Closing Remarks for Justice Lee Seiu Kin at ALITA Session at TechLaw.Fest 2020 

1. Ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening to all of you.

2. It gives me great pleasure to close this session dedicated ALITA. This is also the last formal session of TechLaw.Fest 2020, and it is my honour, at the same time, to close off the week - five long but fruitful days, which have given us many insights on the intersection of law and technology.  And the wonderful thing is that we have done all this wholly through an online environment, in keeping with the subject matter of the event.

3. If history is any indication, the future is inherently unknowable. Almost exactly one year ago, at TechLaw.Fest 2019, we were clinking glasses and chatting face-to-face. One year on, and the world has changed beyond imagination. Entire conferences had to be conducted online. Court hearings – even trials – are conducted by video conferencing, in Singapore as in many other countries. 

4. The challenges that all of us faced - and endured - have shown us the following:

   1. First, the importance of technology in ensuring resilience and continuity amidst disruption;

   2. Second, the vast potential of our people and legal systems to pivot and innovate; and 

   3. Third, the importance of collaboration and cooperation in legal innovation.

5. The first two points have been covered at length by our accomplished speakers over the last five days. Let me touch on the third point – the role of collaboration and cooperation in legal innovation.

6. Various open-source initiatives show how people can truly work collaboratively in today’s world – Apple and Google have collaborated to create a contact tracing protocol that works cross-platform; a medical products manufacturer open-sourced a design for ventilators so that they can be made anywhere. And in the legal sector, Rajah & Tann, CMS and Cooley have co-developed LUPL (spelt “L-U-P-L”). This is an open-source industry platform for legal technology that seeks to bring radical changes to collaboration in legal technology and innovation. 

7. ALITA has its own open source effort - “Aspirations for Legal Innovation and Technology” (or ALITe for short). These statements, or aspirations, that its members have identified, represent the collective hopes for legal innovation in the region. Clearly, this is a space for collaboration, not competition. And as we have just heard from the SOLIA panel, there is much that we can all learn from each other’s experiences.

8. All these show the importance of having a convening platform like ALITA for the legal tech industry. When it was proposed last year, it was hoped that ALITA could foster greater collaboration for legal innovation and technology in the Asia-Pacific. A year on, ALITA has more than 150 member organisations from over 20 jurisdictions, including some of the world’s largest law firms and technology companies. This extent of “buy-in” is extremely encouraging and speaks to shared recognition of the importance of ALITA’s mission. 

9. I am also pleased that, today, ALITA has released an updated SOLIA report. In addition, ALITA is launching the world’s first Legal Tech Observatory as well as Asia’s first Legal Innovation Strategy Toolkit. Over the past year, ALITA has also organised the Global Legal Hackathon Virtual Summit 2020, and developed its own livestream platform. That ALITA has been able to do all these, in this challenging environment, shows us what is possible when we put our minds and efforts together in the spirit of collaboration.  It is also a testament to the passion and energy of the remarkable people behind ALITA.

10. And this leads me to acknowledge the impressive efforts of the team that has been driving ALITA. ALITA’s achievements would not have been possible without its Steering Committee, a passionate team of key drivers and change-makers for legal innovation in the region. Special mention must be made of the ALITA Secretariat, which comprises enthusiastic young law students who show great promise to become the next generation of legal tech eagles. And all these would not have been possible without the partnership with ALITA’s key regional partners, Rajah & Tann Asia and Regit, the support of all ALITA’s members, as well as the guidance and support of my fellow members on the Board of Advisors.

11. I have no doubt that ALITA will grow from strength to strength. Together, we can do much to make ALITA a collective force for good and a platform to head towards a promising future powered by technology.

12. Finally, I would like to say a few words as we come to the close of TechLaw.Fest 2020. 

13. This conference series began as a legal technology conference in 2011 and TechLaw.Fest 2020 is the fifth edition. We have made it an annual event since 2018. Although the theme of technology would suggest it, this is the first-ever “cyber” edition of TechLaw.Fest. It has taken a global pandemic to make us go virtual.  And just like the positive experience reported about online courts that you have heard on Tuesday’s night’s session with Richard Susskind, Mark Cohen and Tan Ken Hwee, I think you will agree with me that this has been an unequivocal success. Over the last five days, we have seen profound discussions on legal operations, technology and future law, access to justice, and legal innovation - all in an entirely online conference, along with virtual exhibitions and networking. While we certainly miss the experience of meeting in-person, the online format has allowed us to push the limits and try new things. Above all, it has enabled TechLaw.Fest to reach a greater global audience.  We had initially limited registrations to 5,000 sign-ups, but in the week prior to the event, there were so many people on the waitlist that we increased it to 6,000 registrations which was also fully subscribed before the opening day. The smallest sessions attracted well over 100 participants with the main sessions registering 400 to 800 participants. All sessions have been recorded and may be viewed on-demand, enabling this conference a greater reach for some time to come.  Participants have come from more than 100 countries from all time zones, all over the globe.  We will take a little time to fully analyse the data, but my sense is that this conference format dramatically extends the reach of the message that we want to get out and holds great promise for the scope and scale of future editions of TechLaw.Fest. 

14. In closing, I would like to thank the Ministry of Law, the Singapore Academy of Law and MP International for putting together these five wonderful days.  I very grateful to the Second Minister for Law, Mr Edwin Tong for joining us in the Fireside Chat session. I also thank all our valued partners whose support and encouragement have enabled us to get this event out.  I also thank all the members of my Organising Committee who have willingly stepped up to brainstorm and push out this conference.  Last but not least, I would like you all to join me in thanking the wonderful team who have worked hard behind the scenes so that we may have a seamless learning experience.  There too many dedicated people to name, but I must mention Anita Parkash, who will stand out as the dynamo behind TechLaw.Fest. Without the hard work and dedication of Anita and her team, TechLaw.Fest 2020 would not have been possible.  And I would like also to congratulate the winners of “The Game” – I hope all participants enjoyed this fun twist as much as the knowledge and friendships you have gained. Although it is bittersweet to have to part, take heart, the show is not quite over yet. There is a music performance after this that will stream together with a behind-the-scenes reel of the build-up to this year’s TechLaw.Fest. So do stay on a bit and unwind from a memorable five days. 

15.  Thank you, stay healthy, and see you all at TechLaw.Fest 2021.