Description
This event, co-organised by Dr Rónán Kennedy of the School of Law, NUI Galway and Nap Keeling of Ken Kennedy Solicitors, brought together key innovators to share knowledge, experience, and new ideas. It is aimed at practitioners, ICT specialists, and students.
Information and communications technology (ICT) is enabling new models and approaches to legal practice. It has been an important driver of change in legal research and daily practice for decades. Video-conferencing and remote hearings were an important part of the responses of the courts and the legal profession to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that experience may create long-term change. The deployment of tools such as machine learning may radically transform this field in the next five to ten years, creating new opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs. There is an urgent need to explore what this means for Irish legal practice, legal education, and career opportunities.
There is clearly change afoot in the Irish legal services market, with courts authorising the use of e-discovery, experimenting with document display technology, and developing new user-friendly websites. Some practitioners are enthusiastically adopting or inventing new tools. Software start-ups are targeting lawyers as a distinct market segment. Adopting “lawtech” is becoming a competitive advantage and a mark of best practice.
The hype in the headlines around machine learning and so-called “artificial intelligence” is well-known: robots will replace lawyers (and even judges), everything will be bought and sold on the blockchain, and the traditional legal career is dead. This event will seek to explore the realities of what is happening in the Irish legal service market, whether those predictions are likely to come true, and how Ireland might differ from other jurisdictions. It will cut through the hype and ask critical questions about whether the technology can and does deliver, what difference it is making in practice, and how it could be applied for better outcomes for all.
This event carries three points of CPD. Once you have viewed this content please contact hello@scl.org and certification will be provided.
Programme:
Opening – Andreas Carney, Pinsent Masons
Keynote – Mr Justice Frank Clarke, former Chief Justice of Ireland
Panel 1 – The Courts & LawTech
Facilitator: Nap Keeling, Ken Kennedy Solicitors
- Karyn Harty, McCann Fitzgerald
- The Hon Mr Justice Garrett Simons, High Court of Ireland
- Owen Harrison, Courts Service
Panel 2 – Legal Transactions & LawTech
Facilitator: Dr Rónán Kennedy, NUI Galway
- Gerard Brady, Irish Water
- Tara Doyle, Matheson
- Lory Kehoe, Trinity College Dublin
Panel 3 – Access to Justice & LawTech
Facilitator: Alison Hough BL, Athlone IT
- Mark Edwards, Rocket Lawyer
- Gavin Sheridan, Vizlegal
- Mark Tottenham BL, DECISIS
Panel 4 – Alternative Careers & LawTech
Facilitator: Dr David Cowan, Maynooth University
- Sinéad Garnett, Johnson Hana
- Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Tech Law
- Alex Kelly, Brightflag
The SCL Legal Tech Online Conference is sponsored by Matheson
