The Unique Results and Main Challenge of Merging Law and Technology in Africa
“Computers are going to take over certain legal tasks — the practice of law will focus more on advice.” These are the predictive words of MetLife Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ricardo Anzaldua, during the 2017 New York Legaltech Week.
There is no denying the far-reaching impact of technology on our day-to-day life. In this respect, Africa has not been left behind.
Rédaction Africanews recently conducted an interview segment with Neema Magimba, a Tanzanian legal counsel who co-founded the Sheria Kiganjani platform. Her platform provides persons with financial and distance difficulties with access to legal services, with a focus on specific areas of law that are common in Tanzania. These are Marriage and Succession Law, Tax Law, Land Law and Rights of Children, as well as Women and People with Disabilities. Today, the Sheria Kiganjani platform has reached over 439,500 people in Tanzania.
The Sheria Kiganjani story inspires questions as to the fruits society can reap from the relationship between the law and technology today. More precisely, in Africa.