Kuala Lumpur, 25th September 2014 - More than 300 legal practitioners attended a dynamic open canvas session today featuring three prominent members of the profession to hear how technology will impact the future of law practices in Malaysia. Hosted by OMESTI Group, the session was part of the 2014 International Malaysian Law Conference held in Kuala Lumpur. The panel line-up included Judge Lee Swee Seng, Azhar [Art] Harun of Hisham Sobri & Kadir and Edmund Bon of Bon Advocates.

Xian-Zhen Mah, Executive Director of OMESTI Group set the scene by highlighting how technology is disrupting businesses across the board. “Even though many dislike and continue to dislike change – as we all know, change is the only constant. Companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook have disrupted markets. Records and CDs have been replaced by electronic downloads, digital photography has made SLR cameras almost obsolete. Even supermajor Nokia joined the smart phone game too late.

“What all this tells us is: with technology, if you don’t change you become extinct. In the legal landscape, clients are re-evaluating their supply chain and looking at costs. Traditional law firms need to embrace technology to offer more for less.”

The three speakers gave thought-provoking views on how technology is already impacting the various disciplines of law. On conveyancing, Judge Lee spoke on the five principles of simplicity, security, speed, skills and satisfaction that need to be incorporated into the system. “We need to go back to basics and question for example why do we really need a cumbersome, lengthy Sales & Purchase Agreement when a much simpler document will suffice – plus help save trees along the way. By introducing greater simplicity, we can focus on expanding our skills base into the more meaty areas of our profession.”

Art Harun examined how many legal firms are specialising in a particular area of law while others are evolving into one-stop solutions providers. “This trend could help streamline processes and make it easier to achieve faster progress for clients. Even setting up a meeting can sometimes be challenging when there are so many parties involved.”

Edmund Bon stressed that the time for change has come. “We have been talking about change for years. Now we need to embrace it and take action. We need to adapt and adopt the benefits technology can bring in order to enhance our delivery, create new opportunities and sustain future growth. New-look law firms are already emerging where the pyramid structure is being discarded in favour of a more open organisation with equity stake for lawyers and flexible resourcing models. We need to foster entrepreneurial environments that allow young professionals to flourish and take on broader roles.”

Quoting examples of how technology and crowdsourcing are impacting the profession, he added, “There is no reason why sharing of information cannot take place in secure cloud environments. Online dispute resolution is already happening and we should be looking to adopt templates for some types of transaction."