SAL to teach lawyers how to stay ahead of AI curve

Jurists must develop critical thinking when using high-tech tools.

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The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) wants to train young lawyers on analytical and management skills, including the ethical use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which is changing legal practice with its ability to provide basic legal advice.

Generative AI is a class of AI that is hitting the legal profession in full force," SAL CEO Yeong Zee Kin told Singapore Business Review. “Clients can ask ChatGPT or Gemini legal questions [and they can] generate contracts or legal strategies.”

The chief executive officer noted that existing genAI tools are largely trained using US sources and may give clients US-centric legal advice.

"Doctors have faced this challenge for years," he said. “They had to deal with patients who have googled and concluded that they are ill or not ill before they turned up at the clinic, but they learnt how to deal with it. Lawyers must now do the same.”

Yeong said the programme would also teach junior lawyers how to use genAI effectively, such as in drafting and reviewing legal documents — tasks that often involve repetitive and diligent work, he noted.