Author: Josh Lee Page 19 of 20

TechLaw.Fest Quick Chats: Yeong Zee Kin, PDPC

On 12th May 2018

In Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Contracts, Data Privacy, Events, Interviews, Legal Innovation, Policy, Regulations

Reading time: 4 minutes

Interview by Josh Lee | Edited by Amelia Chew

LawTech.Asia had the privilege of being a media partner for TechLaw.Fest 2018. The inaugural TechLaw.Fest held from 4 to 6 April 2018 saw the convergence of legal professionals, technologists, entrepreneurs and policy makers, conversant and passionate about Technology Law and Legal Technology, coming together to discuss the future of Singapore’s technology scene. During TechLaw.Fest, the LawTech.Asia team met with various speakers, exhibitors and attendees to learn more about the work that they do and their experience at the conference.

LawTech.Asia sat down for a chat with Yeong Zee Kin, Assistant Chief Executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Deputy Commissioner of the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC). Zee Kin was a panelist on the Smart Regulation for a Smart Nation panel and the chairperson of the Legal Issues in Legal Tech panel.

Having participated in two panels over the course of TechLaw.Fest 2018, what were some of your key takeaways from the two panels that you were in?

Both panels revolved around the same theme but we approached it from different directions. The first panel (“Smart Regulation for a Smart Nation”) approached it from the perspective of the regulator and examined what kind of regulations are required. This panel focused more on potential regulatory models and discussed different perspectives of how regulatory sandboxes are used. The FinTech Regulatory Sandbox by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is one such regime that allows for the ability to control license terms. There are some guidelines that we can potentially look to, such as the materiality test for determining when the risk becomes material and regulation should kick in.

TechLaw.Fest Quick Chats: Associate Professor Warren Chik, Singapore Management University School of Law

By Josh Lee

On 29th March 2018

In Data Privacy, Events, Interviews, Policy, Regulations

Reading time: 4 minutes

Interview by Josh Lee | Edited by Jennifer Lim Wei Zhen

TechLaw.Fest 2018 will take place from 4 to 6 April 2018 in Singapore, bringing together the movers and shakers in the space of Technology Law and Legal Technology. In the lead-up to TechLaw.Fest, the LawTech.Asia team will be bringing to you regular interviews and shout-outs covering prominent speakers and the topics they will be speaking at TechLaw.Fest.

This week, LawTech.Asia sat down for a chat with Professor Warren Chik, Associate Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Law. Among other things, Prof Chik specialises in topics such as Innovation, Technology and the Law.

At TechLaw.Fest 2018, Prof Chik will be moderating a discussion titled, “Smart Regulation for a Smart Nation”, which features a diverse panel of representatives from the private sector, lawyers, regulators and the finance industry. He will also be a participating in a panel on “Wising-up to the Mass Distribution of False Information”.

Image credit: SMU School of Law

Smart technology is the bedrock of the Smart Nation initiative. What are the regulatory approaches available for the regulation of smart technology?

Preliminarily, it’s important to remember that the kinds of regulation needed in one field may be different from the type of regulation needed in another field. So, for instance, the regulation of data may be different from the regulation of the finance industry.

LawTech.Asia: Media Partner for TechLaw.Fest 2018!

By Josh Lee

On 20th February 2018

In Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Contracts, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Dispute Resolution, Events, Internet Governance, Interviews, Law Firms, Lawyers, Legal Innovation, People, Regulations

Reading time: 2 minutes

We are proud to be recognised an official media partner for TechLaw.Fest 2018!

Organised by the Singapore Academy of Law, the inaugural TechLaw.Fest 2018 (held from 4 to 6 April 2018) is a convention that will be the focal point of leading thinkers in technology law and legal technology.

Key highlights of TechLaw.Fest 2018 include:

A main conference themed “Smart Regulations for a Digital Economy”, which will dive deep into novel regulatory approaches tested to help societies and businesses navigate the world of rapid technology growth and the accompanying legal issues.
Over 50 prominent speakers, who will speak about and lead panel discussions on smart regulations and technologies and the impact of technology on legal practice.
Sessions, panels, dialogues, exhibitions, hackathons, masterclasses and workshops on all things law and technology (and in-between), with a target audience of 3,000 visitors and 500 delegates comprising of lawyers, policymakers, technologists and business vendors.

From now to April 2016, the LawTech.Asia team will bring you regular interviews and shout-outs covering prominent speakers and the topics they will be speaking at TechLaw.Fest. These speakers include key leaders from:

Intelllex
Law Society of Singapore
Microsoft Singapore
ROSS Intelligence
Singapore Management University
Uber Asia Pacific
And more!

LawTech.Asia readers will also receive special perks, including a promo code that gives you a discount off full-price passes for TechLaw.Fest. To stay updated, please like the LawTech.Asia Facebook page and join the Legal Hackers SG Facebook group.

We’re raring to have you join us in exploring the constantly-moving intersection of law and technology. Check back on our site regularly to ensure that you get the latest coverage, updates and news about TechLaw.Fest 2018!

We also wish to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year!

The LawTech.Asia Team

LawTech.Asia Annual Theme for 2018 and Quarterly Themes

By Josh Lee

On 11th February 2018

In Law Firms, Lawyers, Legal Innovation

Reading time: 2 minutes

A warm hello to our readers and fellow legal technologists!

Singapore takes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2018 with the themes of “resilience” and “innovation”. Hence, it is timely for LawTech.Asia, with a focus on legal technology in Southeast Asia, to focus on legal technology developments in Singapore and the region.

At the same time, given that it has been roughly half a decade since the buzz about legal technology took root in Singapore, it is also appropriate to do a stocktake on the state of legal technology in Singapore for our readers. In addition, with the focus on Southeast Asia, it would also be useful to draw insight from legal technology developments in the region. This would also give LawTech.Asia the opportunity to examine how Singapore can learn from her fellow ASEAN counterparts, and vice versa.

With this in mind, the LawTech.Asia team presents to you our theme for our articles this year: Legal Technology in Singapore and ASEAN: Present and Future.

Aside from our regular articles, the LawTech.Asia team will be bringing to you a series of Quarterly Updates, a four-part thematic series that focuses on four sub-themes that are in line with LawTech.Asia’s annual theme. LawTech.Asia intends to cover the following four topics in its quarterly update:

1st Quarter: The state of legal technology in Singapore
2nd Quarter: The state of legal technology in ASEAN
3rd Quarter: What might Singapore be able to learn from ASEAN and vice versa?
4th Quarter: A legal technology report card on Singapore’s drive of “innovation” for ASEAN, and a look at the future.

We look forward to your continued support as we continue to bring you insights and information exploring the past, present and future of legal technology in Singapore and ASEAN.

Wishing you a happy and fruitful 2018,

The LawTech.Asia Team

Image credit: ASEAN

Recent Growth and Developments on Online Dispute Resolution in Southeast Asia

By Josh Lee

On 22nd September 2017

In Artificial Intelligence, Dispute Resolution, Lawyers, Legal Innovation, Online Dispute Resolution, Policy

Reading time: 6 minutes

Written by Josh Lee and Professor Thomas G. Giglione

This is the first part of a two-part series on recent developments in online dispute resolution. These series was co-written by Josh Lee and our guest contributor, Professor Thomas G. Giglione.

Professor Giglione is an experienced commercial mediator, and is the Convener for the 2017 Asia Pacific Mediation Forum Conference in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Introduction

Notwithstanding the continued importance of “traditional” dispute resolution mechanisms such as litigation and ADR, online dispute resolution (“ODR”) has continued to grow in influence and importance as an enabling tool for lawyers in assisting clients with the resolution of disputes.

This development, however, has been patchy at best. Certain regions, such as South-East Asia (“SEA”), do not seem to have embraced ODR as compared to regions like the European Union (“EU”). This is in spite of the sustained explosion in growth of mobile usage and e-commerce in SEA – between January 2016 and January 2017, for instance, the number of internet users and mobile subscriptions in SEA jumped by 80 million and 62 million respectively.

In this 2-part series, we intend to bring attention to major ODR developments in the EU, and to explore the possibility of applying such developments in the SEA context. In particular, our two mini-articles will cover the following areas:

Briefly trace the global development of ODR, and to identify the development phase that ODR is in today;
Identify the latest major development on ODR in the EU, the pan-EU ODR system, and to examine its main features, strengths, and criticisms;
Broadly assess the desirability and feasibility of implementing a region-wide ODR network in SEA, with suitable modifications, if any; and
To this end, identify certain inroads that have been made so far towards the implementation of such a region-wide ODR network in SEA.

The first part of this series will cover (a) by tracing the global development of ODR, and attempt to identify the phase of development that ODR is currently in.