June 15, 2017

Blocked! What is Blockchain and what will it mean for the future of law? 2:30 PM  -  3:30 PM Blocked! What is Blockchain and what will it mean for the future of law? 450

Blocked! What is Blockchain and what will it mean for the future of law?


Deborah Ginsberg

Isn’t blockchain just for weird cryptocurrencies like BitCoin? Not any more. So what is it? A “distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records called blocks. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data — once recorded, the data in a block cannot be altered retroactively. “ (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

Because they are resistant to change, blockchains can be used to store all kinds of data – from legal contracts, to primary legal research texts, and more. In this session, I’ll discuss the basics of blockchains, how the tool is being used today, and how this tool could be incorporated into the future of legal research and practice. Blockchains would be especially useful for authenticating state legal materials. I’ll also showcase tools used to create and manage blockchains.

Session Category :  Faculty  Librarian  Technologist