00:00Prime Minister of Malaysia to deliver the keynote address and officiate the opening ceremony of the conference.
00:09Now, while looking into the future of the profession and education in 2030 is important,
00:15I believe unpacking the difficult questions and seeking answers for the architecture of justice must take precedence.
00:24Given that we are on the cusp of sea change, this conference must allow for a significant exchange and advancement
00:34of how the law must evolve.
00:39There appears to be a consensus at EDEM, a meeting of the minds, that for lawyering in 2030, the black
00:51letter of the law,
00:53our statutes and precedence will be the domain of AI.
00:58The lawyer of 2030 will therefore no longer be a search engine in a suit, not batik, because far more
01:11will be required.
01:13It follows that what needs to be cultivated today must shift to those that are not easily replicated and complementary
01:23to current and upcoming AI capabilities.
01:30I want you to suggest a few.
01:33Firstly, on values, well articulated by the CJ.
01:37In a world of agentic and autonomous AI, lawyers must be more than just experts of the legal minutiae, such
01:48as researching and drafting.
01:50There must be the ethical authority, the moral anchor, if I may, ensuring that what is correct is also just.
02:02There must also be have empathy to navigate the human trauma lying beneath legal disputes.
02:10This will allow lawyering to evolve into a more holistic dispute resolution mode,
02:20where alternative modes of dispute resolution like mediation, negotiation and conciliation provide real solutions,
02:30particularly in relation to individual and private law disputes domestically.
02:36Secondly, on skills, as the nature of things expand beyond tangible assets within a sovereign state's domestic laws,
02:47lawyers must be able to fluently navigate cross-border matters.
02:53And in the context of our multicultural, multi-racial society, more so engaging, understanding the very specific complexity of various
03:06cultures, history and religions,
03:10which are increasingly prevalent as the world becomes more integrated,
03:14that it is the lawyer who must remain the moral architect of cross-border agreements,
03:22ensuring that the mantra of profitability cannot be invoked at the expense of the principle of equity.
03:32Thirdly, on knowledge, it would be clear by 2030 that legal information would be a commodity available and accessible
03:41to anyone with access to AI.
03:45To that extent, the law degree of the future must encompass the ability to make reliable and rigorous judgments
03:55in light of the voluminous data available.
04:01Law students ought to be trained to be ethical filters in this vast sea of data.
04:07The lawyer of 2030 and beyond must be competent in relation to technology and AI,
04:16possess the ability to make sense of data and be imbued with the culture of ensuring that the law is
04:26utilized for public good.
04:29For current practitioners of the law, it is important that they lend themselves to evolving so as to meet the
04:38needs of the world as it functions today.
04:42It's best remembering that the law facilitates the day-to-day living of the citizens.
04:48It is necessary to comprehend the needs of the public and not to keep the law within the gilded cage
04:58that makes it inaccessible to the common man and woman.
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