Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra: Adapting to emerging technology in the legal industry

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran, Special Features and Content Assistant Editor

It is no overstatement to say that technology has completely changed the landscape of every industry in the world of business. From remote work through developments in information and communications technology, to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered retail networks and customer support, the way we do business is almost completely unrecognizable from that just a few decades ago.

Even in the legal industry, technology’s impact is unmistakable. The courts and other government agencies are relying more on online filings and submissions with regulators, as well as on technologies like videoconferencing.

Due to changes in the market, the legal industry is also facing new competition from businesses as well as other non-legal partnerships that offer tech-enabled services that were previously only offered by law firms.

Atty. Mark S. Gorriceta, managing partner at Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra (Gorriceta), said in an interview that the industry is evolving so rapidly and technology will play a crucial role in revolutionizing the Philippine legal and justice system.

“The rising adoption of emerging technologies has, and continues to change the world and this pushed the legal industry and even the regulators to also innovate. In this age of constant and rapid disruption through technological innovation, the regulatory status quo needs an upgrade,” he said.

“We foresee that the use of AI could potentially become the most significant disruptive innovation especially when used wisely. Although we do not think AI will replace lawyers, we believe it will only likely aid or complement our legal work.”

Gorriceta is an award-winning top-tier full service law firm in the Philippines. The firm is internationally ranked, recognized and multi-awarded for its excellence, innovative approach, and outstanding client service by organizations such as the Asia Business Law Journal’s Philippine Law Firm Awards.

The company specializes in the areas of Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Technology Media & Telecommunications, Corporate and Securities Law, Banking and Financial Services, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, Construction and Real Estate, Transportation Law and Taxation.

Gorriceta has also been ranked #1 for Technology Media & Telecommunications by various international and local organizations and have been consistently considered as Top Tier in various practice areas such as Mergers and Acquisitions, Tax and Trusts, Capital Markets, Banking and Finance, Projects & Energy, Data Privacy, Labor, Real Estate and Construction.

The law firm has offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand through its partner firm Yusarn Audrey.

Atty. Kristine Torres, junior partner at the firm,noted that they take full advantage of technology to further bolster their services. “Being the leading law firm in the fields of Tech and Fintech, we have continuously invested in innovating the way we deliver our services through the use of technology,” she said.

“In fact last year, our firm has launched our virtual office space in the metaverse powered by our client, f(Dev)’ METAVRS. As far as we know, we are the only law firm to date who has created a dedicated virtual office space to further promote collaboration between our team and clientele and leverage our legal services through adoption of blockchain technology.“

Gorriceta has also spearheaded a widely-successful Law x Tech Summit for the past three years, and has continuously boosted its capabilities including training for their team to further adopt to the evolving legal landscape.