Clyde & Co. announces blockchain-related consultancy for insurer clients

U.K.-based law firm Clyde & Co. is launching a consulting practice to provide advice to its insurer clients regarding the burgeoning area of smart contracts, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.

The practice will be called “Clyde Code” and it will provide clients with legal and technical advice and services in the area of smart contracts.

“Smart contracts are coded instructions which execute on the occurrence of an event, often using a blockchain or other related technology to record and enact it,” the announcement states.

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“Their implementation and impact can be far reaching. For example, smart contracts allow for insurance monies to be transferred virtually immediately on the occurrence of an event – such as travel insurance paying out following a flight delay,” it continues. “Additionally, smart contracts allow ship owners to monitor their cargo continuously and update insurance contracts in real time as conditions change.”

The services provided by Clyde Code will include: smart contract creation; existing contract enhancement; contract verification; contract enforcement and dispute resolution; and forensic investigations in relation to smart contract failures.

Gary Nuttall, a well-known independent consultant on smart contract, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies will be the lead technical consultant. The independent advisory group he works with, Team Blockchain, is supporting him.

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“Blockchain provides the rails that smart contracts run on and together they have the potential to radically change and simplify legal contracts and transactions. But legal and technical advice is needed to ensure that workable agreements are reached and enforced,” Lee Bacon, partner at Clyde & Co., said in a statement.

“We are already actively engaged in reviewing smart contract and related distributed ledger transactions across multiple sectors, so setting up a standalone consultancy to bring together our legal expertise in this area is a natural next step,” Bacon added.

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.