Firm to invent specialised chatbot for lawyers

A law firm owned by a former federal lawmaker, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Liberty Semper Fidelis, said it had collaborated with an IT company for the invention of a specialised chatbot for lawyers.

A chatbot is a computer programme designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet.

ChatGPT is one of the most commonly used language model chatbots in the country.

Speaking during a workshop for legal practitioners in Abuja on Thursday, Afikuyomi stated that his law firm, in collaboration with the IT company, intends to develop other IT solutions aimed at enhancing the legal profession in the country.

He said, “At this point, let me proudly announce to you the creation of what we call The TechLaw Studio which is the product of a collaboration between IPI Solutions, an Abuja-based IT company, and Liberty Semper Fidelis, LP. We hope to deliver a home-grown specialised chatbot like ChatGPT.
We are also working together to develop IT solutions that can help the development of the practice of law in the country.
“We believe technology can be used to redefine the profession and make it more relevant and useful to the development of the economy. ”

He noted that if law firms fail to harness the opportunities presented by technology, they could be exploited by multinational corporations.

The ex-senator added that lawyers in the country shouldn’t passively observe as the law firms they collaborate with allocate $60m to $70m for research and development on the adoption of AI.

Afikuyomi said, ” Without tapping into the huge potentials offered by technology, our various law firms and the practice generally stand the risk of being outdated, or cheated in big, multinational legal transactions and initiatives.

“We cannot afford to watch complacently while the law firms that we collaborate with in Europe and other parts of the world, individually invest a yearly sum of between $60 million to $70 million in research and development efforts on how to use AI to develop their practice.”