Following are the opening remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the LawTech Conference "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century" under Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 today (December 5):

The Honourable Mr Justice Lok (Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, Mr David Lok), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, 

     Good afternoon. Welcome to the Main Stage LawTech Conference today. It is appreciated that so many of you have chosen to join us today despite the difficult circumstances in our community, and stand ready to engage thoughtfully with the challenges and opportunities that lawtech and artificial intelligence bring to the legal profession.

     The inaugural Hong Kong LawTech Fest 2025 helps to bring together legal practitioners, technology providers, experts, academics, and policymakers to explore the fast-evolving intersection of law and AI, and to showcase the latest innovative products and services shaping legal practices. The LawTech Fest features a dynamic blend of exhibition, live demonstrations and consultations, and expert dialogues. As Hong Kong embraces the transformative AI era, with lawtech and AI reshaping the delivery of legal services, we hope that the LawTech Fest would provide a platform for attendees to discover cutting-edge solutions, stay ahead of trends, expand professional network, and gain actionable insights to advance innovation in their own legal practice. 

     The theme of today's conference, "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century", sits at the heart of an important dialogue about the future of our legal system. Lawtech and AI are transforming legal practice, enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and quality in delivering legal services. By automating routine tasks such as legal research, document drafting and review, these technologies allow legal professionals to focus on high-value activities, such as strategic decision-making and client relationship management. Moreover, lawtech and AI solutions enable more effective data management and analysis, facilitate informed decision-making, and provide predictive insights. This technological integration also improves access to legal resources, enabling individuals and businesses to obtain quality legal support more easily and affordably. As we navigate through the increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape, it is vital that we address these frequently asked questions: How can we integrate AI professionally and responsibly into our legal practice? What are the risks and ethical implications that we must consider? And most importantly, how can we ensure that technology can act as a complement to human touch, which remains pivotal in the practice of law? Today's conference examines in a timely manner the opportunities and risks associated with AI's growing role in legal practice.

     The DoJ (Department of Justice) is steadfast in its commitment to foster innovation and the integration of technology in the legal industry. To promote the development of lawtech, we established the Consultation Group on Lawtech Development in January this year, and invited the industry and various stakeholders to jointly study and formulate policy measures related to lawtech.

     This year, we launched the LexGoTech Roundtable Series and successfully organised three roundtables. Through the roundtables, we have gathered solicitors, barristers, arbitrators, legal educators, in-house counsel and government lawyers - a diverse group of professionals who are the vital pillars of Hong Kong's legal services delivery - to exchange views and experiences on the opportunities and challenges that lawtech and AI present to the legal profession in Hong Kong. Today, I would like to announce the release of the LexGoTech Roundtables Report. The Report summarises the insights gained from the Roundtable Series. More details will be discussed in the 2025 final round of the Roundtable Series taking place here on this stage later this afternoon.  

     Additionally, the DoJ launched the Survey for LawTech Service Providers in Hong Kong in October. We are now analysing the valuable feedback, which we believe would significantly shape the future steps in our lawtech/AI development strategies.

     Going back to today's programme, we are very honoured to have the Honourable Mr Justice Lok to deliver a keynote speech on lawtech and the future of law and justice. Following that, we will have an interactive "LawTech Guess Who" game, during which we will explore the advantages of using AI in legal practice, while highlighting the importance of human input and oversight. Next, we will have the LexGoTech Roundtable Series - 2025 Final Round, during which we will share key findings gathered from our earlier roundtables. On the basis of these findings, seasoned practitioners will exchange insights on the opportunities and challenges we face as we integrate technology into legal practice. I look forward to hearing our distinguished speakers' insightful sharing.

     Ladies and gentlemen, as we navigate through the AI era, we should bear in mind that our ultimate goal is not just to adopt technology for the sake of progress, but to harness its power in ways that uphold the principles of justice, fairness, and integrity. Technology is a powerful tool, but it cannot replace human qualities such as empathy, judgment and integrity, which remain essential in legal practice. Only with an open and responsible mindset will we be able to grasp the opportunities brought by lawtech and AI and transform the challenges into benefits. On this note, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to all speakers, participants, Consultation Group members and colleagues who have worked tirelessly to make this meaningful event and the DoJ's lawtech initiatives possible. I wish you all a fruitful and inspiring discussion today. Thank you.

Ends/Friday, December 5, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:10

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