Laura Fauqueur, winner of the 'European Tech Women Award 2020': "Hopefully in the future there is no need to gender the awards, but we are not at that point yet"

By Sonia Sánchez Llamas  

Laura Fauqueur has just been awarded the 'European Tech Women Award 2020' by the UK Department for International Trade in the Legaltech category. Along with her, 23 other women have received an award in the different categories of these awards. Fauqueur, director of the Master in Legaltech at the CEU IAM University, hopes that in the future there will be no need for specific awards for women, but she believes that we are not yet at that stage. About the sector AI & Tech, considers that it has evolved a lot in Spain in recent years and that the last six have finished showing even the most skeptical that the legaltech provided solutions to real problems. As the award winner points out, with the arrival of Covid “even the most reluctant” understood the importance of digital transformation.

She has just received the 'European Tech Women Award 2020' from the UK Department for International Trade in the Legaltech category. What does this award mean?

As you can imagine, I'm incredibly excited. It's the first time the UK DIT ( Department of International Trade ) has organized these awards, which have been given to 25 women internationally. I've been awarded the only legaltech prize , which, while an honor, also represents a tremendous responsibility. These awards are part of the UK Department's strategy to highlight and support diversity, openness, and the pioneering spirit of women leaders. These awards, and the London Tech Week program within which they are part, mark the start of the UK's technology promotion campaign, which will develop an innovative program across different departments over the next three years.

From a personal perspective, I have a very special relationship with the United Kingdom since childhood, and I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from them. Not to mention the crucial role this country has played in the early development and evolution of legaltech .

Is there a need for specific awards for women in the new technologies sector?

This is the eternal question: prizes, quotas ... Obviously, the ideal would be not and hopefully in the future it will not be necessary to gender the prizes. However, we are not at this point yet, far from it. So yes, women's awards are needed until we can freely access the… “men's awards”.

What is the presence of women in the Legaltech field?

It's a combination of women's presence in the technology and legal sectors. There are many women, but equality is still lacking, and many glass ceilings remain to be broken. I dare say these glass ceilings are beginning to crack, and thanks to the combined efforts of institutions, groups, individuals, and organizations like Mujeres Tech , R Ladies , and Women in a Legal World , we will achieve this sooner rather than later.

Regarding investments, we know that very seldom - unfortunately - they fall on companies formed by women, although there are several that deserve to be the object of these. It is also true that there are few female investors, and that does not help either.

In short, what happens in legaltech is similar to what happens in most sectors: there are many women, but they have more difficulties than men in achieving credibility and visibility in the market.

How has the Legaltech sector evolved since it began its journey in it?

It has evolved tremendously! When we explained its uses a few years ago, we were either ignored or met with resistance. Now things have changed, and many mature legaltech solutions are being bought and sold in the Spanish market, with many more in development.

While its use was already becoming more widespread in recent times, both by professionals and by users of legal services themselves, the last six months have finally proven to even the most skeptical that legaltech provides solutions to real problems.

Even so, I believe there are still unmet needs with legaltech solutions , and I'm convinced we'll see more companies flourish in this field in the coming years. And I hope many of them will have women on board. But, as I said before, we need much more investment in the sector for it to become established.

As for its evolution in the coming years, it is difficult to make predictions in the middle of 2020. We are undoubtedly facing a sector with a lot of potential because, on the one hand, legal problems and needs exist – both in times of prosperity and lean times – and on the other, we are experiencing a period of accelerated digital transformation of society, which only the legal sector can comply with, adopt and make its own.

Another area where legaltech is in dire need of improvement is access to justice. Many legal jobs are simply not profitable, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be done, and in this case, technology can also help.

Are law firms in Spain digitally updated?

My perception is that there are two different situations, and a large cloudy space in the middle where the vast majority of the offices are located.

On the one hand, we have the offices - large, medium, boutiques - that have been digitizing for several years and have been less disrupted in their operation than others by the pandemic. On this same side of the scale, I also put law firms - mostly boutiques - and ALSPs (alternative providers of legal services, in their acronym in English) that are digital natives and have built their work and business model in a digital since its inception.

On the other side of the scale, we find the firms that did not bet on digital transformation and that have not yet understood how technology would help them work better, offering an improved service to their clients and also, with a bit of luck, working a little less ...

And in the middle of these two poles are most of the single, small and medium-sized firms, which have done things, have bought some tools, have adopted a few, have learned to handle the technological solutions that they already had. , but they still do not have the entire practice of the office in digital form.

What are the digital tools most used by lawyers and which ones should they incorporate?

Right now, the basic ones, such as Office, and the typical telecommunication tools that are on the market. Regarding specific tools for the legal field, the most used are those for file management, databases and, of course, Lexnet.

Regarding electronic signature and knowledge management tools, they are used unevenly depending on the type of office, although their use is increasing greatly.

Then there are the automation and contract management solutions, time and expense management tools, specific tools for certain practices, data protection, etc. that many professionals already use, although they are not, by far, a majority.

I believe that in the coming months we will see a boom in corporate secretarial tools by the legal advisors of companies and offices for their clients for cases such as holding online meetings, etc.

Regarding the main technological challenges facing law firms, one of the most pressing is keeping pace with the justice system. The justice system is not as agile as law firms in adopting technology and training its professionals in its use. Another challenge is multi-level interoperability: between government agencies, between government agencies and law firms, between law firms themselves, between law firms and clients, and so on.

How can you attract the most reluctant firms to digitally transform?

I have thought about this a lot but, honestly, I have already left it: the Covid arrived and even the most reticent understood it.

What kind of Legaltech training do law students receive?

Legaltech training is still in its early stages within the legal profession, which is why master's programs and other courses have been designed to address this gap. Hopefully, this subject will soon be included in undergraduate degree programs.

I do know that some universities are beginning to integrate training in new work methodologies –the so-called agile methodologies– into their law studies, and I think it is a step in the right direction, as they greatly help the acceptance and adoption of technology.