Startup CEO: China’s online legal services to get specific, diverse

Legal services provided online or through artificial-intelligence platforms will quickly become more specific and diverse, the head of a Chinese startup has predicted.

Many companies using AI in legal products and services are still at the primary stages, “basically collecting big data in legal fields”, said Wang Fengmei, CEO of lvxinweb.cn, China’s first law-focused social media.

However, the basic work is important “because only when we better understand the judicial data can we use them to provide accurate and effective services or help people solve lawsuits”, she said.

Wang made the remarks on Monday at a seminar in Beijing organized by King and Capital Law Firm and the China University of Political Science and Law.

She encouraged startups to do more research in technology and law. “We will give better answers to our clients’ specific questions, such as how to solve traffic disputes, instead of general replies,” she said.

The adoption of AI and other technologies in the legal industry will quickly lead to more specific products across a diverse range of areas, she added.

A report by Capital Law Firm on Monday supported her prediction. It showed a boom in AI legal products and services in 2016 and a slow increase in 2017.

Although the number is not rising quickly, the quality of products and services is improving, according to Chen Yu, a lawyer who contributed to the report.

“More legal entities will start to use technology, so how to make full and better use of big data in these companies seems important,” he added.