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The Big Read in short: Tech disruption in Singapore’s legal sector

Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into trends and issues that matter. This week, we look at the impact of technological disruption on Singapore’s legal sector, which is already grappling with pressing issues such as an oversupply of lawyers as well as burnout among young practitioners.

As technology continues its relentless march forward, law firms big and small here are not spared from its impact — and the disruption it brings.

As technology continues its relentless march forward, law firms big and small here are not spared from its impact — and the disruption it brings.

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Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into trends and issues that matter. This week, we look at the impact of technological disruption on Singapore’s legal sector, which is already grappling with pressing issues such as an oversupply of lawyers as well as burnout among young practitioners. This is a shortened version of the full feature, which can be found here.

SINGAPORE — Last year, a man-versus-machine showdown took place in the United States: Twenty top corporate lawyers from across the country were pitted against an artificial intelligence (AI) software developed by legal technology firm LawGeex, where they reviewed and approved everyday contracts over a period of two months.

The results were astounding: The AI notched a 94 per cent accuracy rate, compared to the human lawyers’ 85 per cent accuracy level.

For one of the tasks — to review five non-disclosure agreements — the five human lawyers took more than 90 minutes.

The longest time taken by an individual lawyer was 156 minutes and the shortest 51 minutes. In contrast, the AI took a mere 26 seconds.

As technology continues its relentless march forward, law firms big and small here are not spared from its impact — and the disruption it brings.

Speaking at the opening of the legal year on Jan 7, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon reiterated that technology has changed the way the legal sector works.

It is already transforming how and where disputes are resolved — and who should resolve them. It has also made available credible and cheaper alternatives for legal clients requiring general tasks, such as document review or project management, he pointed out.

“In tandem with this, a culture of ‘self-sourcing’ will likely take hold amongst members of the public,” said CJ Menon, adding that such trends will “impact the practice of law and the demand for legal services”.

This was not the first that the Chief Justice had spoken about the technological wave sweeping the legal fraternity, but the urgency of the message has increased.

WHY LAW FIRMS NEED TO EMBRACE TECH

  • Competition to provide legal services will intensify in the near future, as technological trends start to make their impact felt, said CJ Menon.

  • Observers and practitioners said that firms which do not embrace technological trends risk being outgunned by their international competitors, many of whom have already made strides in technological adoption.

  • Clients will be “more discerning about the law firms that are utilising technology to provide better services at lower cost”, said LawTech.Asia, an online publication which examines the role of technology, law and policy in South-east Asia.

THE OBSTACLES

  • Observers say that the obstacles facing technological adoption boil down mainly to the mindset of many lawyers, and firms’ inertia, in general.

  • LawTech.Asia said the legal profession is often seen as “having a relatively more risk-averse, precedent-based approach” towards adopting technology. “This may be due to the inherent nature of working in a precedent-based legal system,” it noted.

  • The Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) said other factors include costs, and a lack in specialised knowledge.

  • But some help is at hand: There is a variety of financial schemes and grants available for firms to defray the costs of technological adoption.

  • More importantly, “a mindset change as to how technology can be harnessed and made a natural part of the workflow of lawyers” is needed within the sector, said Mr Jonathan Yuen, a partner at law firm Rajah & Tann.

CAN TECH RESOLVE CURRENT WOES?

  • The role of technology will go some way in helping to change — or improve — work processes, said law firms and observers.

  • But the jury is still out on whether technology can help resolve some pressing issues plaguing Singapore’s legal industry, such as a glut of law graduates and long working hours leading to burnout among young lawyers.

  • Lawyers and law firms interviewed agreed that new technologies can potentially help improve productivity in the sector.

  • A junior lawyer with two years’ work experience, who declined to be named, felt that technology would go some way in changing her workflow. But she was worried that it “might end up even replacing the need to hire a junior lawyer altogether”.

  • Indeed, some lawyers noted the risk of technology exacerbating the supply glut but all those interviewed were adamant that technology will not fully replace human lawyers, at least not in the near future.

MACHINE VS HUMAN

  • TSMP Law Corporation joint managing partner Stefanie Yuen Thio said: “We develop very close client relationships and handle difficult cases. These are skills that would be hard for technology to replace.”

  • WongPartnership managing partner Ng Wai King said: “The complexity of the practice of law will always require human expertise and experience.”

  • LawSoc’s Ms Lim noted that it is a “valid concern” that machines could take over low-level tasks performed by lawyers. But the exercise of professional judgement, for instance, still requires humans, she said. “Instead of a ‘machine-vs-human’ perspective, the legal profession should be looking at a ‘lawyer plus machine’ value proposition, (like) how machines can augment lawyers to deliver better legal services to their clients.”

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