Law struggles to keep pace with innovation. Twenty-first century advancements like artificial intelligence, blockchain and data analytics are already in use by academic institutions, corporations, government entities, healthcare providers and others but many questions remain about individual autonomy, identity, privacy and security. even as new laws address known threats, future technology developments and process improvements fuelled by consumer demand and globalisation, inevitably will present externalities that the legal community has yet to confront.
How do we design laws and systems to ensure accountability, equality, and transparency in this environment of rapid change? The solution can be found in a surprising source – the regulation of professional ethics. Lawyers have the capacity to play a critical role both in assessing the risks and benefits of innovation generally and also in deploying innovation tools to enhance the delivery of legal services.
Jefferson, R. K. (2021). Lawyer Ethics for Innovation. Notre Dame JL Ethics & Pub. Pol’y, 35, 1.