Adriaan Louw (ZA)

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UK’s Serious Fraud Office replaces barristers with robots

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on April 22, 2018 Posted in General

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), a government department that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption, has replaced barristers with artificial intelligence (AI) to review documents and identify legally privileged material. While barristers were previously tasked with sifting through documents, the SFO’s new AI system is able to process more than half … Continue reading

AI in the law firm – Investigations and compliance

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on April 17, 2018 Posted in General

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in legal investigations and compliance is one of the most ground breaking ways in which AI is set to change the way in which lawyers do their work. AI is your new detective A fitting example of AI in legal investigation action is a due diligence of a company. … Continue reading

AI in the law firm – Predictive analytics

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on April 15, 2018 Posted in General

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a critically important tool which empowers lawyers to work more effectively, and provide increased value to clients. One of the ways that lawyers and their clients can benefit from AI is through the use of predictive analytics. AI is better suited than its human counterparts to analyse and … Continue reading

AI in the law firm – AI is your new document drafter

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on April 11, 2018 Posted in General

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to change the way in which lawyers do their work. Apart from affecting areas like legal research and analysis, AI in the law firm has led to an increased focus on document automation. Large transactions often require an entire suite of legal documents, all of which take time to draft … Continue reading

AI in the law firm – AI is your new law librarian

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on April 11, 2018 Posted in General

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has long been eulogised and feared by the legal community. Augurs say that it will bring about efficiency and possibly bring an end to its antithesis – the billable hour. Unlike the once-common lift operator, AI is not set to replace lawyers any time soon, but it will, without … Continue reading

Chinese court gets robot assistant

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on February 19, 2018 Posted in General

China’s Supreme People’s Court has employed Faxin, a legal-services robot, which assists judges in sifting through reports and identifying laws relevant to cases. Faxin is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform aimed at transforming China’s overburdened legal system. Faxin is not the only such product currently being used in China. FaXiaoTao, a chat bot, matches clients … Continue reading

AI goes to law school (China)

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on February 18, 2018 Posted in General

Concerned with the influence of technology in practicing law, Peking University Law School is looking to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into curriculums by establishing a new AI research centre. Peking University Law School is partnering with a cloud-based analytical tool Gridsum to launch the research centre which will focus on the possibilities and opportunities of … Continue reading

Ontario AI legal challenge showcases latest AI legal developments

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on February 13, 2018 Posted in General

The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and the Legal Innovation Zone launched an artificial intelligence (AI) legal challenge to encourage law firms to use technology companies that apply AI to legal applications. The six finalists each provide a unique approach using AI to solve legal problems in one way or another. Their work also … Continue reading

Free movement of algorithms (EU)

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on February 4, 2018 Posted in General

Freedom of establishment, one of the four freedoms of the European Union single market, will allow artificial intelligence (AI) with legal personality to move freely and be recognised within the EU single market. In a research paper published in Switzerland, it is argued that AI that enjoys legal personality under a member state’s national law … Continue reading

Will your next lawyer be a machine?

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on January 28, 2018 Posted in General

As with any other professional, artificial intelligence (AI) has lawyers wondering how it will disrupt their profession. Unlike the lift operator, AI is not set to replace lawyers, but rather to increase performance and enhance service delivered to clients. In two separate experiments that took place in the EU and USA, researches applied AI technology … Continue reading

Unmarried long-term partners should be better protected by the law (UK)

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on January 24, 2018 Posted in General

In February 2017, the UK Court of Appeal found that a woman who lost her long-term partner deserves the same pay-out benefits given to those partners who were married or in a civil partnership. Current UK legislation provides for fixed-sum pay-outs to the surviving spouse if a person dies as a result of negligence. This, … Continue reading

Insurance Act assented by State President

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) and Adriaan Louw (ZA) on January 24, 2018 Posted in Insurance

On 18 January 2018, the Insurance Act was published in the Government Gazette after it had been assented to by the State President. It is known as the Insurance Act 2017. The Insurance Act, which was tabled in the National Assembly in January 2016 and completed its journey through the parliamentary process in December 2017, … Continue reading

Revamped international arbitration legislation enacted by Parliament

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on January 16, 2018 Posted in General

In late December 2017, Parliament enacted the long-awaited International Arbitration Act which brings about an overhaul of the international arbitration framework. The Act commenced on 20 December 2017. The new Arbitration Act regulates international arbitration proceedings in South Africa and governs the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The Act, which incorporates the Model Law on … Continue reading

Robo-directors in the boardroom

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on November 28, 2017 Posted in General

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and may in the future get a seat at the boardroom table. The ability of AI to fulfil certain tasks, such as data collection and processing, at a pace exponentially faster than its human counterparts means that businesses cannot function properly without the use of AI in some shape … Continue reading

Increased directors’ duty of care in the case of approaching business crisis (Italy)

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on November 27, 2017 Posted in General

Italian directors now have a specific duty of care to properly manage the company if a business crisis or insolvency is looming. The Italian parliament recently passed a law empowering the government to adopt legislative measures to reform Italy’s current legal framework on business crisis and insolvency. The directors’ enhanced duty of care starts long … Continue reading

Lawyer vs artificial intelligence

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on November 20, 2017 Posted in General

Artificial intelligence (AI) software has beaten a group of lawyers from top international firms in an insurance claim accuracy test. A group of students from the University of Cambridge founded an AI start-up that builds systems that predict legal decisions. These systems were recently pitted against more than 100 partners and associates from major corporate … Continue reading

Minority shareholder protection and share buy-back as a remedy

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Caroline Theodosiou on November 8, 2017 Posted in General

Minority shareholders are not without recourse when they have suffered from oppressive or unfairly prejudicial conduct by the majority. The minority shareholder can approach the court for an order for the company to buy back their shares. The Companies Act 2008 provides for the business and affairs of a company to be managed by or … Continue reading

Voting against a business rescue plan

By Caroline Theodosiou and Adriaan Louw (ZA) on November 6, 2017 Posted in Banking

Creditors of a company in business rescue do not have an unfettered vote to reject a proposed business rescue plan because their vote may be set aside by a court if it is inappropriate. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Firstrand Bank Ltd v KJ Foods CC considered the meaning of ‘inappropriate’ relating to business rescue … Continue reading

Artificial intelligence routed to gain juristic personality (Estonia)

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on October 30, 2017 Posted in General

Estonia may become the first country in the world to grant artificial intelligence (AI) some form of juristic personality, giving robots personal rights and responsibilities. This northern Baltic country’s Economy Ministry is currently working on legislation to elevate the status of robots using AI to more than that of an object. It is still unclear … Continue reading

UK companies should continuously identify and engage with key stakeholders

By Adriaan Louw (ZA) and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on October 9, 2017 Posted in General

A list of core principles were recently published in the UK to guide the board of directors of a company to allow for greater involvement of stakeholders, other than shareholders, in decision-making. These stakeholders would include employees, suppliers, customers, the community, and the environment. Two UK governance institutes, with the support of the UK government, … Continue reading