Category: Lawyers Page 2 of 17

TechLaw.Fest 2024: Be Ready for Tomorrow

On 1st September 2025

In Artificial Intelligence, Internet Governance, Law Firms, Lawyers, Legal Hackers, Legal Innovation, Policy, Regulations

Reading time: 9 minutes

Written by Hannah Nadia, Daniel Koh and Wei Lin Tan | Edited by Josh Lee Kok Thong

Introduction

In the 2023 edition of Techlaw.Fest, LawTech.Asia posed the question: what’s next for law and technology? The 2024 edition of TechLaw.Fest gave us our answer: Artificial Intelligence (“AI”).

The theme for TechLaw.Fest 2024 – “Be Ready for Tomorrow” – is a nod towards current anxieties over AI’s disruptive potential for the legal industry, as well as how AI is changing the way we think about legal issues. The theme aptly urges legal practitioners to set their sails and map ahead for the incoming wave of opportunities and challenges unleashed by new AI technologies

At the heart of TechLaw.Fest 2024 were four key topics: (1) AI in law; (2) global AI regulations and AI governance; (3) deepfakes and misinformation; and (4) inclusivity. TechLaw.Fest 2024 also saw several significant announcements, such as the launch of the Copilot for SG Law Firms module for the Legal Technology Platform (“LTP”) by the Ministry of Law, Lupl and Microsoft, and the launch of the Singapore Academy of Law’s and Microsoft’s Prompt Engineering Guide for Lawyers. We even saw a splash of pizzazz, with the 2024 Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation & Technology Association (“ALITA”) Awards demonstrating the best of legal technology in the region.

In this article, as the legal community gears up for TechLaw.Fest 2025 (happening on 10 and 11 September 2025), we seek to re-capture the highlights of Singapore’s signature law and technology conference in 2024, and provide a glimpse of the themes and insights shared by the expert panellists.

TechLaw.Fest 2024 Quick Chats: Chris Watson, Partner and Chair of Technology, Media and Communications, CMS

By Josh Lee

On 22nd October 2024

In Internet Governance, Interviews, Law Firms, Lawyers

Reading time: 5 minutes

Written by Josh Lee Kok Thong

TechLaw.Fest 2024 Quick Chats: Chris Watson, Partner and Chair of Technology, Media and Communications, CMS

TechLaw.Fest 2024 (“TLF”) took place from 11 to 12 September 2024, positioning participants at the forefront of groundbreaking discussions at the intersection of law, technology and business. This year, LawTech.Asia received a special opportunity to interview Chris Watson, Partner and Chair, Technology, Media and Communications at CMS. This interview came shortly after Chris Watson’s fireside chat titled “Breaking Barriers: A Conversation with Chris Watson and Emma Watson on Diversity, Inclusion and the Future” with Emma Watson, writer, actress and activist (who joined the conference via audio call).

With his vast and extensive expertise, Chris offers invaluable insights on a myriad of issues around technology regulation. We sought his views on the evolving AI regulation landscape, cross-border legal challenges, and the important role young legal professionals play in shaping the future of law and technology.

Unlocking Innovation: Hong Kong’s Legal Technology Landscape

By Josh Lee

On 3rd September 2024

In Access to Justice, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Data Privacy, Dispute Resolution, Interviews, Law Firms, Lawyers, Legal Hackers, Legal Innovation, Legal Technology in Hong Kong

Reading time: 22 minutes

Written by Yiap Siew Fong | Edited by Josh Lee Kok Thong

May 2024 was a particularly eventful month for legal technology in Hong Kong. It marked the return of the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific Awards (“FT Awards”) to Hong Kong, showcasing the latest achievements in legal innovation throughout the region. The Hong Kong chapter of Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation and Technology Association (“ALITA”) also hosted a digital innovation roundtable in collaboration with the Law, Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Lab at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law (“LITE Lab@HKU”). Earlier that month, a panel session at Hong Kong Mediation Week titled “Bots v Humans? The Future of Mediation” examined the implications and potential of AI in relation to the field of dispute resolution and mediation. These recent events provide an opportune context to examine the current state of the legal technology landscape in Hong Kong.

Artisans and Artifice: Doing Justice Together

By Josh Lee

On 10th August 2024

In Access to Justice, Artificial Intelligence, Lawyers, Legal Hackers, Legal Innovation

Reading time: 4 minutes

Written by: Marc Lauritsen

Will AI make law better?

Yes.

For whom?

For many on both sides of the legal profession’s moat.

I’ll be brief.

(If you’re looking for verbosity, see my other writings. Links to some decorate this one.)

TechLaw.Fest 2023: This Is What’s Next

By Josh Lee

On 8th November 2023

In Access to Justice, Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Events, Immersive Technology / Metaverse, Internet Governance, Law Firms, Lawyers, Legal Hackers, Legal Innovation, Policy, Regulations

Reading time: 12 minutes

Written by Hannah Loo Yuet Ying and Leong Tzi An (Zaine) | Edited by Josh Lee Kok Thong

The theme of this year’s TechLaw.Fest is ‘This is What’s Next”’. I thought this is very apt in the realm of law and technology. Both are forward-looking, and multi-faceted that we constantly, even in practice, ask ourselves ‘what’s next’.
Second Minister for Law and Minister for Community, Culture and Youth Edwin Tong S.C.
Opening Remarks at TechLaw.Fest 2023

Introduction

Since the last edition of TechLaw.Fest in 2022, technology has developed at a rapid pace. It is now trite to say that technology touches every aspect of our lives. It has transformed, and continues to transform, how people work, interact and, play. This is not only embodied in the rise of large language models (“LLMs”) and generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, but also questions about the future of cryptocurrency, immersive technologies, and online safety. Amidst rapid technological developments on multiple fronts, it is important to have robust conversations on the workings of these technologies and their impact – positive or negative – on people and society.

As one of Asia’s largest law and technology conferences, TechLaw.Fest is an important forum bringing together industry leaders, government, legal professionals, technologists, academics, and civil society to have these robust conversations. As the first fully physical rendition of the event since 2019, TechLaw.Fest 2023 brought together thought leaders from various domains to answer “what’s next” in the vast field of law and technology. This article aims to bring a glimpse into the key insights and themes discussed across both days of Singapore’s signature law and technology conference.