The Accord Project, the global leader in developing open source code and specifications for smart legal contracts, is pleased to announce the launch of a working group to focus on developing techno-legal specifications and open source technology for smart legal contracts in the real estate and construction industries. The Working Group will be chaired by Philip Freedman CBE, QC (Hon), Partner and Chairman, Mishcon de Reya LLP. The Working Group adds to the Accord Project’s existing working groups in areas that include supply chain, financial services, and dispute resolution.

As interest grows in smart legal contracts and the development of a common legal and technological framework for their adoption across a wide range of industries and use cases, the Accord Project’s Real Estate and Construction Working Group will expand the focus of the Project’s industry-leading technology for smart legal contract template models and domain specific language developed exclusively for legal contracts.

Philip Freedman said “As part of Mishcon's 10 year vision, we aspire to use technology to do our work faster and better, and so are pleased to be chairing the Real Estate and Construction Working Group. Our industry is poised for the biggest change in years, with a number of fast growing technologies that will drastically change the way we do legal work. To change the nature of legal contracts from static, text-based, documents to data-driven components that interact with business systems and work cross-sector is no small feat and requires an industry-led effort. We hope other law firms and professionals take the opportunity to join, and look forward to working with the Accord Project and our fellow collaborators to bring forward proof of concepts that will accelerate progress in this area".

By collaborating with leading lawyers and other industry professionals, as well as private sector and governmental organisations, the Real Estate and Construction Working Group will focus on issues such as developing and establishing compliant and secure frameworks for the various participants involved in real estate and construction transactions, and smart legal contracts that are adapted to work with the rules, regulations, and practices of the industry. Houman Shadab, co-director of the Accord Project, noted that “the Working Group and its world class leadership are very welcome and timely additions to the Accord Project given the document heavy, manually intensive processes, and lack of common frameworks that characterize the real estate and construction industries.”

A key focus of the Working Group will be on the role of distributed ledger technology, including the potential for the technology to improve the drafting, negotiation, management, and performance of real estate and construction agreements. The Accord Project operates in collaboration with a wide variety of legal, business, and technical organisations, including the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Open Identity Exchange.

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