Ripple Joins Forces with Australian National University to Teach Blockchain Law Courses

According to an official announcement dated March 31, 2020, San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple Inc.’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) – in partnership with the Australian National University’s Master’s program – will launch two new courses exploring the impact of distributed ledger technology (DLT) on the legal field.

ANU and Ripple to Teach Legal Impact of Blockchain

In a bid to further imbibe among the students the far-reaching impact of blockchain technology across all major industries the world over, the Australian National University (ANU), in conjunction with Ripple Inc., is set to introduce two new courses in its Master’s program next year to study the impact of blockchain technology on the legal industry.

Per sources close to the matter, the courses are being developed under the supervision of Ripple’s UBRI. For the uninitiated, Ripple’s UBRI is the firm’s in-house program that seeks to collaborate with universities across the globe to study in detail the emerging trends and developments in the blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payments space.

Scott Chamberlain, Entrepreneurial Fellow at ANU College of Law, commented on the development saying that the two new courses will help students get a better and granular understanding of the space where DLT and law mingle with each other.

The Courses Will Help those Unable to Afford Hefty Legal Services

Chamberlain added that the funding for the courses will help immensely in the long-run in that it will instill among students a sense that DLT can help improve people’s ability to exercise rights and discharge their obligations and lessen their dependence on money and lawyers for small legal problems.

He said:

“Imagine an eBay-like platform that can resolve consumer law disputes without engaging the court system.”

Adding:

“This is not about getting rid of lawyers or eliminating jobs. There will always be cases and situations that demand a higher level of expertise.”

Chamberlain added that the introduction of these two courses provides a great opportunity for people to resolve more routine disputes without incurring heavy legal costs. According to him, the key is to differentiate the types of legal problems, and then provide solutions appropriate to the scale of the dispute.

In similar news, BTCManager reported in May 2019 how top Canadian law firms had collaborated to explore the benefits of blockchain in the legal industry.