Month: July 2019

The World Legal Summit: Informing and Taking Action – Physically and Virtually

On 31st July 2019

In Events, Internet Governance, Lawyers, Legal Innovation, Policy, Regulations

Reading time: 5 minutes

Written by Josh Lee and Aileen Schultz (Founder, World Legal Summit)

The World Legal Summit (WLS) is a 30+ city, 20+ country initiative designed to bridge the gap between legislative understanding and emerging technologies. Part One will occur in physical locations simultaneously across a 24 hour window on August 1, while Part Two will occur between September 6 to 8. The WLS will also provide global networking and remote participation opportunities in a virtual world.

Introduction

Technology and global systems are evolving at unprecedented rates, with humanity now poised at the tip of the exponential curve of technological evolution. There is, however, a lack of incentives to create required legislative and regulatory frameworks for the proper governance and responsible use of such technologies. Further, legal advances in technology governance – typically developed in silos – are not keeping pace with the development of technology. In turn, this creates a governance and trust deficit between emerging technologies, their associated global systems, and the necessary frameworks for a globally sustainable future.

While the legal industry has seen global initiatives to drive technology in legal practice (such as through global events such as the Global Legal Hackathon), the World Legal Summit (“WLS”) tackles the converse challenge of legal and regulatory issues relating to new technology. It is primarily focused on emerging technologies that are global in nature and that are facing complex regulatory challenges. In its inaugural year, the WLS will be focusing on the following three technology categories:

Identity and Personal Governance;

Autonomous Machines; and

Cyber Security and Personal Data.

LawTech.Asia: Strategic Media Partnership with Singapore Academy of Law

By Josh Lee

On 16th July 2019

In Legal Innovation

Reading time: < 1 minute

LawTech.Asia is proud to announce a Strategic Media Partnership with the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL)!

Through this partnership, LawTech.Asia will be qualitatively supported by SAL through its networks, platforms and information, for LawTech.Asia to be the portal on all things law and technology in Asia.

With a proliferation of publications and platforms showcasing legal innovation and technology in the Western Hemisphere, lawyers in the US, UK and the Europe have no lack of sources of information and inspiration to embark on legal transformation.

But what about Asia? This is not a space lacking in innovation – from the blockchain courts in Dubai, legal tech firms in Korea, to Singapore’s Legal Technology Vision, Asia has long been a hotbed for legal industry innovation. There is a need to share this innovation journey with the rest of the world – to let them know that innovation is an essential element of the DNA of Asia’s legal industry.

Commenting on the strategic media partnership, Paul Neo, Chief Operating Officer of SAL shared, “This strategic media partnership with LawTech.Asia is a timely one. It allows us to support a neutral and credible partner in growing and driving thought leadership in law and technology in Asia.”

Huiling Xie, Head of Partnerships & Revenue in LawTech.Asia, said, “We are proud that SAL has chosen LawTech.Asia to be its strategic media partner. This is a testament to the credibility and quality of LawTech.Asia. We look forward to paving the way forward in the law and technology space with SAL, and driving Singapore and more broadly Asia as a hub for innovation in this space.”

LawTech.Asia is proud to embark on this ambitious journey to cover and push the frontiers of innovation in Asia’s legal industry!

The LawTech.Asia Team

Legal Technology and its potential to improve client collaboration

By Josh Lee

On 15th July 2019

In Law Firms, Lawyers, Legal Innovation

Reading time: 5 minutes

Guest Post By Marc May | Edited by Josh Lee

“Legal technology” (or “legal tech“) a term that is incredibly broad and encompasses any technology or software that is able to improve the provision of legal services. Many a time, the mention of legal tech brings to the minds of lawyers technology that bring internal process improvements, such as improved legal research, contract review or drafting.

However, aside from the promise that legal technology can free up time for lawyers so that they are able to build better client relationships, there are also innovative ways legal technology can help lawyers directly to become more collaborative with clients. Here are two ways legal technology could do so:

Collaborative drafting; and
Automation-as-a-service.

LawTech.Asia’s Response to Public Consultation on Model AI Governance Framework

By Jennifer Lim

On 7th July 2019

In Artificial Intelligence, Law Firms, Legal Innovation, Policy, Regulations

Reading time: 2 minutes

On 23 January 2019, the Personal Data Protection Commission (i.e. the Info-comm Media Development Authority) (the “PDPC”) published its Model Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework (“Model Framework”). The PDPC also launched a public consultation to receive feedback on the Model Framework.

As an organisation committed to thought leadership in law and technology (with AI regulation a key area of focus), LawTech.Asia produced a response to the public consultation on 24 June 2019.

LawTech.Asia’s response comprised the following two sections:

A framework tailored for the implementation of the Model Framework to the legal technology sectors. Tapping on LawTech.Asia’s familiarity with the legal and legal technology sectors, LawTech.Asia produced a customised framework tailored specifically for the implementation of the Model Framework to the legal technology industry. We hope that this customised framework may shed some light in allowing legal technology firms deploying AI to have greater guidance in aligning their practices with some of the implementation guidelines set out in the Model Framework.
Comments and feedback on each specific section covered by the Model Framework. These sections are, namely: the overall principles set out in the Model Framework, internal governance measures, determination of the AI decision-making model, operations management, and customer relations management. Tying our comments together is the thread that the Model Framework could go further in elaborating on some of the guidelines that it had set out, as well as to set out more specifically the ends that the Model Framework is targeted at achieving.

Our response may be downloaded for reference here:

Response to Public Consultation for Proposed Model Framework Download

In closing, we emphasise that the views set out within our response are wholly independent. They do not represent the views of any other organisation save for LawTech.Asia.

LawTech.Asia is also grateful to our partner and friend, Ms Shazade Jameson from the World Data Project, for her guidance and assistance in the preparation of our response.

The LawTech.Asia Team