Singapore, 11 August 2011 – More than 300 lawyers, court and government officials from over 30 countries in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe and USA will discuss and confer on international developments in electronic litigation during a two-day conference organised by the Singapore Academy of Law from 11 to 12 August 2011.

The Electronic Litigation Conference organised by the Singapore Academy of Law was opened by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong today at the Marina Mandarin Singapore. The two keynote speakers are Judge of Appeal Justice V K Rajah, Supreme Court of Singapore and Lord Justice Rupert Jackson from the Court of Appeal, England and Wales. 

As more and more businesses are conducted through the Internet and other online platforms, it is necessary for processes to be in place to manage the high volume of electronic documents when a dispute reaches the courts.

In this conference, over 40 legal experts from Singapore and overseas will share their experience and expertise on the latest developments in electronic litigation.

The conference will cover the use of technology in the collection and preservation of electronic documents, the tools available to assist lawyers in presenting these documents in court and how judges can leverage technology to manage trials. The conference will also focus on recent developments such as the use and impact of social media on civil litigation and computer forensics.  The Supreme Court will share its experience in developing eLit (Electronic Litigation System) which will be the world’s first paperless electronic court system. Delegates will also have the opportunity to observe a mock electronic trial in the Supreme Court.

Launch of new iPad App for legal research

At the opening of the conference, CJ Chan also launched a new iPad application that will provide lawyers with quick access to legal information on the go. The new App will enable LawNet subscribers to do keyword searches for caselaw from Singapore, Malaysia and UK. Users can also filter their results and download PDFs of the cases for reading offline. The App was developed by Risto Mobile Solutions Pte Ltd and is available for download free of charge from the Apple iTunes App Store.

Ms Serene Wee said, “We are delighted to host this international e-litigation conference. The knowledge and experiences shared at this conference will be invaluable for the courts, lawyers and IT specialists in exploring how we can leverage technology to transform the way litigation is conducted in the digital age.”

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About Singapore Academy of Law

The Singapore Academy of Law is a body created by statute. It is the umbrella body of the legal profession in Singapore and its members include all legal practitioners, the Judiciary, the Legal Service and in-house legal counsel of corporations, and legal academia in Singapore. The work of the Academy is focused on three key areas: supporting the growth and development of the Legal Industry; building up the intellectual capital of the legal profession by enhancing Legal Knowledge; and improving the efficiency of legal practice through Legal Technology.

A key initiative in the Legal Technology Cluster is LawNet, a one-stop practice portal providing a complete suite of research and legal transactional solutions for legal professionals. LawNet comprises several modules for supporting legal research (called the Legal Workbench), due diligence, litigation and conveyancing, with data directly provided by primary and secondary sources of law and business information in Singapore and around the Commonwealth. The integration of a wide range of legal content with sophisticated search tools at an affordable price has made LawNet the top legal research service for the Singapore legal community, with more than 90% of the law firms subscribing to the service.

More information on LawNet and Legal Workbench can be found at http://www.lawnet.com.sg