The use of computer code and a blockchain—the same technology that underlies Bitcoin—makes it possible for parties to express contractual promises in computer code and have those performance obligations automated with less of a need in an irreversible way, without the need for a trusted third-party. Blockchain technology is capable of creating new forms of dynamic “smart” contracts, which enable these agreements to accept data and change contractual performance in real time.
The Smart Contracts Project is exploring a range of contracts capable of being rendered “smart.” Contracts that have obligation that can be readily expressed as computer code (e.g., promissory notes, employment agreements, stock option grants, mortgages, rental agreements, and sales agreements). Using Ethereum and the OpenLaw platform, the project is focusing on prototyping one or more of these types of agreements with the aim of building examples of enforceable smart contracts that can interact with existing legal systems.
News/Updates
Development of OpenLaw and prototyping of agreements has proceeded at a rapid pace, enabling (for the first time) the creation and execution of legal agreements that rely on a blockchain for storage and digital signatures, while at the same time permitting the execution of blockchain-based smart contracts. The Project Team has created an employee offer letter that has the capacity to pay employees every minute (as opposed to every two weeks) without the need to rely on a payroll processor. They have also created a legally binding Token Purchase Agreement that could be generalizable to any asset represented on a blockchain.
The Project Team is currently looking to collaborate with students from other law schools to create and develop additional demos.
News/Updates
OpenLaw has continued to grow into one of the premier smart (legal) contracting platforms in the blockchain space. It is an open source project that has worked with a number of different law firms, trade organization, RocketLawyer, and has been developing some interesting proof of concepts around land title transfer, media, real time payment and tax collection, etc.
Tweet highlights from 2019: https://twitter.com/OpenLawOfficial/status/1216737713145204737
OpenLaw’s medium has write-ups related to the rest: https://medium.com/@OpenLawOfficial
