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Gender perspectives on AI and the Rule of Law in Africa Series
4 Part Series
Past Events
Our Main Event, Convened Annually...
The Africa Law Tech Festival
The Africa Law Tech Festival is the largest Law and Tech conference in Africa, convening over 2000 delegates from 40+ countries. It is an annual conference designed to appeal to a wide array of players in the legal & tech space through a multifaceted approach to conferencing. The festival brings together like-minded individuals to lead idea-focused conversations and further innovation around technology and the law. Since 2020, the festival has hosted several relevant digital policy themes keeping with the rapid growth of the tech policy landscape on the African continent.
Nairobi, Kenya (August 26-27, 2024)
Pre-Events: TBC
Nairobi, Kenya (July 12-13, 2023)
Pre-Events: Cape-Town, Johannesburg (South Africa), Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France)
Nairobi, Kenya (June 2-18, 2022)
Pre-Events: Cape-Town (South Africa), Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria), Brussels (Belgium), Berlin (Germany), Paris (France) , Geneva (Switzerland, London (United Kingdom)
Nairobi, Kenya (July 5-9, 2021)
Pre- Events: Cape-Town (South Africa), Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria), Brussels (Belgium), Berlin (Germany), Paris (France) , Geneva (Switzerland, London (United Kingdom)
Nairobi, Kenya (March 6-11, 2020)
Pre- Events: Lagos (Nigeria), Kigali (Rwanda), Kampala (Uganda)
Africa Law Tech Festival 2024
Artificial Intelligence and the Year of Education
Africa Legal Innovation Week
Every year, the Lawyers Hub collaborates with the Africa LawTech Association to organize the Africa Legal Innovation Week. This event gathers legal technologists from all over Africa to explore how technology can shape the future of justice and the legal sector.
Africa Legal Innovation Report 2022
Africa Legal Innovation Report 2021
Africa Legal Innovation Week History
Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence are fundamentally transforming the social, economic and political dynamics in Africa and the justice and legal sectors, while playing catch- up, have not been spared in this paradigm shift. Legal-Tech and AI have slowly but steadily crept into the justice and legal sectors that have previously been associated with conservatism and characterized by rigidity or slow adoption of technology. From virtual courts to e-filing, electronic case management, digitization of court records through Court Records Management System (CRMS), adoption of digital audio-visual recording and transcription of court proceedings; African justice systems have certainly embraced a semblance of e-justice technology. Undoubtedly, this digital technology adoption by most African justice institutions was triggered and accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic that challenged the paper-based and physical court appearance methods of delivery of justice. Ultimately, the agile incorporation of innovative digital technologies in the dispensation of justice ensured African citizens had access to justice while observing the health protocols during the pandemic period. The Lawyers Hub Legal Innovation Report 2021 highlighted some of the digital transformation interventions adopted by various African countries in their judicial systems in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Africa Legal Innovation Week History
Similarly, the legal industry in Africa has leaned into the legal technology wave to leverage on its benefits of efficiency, albeit gradually and with a lot of reluctance from many legal practitioners. Digital transformation in the judicial and government public services sectors has been a critical driver in the acceleration of technology adoption by legal practitioners. Legal practitioners in Africa are increasingly embracing Legal-Tech and Artificial Intelligence in their practice to take over daily tasks of legal research, document management & e-signature, matter management and calendaring, client communication, team collaboration, time tracking, billing & collection and Client Relationship Management (CRM). 53.1% of law firms in Africa confirmed they would accelerate their digital transformation post-covid pandemic period and 67.9% of in-house counsels wanted their external law firms to invest in tools and technology according to a survey done by Afriwise in 2020 that was captured in the Afriwise Tech for the Legal sector Report in Africa Report 2020. Apparently, Legal-Tech and AI can be instrumental tools to enhance access to justice as well as drive efficiency in legal practice hence the need for Africa to leverage more on these technologies.
