16 Nov 2018

Rajah & Tann Asia Launches Legal Technology Business

Rajah & Tann Asia, one of Southeast Asia’s largest legal networks, has officially launched Rajah & Tann Technologies (R&T Technologies), a company set up in response to the impact of technology on the way legal services will be delivered in the digital economy.


R&T Technologies offers technology-enabled legal solutions including electronic discovery (e-discovery), cybersecurity, data breach readiness and response, and other legaltech and regulatory technology services, to clients and the member firms of the Rajah & Tann Asia network.


R&T Technologies, located at Collision 8 in High Street Centre, is led by Rajesh Sreenivasan and Steve Tan, both partners in Rajah & Tann Singapore’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. They are supported by Chief Operating Officer Michael Lew, who has extensive consulting experience in technology risk management, cyber forensics, electronic discovery and legal artificial intelligence, Technical Director Wong Onn Chee, who specialises in information leakage protection, web security and security strategy, and Chief Technology Officer Ong Ba Sou, who has expertise in executing and driving technological change for multinational companies.


Rajah & Tann Asia Chairman Lee Eng Beng SC said: “R&T Technologies is the clearest statement yet of how all 700 fee earners in the Rajah & Tann Asia network intend to use technology to evolve our practice and help our clients meet the demands and challenges of the new economy.


“The technology will not replace our lawyers and other fee earners. It will, instead, enable them to work at unprecedented speed and scale, and to tap other disciplines to solve complex legal challenges for clients. The future is exciting and we believe our investments in R&T Technologies will help us stay at the vanguard of change in a rapidly changing world.”


Mr Sreenivasan said: “Lawyers are often accused of being digital dinosaurs. With R&T Technologies, we show that we can take bold steps to harness advanced technologies in multiple and innovative ways, such as how we interact with clients, automate processes, analyse and extract data or help clients manage cyber and regulatory risks.

“We believe R&T Technologies will show how lawyers, instead of being disrupted by technology, can be part of the disruption. It will pave the way for lawyers who want to be part of the legaltech transformation to pursue new career paths.”


To this end, the first initiative by its virtual law academy is a training and certification programme that the firm will be launching, in partnership with Singapore Academy of Law Ventures. The Certified E-Discovery Management Specialist professional qualification allows lawyers and non-lawyers looking to specialise in e-discovery to be trained and certified for the purpose.


R&T Technologies Director Steve Tan said: “Through Rajah & Tann Technologies, we move away from just traditional legal services to multi-disciplinary services that would be of immense value to a client in operating in a digital world.
“It is about the value we are able to bring to a client that allows them to better operate amidst the myriad of regulations, in a connected digital world.”


In another initiative, R&T Technologies last month acquired LegalComet, a firm which offers various legaltech advisory services including e-discovery, forensic technology and data governance. LegalComet, founded by Mr Lew, provides AI-driven solutions that allow litigators and arbitrators managing large amounts of evidence to speedily and conveniently sieve and extract specific data from mountains of documents.


Other initiatives include a one-stop shop client portal for an array of services – legal documentations, correspondences, working drafts, and invoices, among them. The portal, made available on mobile devices and web browsers, will also offer relevant e-learning modules containing training, seminars, and workshops for various legal issues.

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About Rajah & Tann Asia – www.rajahtannasia.com

Rajah & Tann Asia brings together leading law firms and lawyers in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam, with each offering the highest standards of service to locally-based clients while collectively having the capacity to handle the most complex regional and cross-border transactions and to provide excellent legal counsel seamlessly across the region. With around 700 fee earners, all working towards one shared goal, we are lawyers who know Asia and who give our clients home advantage.