TrustEngine - Intro and Q&A with Qld Disrupting Law National Finalists
TrustEngine Solution Summary
Hello everyone!
We are TrustEngine, a team consisting of two energetic law students, Camille Etchegaray and Lila Samysheva, and two innovative IT students, Joshua Inglis and William White. We like to see ourselves as the Grammarly of intellectual property.
TrustEngine is an Email browser extension which pre-emptively avoids the accidental waiver of privileged communications between lawyers and their clients. Our clever technology uses machine learning to detect themes, vocabulary and patterns associated with privileged communications. It then signposts to our users, as they draft or forward Emails, which information may be privileged and requests that they reconsider such action. This safety net allows our users to protect their privileged information as they move towards legal proceedings. Our idea came to fruition during the state round of this competition. With the support of our mentors from Herbert Smith Freehills and the Legal Forecast’s mentors and volunteers, we have developed a minimum viable product of TrustEngine.
We now seek to partner with a law firm as we require a large database to accurately train our technology. We wish to thank everyone for their support! Please continue to support us so that we can develop our technology, so to help others not lose the right to keep their privileged information confidential! Thank you!
We’d love to know a bit about you- what are your names, and what are your ‘superpowers’?
Names: Camille Etchegaray, Joshua Inglis, Lila Samysheva, William White. I think as a group our superpower is the ability to see into the future and prevent the accidental waiver of privileged information ;)
Is there a famous quote that you think best describes your team?
“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities” ― Stephen R. Covey
Give us the elevator pitch - what is your pitch in one sentence?
We are the Grammarly of privileged information.
What is the problem that your team chose to solve? How did you land on it?
Our team tried to solve the accidental waiver of privileged information sent to clients by their lawyer. During the brainstorm session, on the first night of the competition, we identified a number of potential issues. However, most of them were superficial or already addressed to some extent. We then asked the lawyers present on the day - what is something that frustrates you the most about your profession? The answer revolved around the poor management of information by their clients and how misinformed clients could disclose information inadvertently. This is how we found the problem that TrustEngine seeks to solve.
Tell us about your favourite mentor during the Disrupting Law weekend. What organisation are they from, and how did they help you?
I'm sure I can speak on behalf of the whole group when I say that we loved all of our mentors from HSF. They were present for us when we had questions and tried to help us in numerous ways. What I appreciated the most, is that they knew when to let us work on our own to develop our idea. They never pressured us to work in a certain way, but they were always there to support and refine our ideas.
What was a tricky question that you got during your pitch, and how did you tackle it?
Most of our questions during our initial pitch turned towards practical aspects of the codes and how we would commercialise TrustEngine. We answered them by incorporating this information in our final video. We still require access to a greater database in order to adequately train our technology and this is still in a process of negotiation.
What tips do you have for people interested in competing in Disrupting Law this year? My tips would be:
(1) Don't be afraid to ask questions (2) Think outside the box - get to know new areas of knowledge (3) Talk to each other (4) Be as inclusive as possible because each individual team member brings something different to the group.
Do you think events like Disrupting Law are important for students to get involved in, and, if so, why?
I would recommend that everyone attends this competition - regardless of academic background. I loved the challenge it gave us. This competition for most only lasted a weekend, and yet we all got to make connections with firms and fellow students, utilise our problem-solving skills and develop our understanding of the current legal forecast.
What is the no. 1 reason that our readers should vote for you?
Trust Engine is an invention with real commercial value. Once fully developed, our system could be used by the smallest to the largest law firms, to help their clients seamlessly navigate the complex climate of legal proceedings. With little to no training, law firms could distribute TrustEngine to their clients and lessen the administrative and legal burden associated with the accidental waiver of privileged information.