Our Co – Organizer Rosemary Koech – Kimwatu recently spoke at the Corporate Counsel Forum Africa 2018 dubbed ‘The annual meeting place for Africa’s leading general counsel’. The Forum was held on Thursday 6 September 2018 at The Wanderers Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The 7th Annual Corporate Counsel Forum Africa sought to unite the region’s leading general counsel and senior in-house counsel to discuss, debate and deliver vital insights into the changing dynamic of the African legal market.

Africa is recognized as one of the most sophisticated, diverse and promising emerging markets in the world today. Its vibrant market conditions, world-class infrastructure, and growing industrial capabilities makes it an attractive prospect for businesses looking to expand in the region.

But despite its seemingly buoyant economy in the last few years, persistent political tensions and economic instability remains a key concern for the African legal community.

Rosemary spoke on the session on ‘Debunking Artificial Intelligence: what in-house need to know’ with the background outlined hereunder:

Interest around AI has reached fever pitch, but is there much sustenance beyond the hype? As A.I. continues to take center stage, emerging tech will continue to impact the legal space. Machines can be utilized to complete time-consuming and tedious tasks such as data collecting, searching records and fact verification, significantly impacting the jobs of many interns and junior lawyers. So how will the professional structure accommodate for this shift?

As the technology frees up time and makes the profession run more smoothly, does this mean that junior lawyers will be able to take on the tasks of more mid-level executives? And will mid-level executives in turn, find themselves taking on more senior-level tasks? In this session, we’ll explore the possibilities of how tech — not just A.I. — will impact the legal industry going forward.

Also on the panel was Rian Schoeman, head of legal and compliance, chief privacy officer, LAWtrust. Rosemary also serves as a Legal and Regulatory Affairs Specialist for Oxygene MCL which is a communications and public policy company in Nairobi, Kenya.

You can read more about the Forum here