The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called on members across the country to embrace the emerging Artificial Intelligence tools to succeed and be effective in the modern law profession.
The association explained that the future of the profession would be defined by the adoption of emerging technological tools and devices, adding that practitioners should be ready to use them for efficient law practice.
The chairman of NBA Ado-Ekiti branch, Adetunji Fasanmi, spoke on Monday during the opening ceremony of the 2024 law week of the branch with the theme; ‘ Legal Practice Beyond Boarders: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Law Practice, the Need to Prepare ‘
Fasanmi said that the NBA picked the topic to expose lawyers in the branch to the potential in the emerging Artificial Intelligence for the law profession.
According to him, “In some parts of the world, robots are now taking the place of humans. The first robot appeared in court in the USA, lawyers cannot fold their hands. What a human being would do in three days, the robot would do it in one hour.
“The legal profession is evolving around the world. Before you do research as lawyer, it will take you time but with AI, just send a robot a message within a twinkle of an eye the robot will reply to you. The world is now a global village and we want to catch up with the rest of the world.
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“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.
The Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dayo Apata, SAN 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, allays the fear of legal practitioners, saying that AI cannot replace lawyers but it can change the way the legal service is delivered to clients.
Apata said that currently, Nigeria does not have a law expressly permitting the use of AI, saying that lawyers could initiate such a law for effective usage in the country.
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