The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ado-Ekiti branch, Lawrence Adetunji Bankole and Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dayo Apata (SAN), yesterday, said that the future of law practice depends on Artificial Intelligence (AI), urging lawyers to embrace it or be forced out of the profession.
The duo spoke during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Law Week of the NBA Ado-Ekiti branch with the theme: “Legal Practice Without Border: AI and Future of Law Practice,” held at the High Court Complex in Ado-Ekiti.
In his opening address, Bankole said that the association decided to pick the topic because Artificial Intelligence is the future of law practice, especially given what is happening around the world concerning technology.
“In some parts of the world, robots are now taking the place of humans. The first robot appeared in court in the United States (U.S.) and lawyers cannot fold their hands. What a human being would do in three days, the robot would do in one hour.
“The world is now a global village and we want to catch up with the rest of the world.
“AI is a new normal. It is either we embrace it or be forced out of our profession. In other words, if we don’t embrace it, we will have ourselves to blame. We should be interested in what will affect us in the future. They must key into the Artificial Intelligence trend globally or be left behind. AI is going to take the job of so many people and so, for lawyers to meet future expectations, they must be ready to embrace AI.”
In his address, Apata said the future of legal practice is AI, saying: “We must flow with the time if we want to be relevant. AI will have a transformational effect on the practice of law. So, lawyers must undertake training in AI if they want to continue to practice.”
He, however, allayed the fear of legal practitioners, saying that AI cannot replace lawyers but it can change the way the legal service is delivered to clients.
He said that currently, Nigeria does not have a law permitting the use of AI, saying that lawyers could initiate such a law.