BACKGROUND

What It Is, What It Could Be, and What It Might Mean to You
According to an article from RSA Security, blockchain is a “chronological chain of blocks where every block contains a set of transactions/records and a reference to the previous block.” This creates a “digital ledger” which is “immutable and can be distributed in a way that peers in the network can come to a global consensus on adding new blocks and also agree on the true state of ledger.”

Insurance coverage attorney Laura Foggan of Crowell & Moring recently shared with me the many applications blockchain might have in the Insurance Sector.  These include smart contracts, claims settlement applications, and anti-fraud efforts.

Insurance recovery attorney Matt Schlesinger of Covington & Burling co-wrote an article for Corporate Counsel on the subject, specifically on smart contracts, saying they have “the potential to automate a wide range of manual processes in the insurance industry (including asset tracking and insurance claims settlement), and to enable insurance industry participants to better mitigate fraud risk, more efficiently price insurance coverage and to design personalized insurance offerings that better suit the needs of insureds.” In the meantime, the technology itself is something policyholders need to monitor and address with insurance, wrote Schlesinger and a colleague in an article for Law360.

The Law Firm Sector is paying attention. Groups of firms are forming around the idea of blockchain as the next big thing for the practice of law. Bob Craig, the Chief Information Officer at Baker Hostetler, was recently quoted as saying that “blockchain, more than any other technology, will drive the next wave of legal innovation and transform the business of law.”

The purpose of this seminar and webcast is to enlighten attorneys, companies and insurance carriers about the current uses (the rewards and the risks) of blockchain in the Financial Sector, and provide an outlook into the possibilities blockchain may provide for the Insurance Sector and Law Firm Sector. –Tom Hagy

AGENDA

7:30 | Registration 

8:45 | Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:00 | UNDERSTANDING BLOCKCHAIN & ITS CURRENT APPLICATIONS

Whether you have a basic understanding or have absolutely no clue, our panel will increase your practical knowledge of a technology that is being touted as the new and solid way to secure online transactions. At its core, RSA Security wrote in a recent article, a decentralized blockchain is “nothing but a chronological chain of blocks where every block contains a set of transactions/records and a reference to the previous block.” This helps establish a “digital ledger” which is “immutable and can be distributed in a way that peers in the network can come to a global consensus . . . on the true state of the ledger.”

What we will cover:

• Understanding the technology so you can be conversant or improve your understanding how blockchain works.
• Understanding the key advantages to blockchain, e.g. decentralization, storing value, speed, cost effectiveness, improved privacy.
• Understanding the blockchain vernacular and the players.
• Understanding why blockchain is considered so much more secure than prior methods of protecting online transactions.
• How to answer commonly asked questions and objections.

Our panel will move into discussion of the real-world application of blockchain in executing online monetary transfers. The financial sector has been the first to embrace digital money with popular cryptocurrency such as BitCoin, Ethereum, Dash, Monero and others. At its core these “digital tokens” are secure because they rely on the blockchain technology discussed in the prior session. The authenticity of each transfer is established as part of an unbroken series of valid transactions conducted by a variety of participants.

What we will cover:

• How the financial sector is and is not using cryptocurrency.
• When things have gone well, and when they have crashed and burned.
• Potential legal liability and litigation risks associated with cryptocurrency.
• The regulatory landscape both at home and abroad.

Speakers
Michael Nonaka, Partner, Covington & Burling
Matthew B. Welling, Associate, Crowell & Moring
Pedro Pavón, CIPP/US, Managing Counsel, Oracle
James Van Strander, Corporate Counsel, Oracle
Zulfikar Ramzan, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, RSA Security

10:45 | Break

11:00 | INSURANCE SECTOR APPLICATIONS OF BLOCKCHAIN

Given the legal, contractual and data-driven aspects of insurance, the insurance industry is also a logical next step for the application of blockchain. Our panels will discuss the possibilities, and whether blockchain will serve as a disruptor and an enhancer to this important industry. Insurance Sector use examples:

• Parametric or index-based insurance use of blockchain (e.g., crop insurance, weather insurance for outdoor events, flight delay insurance); Blockchain for auto insurance verification by insureds, insurers and law enforcement.
• Using smart contracts to streamline payment and claims processing, premium payments, agent commissions, etc. through automated accounting transactions.
• Enhancing anti-fraud programs, e.g. verifying commercial assets and inventory, ownership for scheduled property coverages, valuations.
• Proof of concept for other uses by the industry, such as in simplifying transactions based on shared information in reinsurance transactions.
• Will blockchain disrupt the industry?
• Will blockchain improve trust?
• Regulatory issues for use of blockchain in the Insurance Sector.

Speakers
Laura A. Foggan, Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP
Matthew J. Schlesinger, Partner, Covington & Burling
Ryan Rugg, Head of North America, R3
Rich Michaels, Senior Underwriter, Cyber, Allianz
Charles Heenan, Legal Counsel, Swiss Re

12:00| THE PRACTICE OF LAW BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS

• The development of smart contracts.
• Enhancing security and privacy.
• The potential to improve law firm efficiency and productivity.
• Eliminating constant human management of agreements.
• Adding artificial intelligence into the blockchain mix.

Speakers
Shawnna Hoffman, Co-Leader, IBM Global Cognitive Legal
Adam Firestone, EVP Engineering, Secure Channels, Inc. and, Editor In Chief, United States Cybersecurity Magazine
Daniel B. Garrie, Neutral at JAMS; Managing Partner at Law and Forensics; and CISO at Zeichner Ellman & Krause
Ryan Rugg, Head of North America, R3

12:45 |  Adjourn