In the rapidly evolving world of legal services, the ways in which contracts are managed can significantly impact the overall success of an organization. A proficient understanding of smart contracts not only fortifies the traditional role of the legal professional, but also opens up possibilities for more streamlined, efficient, and innovative approaches to contract management. This article discusses some of the complex problems that can arise when a contract takes unexpected turns, or “goes wild”.
The author, Olga V. Mack, is a Fellow at CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and a Generative AI Editor at law.MIT. Mack encourages legal innovation and has devoted her career to shaping the future of law. She is confident that by embracing evolving technologies, the legal profession will emerge stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before.
Mack, an award-winning general counsel and operations professional, has penned several pertinent books including “Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat”, “Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security”, and “Blockchain Value: Transforming Business Models, Society, and Communities”. These titles reflect her understanding of the intersection of vulnerable contracts, smart contract security, and value transformation in the realm of blockchain technology.
She is currently working on forthcoming books including “Visual IQ for Lawyers,” “The Rise of Product Lawyers: An Analytical Framework to Systematically Advise Your Clients Throughout the Product Lifecycle,” and “Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data.” All of these publications promise to provide valuable insights on the current challenges and imminent opportunities in the global field of legal operations.
As companies around the world continue to navigate the unprecedented legal challenges of the digital era, understanding how to manage and avoid ‘wild contracts’ will be of utmost importance to corporate houses and law firms seeking to maintain the rigorous standards of legal compliance, while also leveraging the transformative potential of new technologies.