ORALS

In the legal field, various tasks, which were traditionally provided by practicing lawyers, are being replaced by Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the area of drafting or reviewing a legal contract for the clients, many types of software have been developed and are being used by the law firms or directly by the clients. A brand-new concept of “Smart Contract” was invented and a structure based on the concept is being used without any assistance by the lawyers. In the area of finance, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is being used as a powerful fundraising method instead of the traditional method of Initial Public Offering (IPO). The new method enables a business corporation to efficiently fundraise without or with less assistance of the securities companies as well as the finance lawyers In the area of M&A, a due diligence process can be carried out now by many types of software for this function. The software can automatically review digital documents which was collectively gathered in the “Digital Virtual Room”. Demand for the young associate lawyers for this kind of tasks are decreasing due to the introduction of the software. In the area of litigation, especially in the process of “Discovery” in the US, many types of software for this function have been developed and being used in the actual litigation process. Demand for the young associates for this kind of tasks are decreasing as well. One of the most remarkable phenomena is the drastic development of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) has been drastically developed. In the US, powered by a number of private ODR vendors, ODR is now widely used in the private sectors as well as in the governmental and judicial sectors. The number of filing cases in the ODR for an e-commerce platform vendor in the US has become more than sixty million, which number is bigger than the number of all the filing cases in the State Courts and the Federal Courts in the US. In Europe, the use of ODR has been encouraged in the EU by the ODR Regulation and the ADR Directive in 2013 and ODR is being gradually used now. A trial for the world-wide capacity-building was aimed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and is now aimed by Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The speed of development of ODR is being accelerated now by the actual demands and by the legal instruments above described. It is changing the traditional features of the dispute resolution systems including the National Courts. Moreover, with the use of AI as a provider of settlement plans in the mediation process or as a decision-maker in the arbitration process, ODR will become much more powerful tools in the dispute resolution. In other words, human beings may be replaced by AI even in this field. What is a role of lawyers in the future?