Conference keynote speaker to cover the law-AI partnership

An expert in the field of AI and the law has been signed up as the keynote speaker at the Law Society of NSW’s upcoming Specialist Accreditation Conference.

The annual Specialist Accreditation Conference will be held this year on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 August 2023, at the International Convention Centre, Sydney.

The keynote speaker will be Edward Santow, Director, Policy and Governance, at the Human Technology Institute and Industry Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. Santow, a human rights expert and former Australian Human Rights Commissioner,  is the lead on major initiatives to promote human-centered AI, covering digital government, the future of AI regulation, and facial recognition and digital identity.

Santow will address the topic: “Can lawyers be the community’s trusted guides in the age of artificial intelligence?”

His talk, he says, will highlight how AI is changing legal practice, at the same time that lawyers are being called on to “help their clients navigate this brave new world.”

Santow says, “Lawyers have a unique opportunity to guide our community through this extraordinary period of technological change. But to occupy that vital role, lawyers will need to rise to one of the greatest challenges our profession has ever faced.”

In keeping with the keynote speaker’s technology theme, the conference will be offered both live and online. A full-day in-person event on 17 August at the International Convention Centre will be followed by a half-day of online webinars on 18 August. Conference sessions will be recorded and made available after the event.

This year, the Specialist Accreditation Conference offers a program in the following legal practice streams: business law, family law, personal injury, property law, and wills and estates.

Plenary speakers will include Cassandra Banks, Law Society of NSW President; Joan Bell, representative of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council; Jacqueline Dawson Chair, Specialist Accreditation Board and family law expert; and Kerrie Lalich, Chief Executive Officer, Lawcover.

Specialists and experts across the profession will speak on a wide range of topics, suited both to those pursuing Specialist Accreditation and lawyers looking to broaden their knowledge. All participants will gain CPD points.

More speaker and registration details here

About Specialist Accreditation

This is a structured peer assessment program, run by the Law Society of  NSW since 1992. The program enables practitioners to gain recognition as an expert in one or more of 13 areas of law.  More than 1700 NSW solicitors have Specialist Accreditation. The annual Specialist Accreditation Conference is a key method to access knowledge about your chosen field.