on which the app is built help scale both the par- ticipation and the growing marketplace for new ventures (such as UberEATS). 2. Impose standards The terms of service that Uber impos- es — e.g., UberX, UberHop, Uber- Black, Taxi, etc. — each have a pre- defined set of standards about the level of service provided and expected by users when using the brand. 3. Separate entities that operate for their own gains This is the final ingredient for a plat- form — they ultimately create a mar- ketplace — a marketplace within an umbrella brand that different players join and operate in together to create value and make money. These companies own the "interface layer," the all-important place where the virtual relationship exists. But they haven't stopped there; they've created the layers of technology infrastructure to create scalable and agile solutions that can respond to the "rapid and unex- pected shifts in demand." They become an ecosystem for an industry to facilitate participation and collaboration, and they ultimately create value for the users of that platform. In fact, the best value created by plat- forms is trust. The social aspect of the Internet creates a level of trust through reputational features, user ratings, or reviews. Who would have believed that we would get to the stage of trusting a tech- nology platform enough to book a taxi with a driver who has no formal creden- tials and is driving his own car? Or book the third room in some stranger's house in another country on a smartphone? This is all very interesting, but how does any of this apply to legal, if at all? At the consumer/retail end of the industry, Avvo, Rocket Lawyer, and LegalZoom have all created platform business models. They have solved the chicken-and-egg problem of getting both lawyers and consumers on board to cre- ate a viable marketplace. For consumers, uch has been written recently about "platforms" and their impact on the legal industry. And by platforms I'm referring to the digital business model rather than the shoes (sadly). Avvo, Rocket Lawyer, and LegalZoom are touted as the next platforms for legal, and I want to delve into this proposition a little. So what is platform technology? The best definition I've found is in the Deloitte Business Trends Report on "Business Ecosystems" from 2015: "platforms are layers of infrastruc- ture that impose standards on a system in which many sepa- rate entities can operate for their own gains." M Are platforms coming to legal? By Kate Simpson O P I N I O N @k8simpson

• Cover