Lawyers urged to embrace AI, innovation

Legal practitioners have been urged to embrace the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their practices to meet up with current realities and to avoid being obsolete.

This was said at the fifth edition of the Legal Business Conference, themed “Innovating for Law and Business: AI & Beyond”, organised by Legal Business Network International (LBN).

Founder, LBN, Ifeoma Ben, said that AI is revolutionising the business sector and the legal profession.

According to her, there is a need to learn how to utilise AI to grow the legal practice.
She noted that the conference is a vehicle to contribute to society and by extension, help in building the nation.

“We are not just creating awareness, but we are educating lawyers, business people, stakeholders and policymakers to help shape policy-making,” Ben, who is also the Founding Partner, The Law Suite, said.
While urging lawyers to factor in ethics as they embrace AI, she called on teachers of law to also embrace the trend and educate themselves on the field.

Digital Architect Manager, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Falilat Jimoh, speaking on “Innovating for Law and Business: AI and Beyond”, said the use of AI in legal practice would help safeguard client confidentiality, prevent biases and discrimination, if well programmed and promote data security.

She said AI is no longer a buzzword but a reality and not leveraging it can lead to drowning in the wave of disruption that accompanies the trend.

Urging law firms to provide training opportunities for staff and stakeholders, she emphasised the need to foster collaboration.

The speakers at the conference suggested that AI, although an emerging technology, is transformative as it enhances the quality of work.

Partner, Head of Research, SBM Intelligence, Ikemesit Effiong, said that AI enables innovation and creativity, and has become a bigger part of one’s personal and professional life.

He stated that AI is redefining the business and legal landscape, and as such, is contributing to the betterment of the business and legal economy.

He said the theme reflects the legal profession’s commitment to embracing the future.

“This forum helps Nigerians understand that the rollout of AI in our lives is not chaotic and disruptive. It also enlightens Nigerians on how to deploy AI in their work as it is rapidly accelerating the quality and depth of work,” Effiong added.

Partner, Johnson&Wilner/BOC Legal, Rotimi Ogunyemi, revealed that artificial intelligence, although acceptable, needs an advanced compliance framework.

“Artificial intelligence operates with a lot of data, which is a direct opposite of data protection,” he pointed out.