Today we interview Marko Porobija, ambassador for Croatia of ELTA, European Legal Technology Association. During his work as an attorney, he specialised in matters related to investments, mergers & acquisitions, as well as legal support to clients in high-tech sector. He is a passionate promoter of legal tech in Croatia, whether through online channels, as a speaker at various conferences and meetups, or simply by having his own firm adopt legal tech solutions in its operations.
Before discussing his vision of legal technology with Marko, let’s get to know him a little better.
Hi, please introduce yourself to our readers! What’s your name and your job in the legal tech scenario?
Hi. My name is Marko Porobija, and I am a managing partner and CEO of Porobija & Špoljarić, Croatian law firm and online legal services provider
Why you do think that innovation and technology are important in the legal sector?
Because without innovation, the entire industry is lagging behind its own clients and slowing them down. If every other sector improves with use of the technology, then law must follow, or it becomes a burden. And then people start avoiding lawyers who just slow things down and are unable to understand the processes that drive the world today.
Which is/are the most promising vertical/s in legal tech as today?
Systems revolving around document automation. As a specific legal tech system, document automation is probably the most developed, and requires least processing power to be viable. Because of that, the market involving tech providers (developers), law firms or ALSRs, and final buyers (via online medium) is easily created and can have the broadest client base with sufficient and fully professional background customer support.
You are Ambassador/Director at ELTA. Why one should join a legal tech association?
Because sharing is power. Each legal tech association is a group of people who are “in the know”. Members of such group creates a sum greater than its parts. Also, such association connects tech providers with their potential clients, as well as in-house and external lawyers who are seeking to improve their work and service capacity through the use of tech.
Give our readers a quick picture of legal tech in your country (or in the country you work/live). Let’s start from this: is the legal system aligned with the level of innovation of the country’s economic, social and cultural contexts?
Croatia is a weird place. On one hand, our tech sector is rapidly growing and creating some serious global players (such as our unicorns Infobip and Rimac). On the other hand, legal sector is still heavily regulated and our Bar is fighting like crazy to preserve status quo, to the benefit of the few technofobes and interest groups. Because of that, Croatian legal tech sector is heavily underdeveloped, and we are still waiting for the first hard-hitter.
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