At the Strictly Law Business Annual Business of Law Conference held in Lagos recently, stakeholders discussed the impact of Artificial Intelligence in the Nigerian and global legal sector. During the conference themed, “Legal services in a rapidly changing world”, the big question on the table was, will artificial intelligence replace lawyers?
In her Welcome Remarks, Olubusola Ajala, the convener of the conference, encouraged participants to stay resilient in the face of business challenges and to use the nuggets from the speakers to improve their legal practice. She further thanked the sponsors, G.Elias & Co, ADVOCAAT Law Practice, Pavestones, Bloomgate Solicitors, Agatha Legal, Too Much Realty Solicitors Limited, Niran Orojinmi & Co, Edoigiawerie & Co LP, among others.
In his Keynote Address, Dapo Akinosun, SAN, Partner, Simmons Cooper Partners said, “No matter how good artificial intelligence is, it cannot take our jobs. One, it cannot get the briefs by itself; you need relationships to get briefs. It does not have empathy. So, for us to remain relevant we must continue to show emotional intelligence. So, rather than be worried about it, we need to see how we can use it to grow and develop our businesses.”
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Also delivering a keynote address, Mark A. Cohen, CEO, Legal Mosaic Foundation, the Digital Legal Exchange agreed with Akinosun, SAN that the human elements of legal practice are critically important and even more so now with the ascent of technology.
“Digital transformation is not simply about technology. The pivotal element relates to human ability and willingness to adapt to changes and new models of doing things that technology enables. So technology is an enabler of digital transformation but human beings make it happen.”
“This is a great time to be a lawyer. The internet has provided people with a lot of access to information but they do not really know how to process that information, and that’s where the role of the lawyer comes in. Clients are looking for solutions to real-life challenges. You are a problem solver. Also, there are going to be new jobs created, and this gives us as lawyers the opportunity to familiarise ourselves and recognise what we can do to prepare for the new jobs, to better our clients and societies.”
The opening sessions were followed by three discussion panels with notable panellists like Adeoye Adefulu, Partner Odujinrin & Adefulu and Chairman, NBA Section on Business Law and Adia Sowho, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria.
