TechLaw.Fest 2025 (TLF) marked another milestone in Singapore’s ambition to sit at the heart of the global legal innovation conversation. With the theme “Reimagining Legal in the Digital Age,” the festival underscored a critical reality: digital transformation is imperative for the legal sector. 

From AI deployment and cybersecurity resilience to the future of billing models and access to justice, the conference brought together judges, regulators, educators, law firm leaders, in-house counsel and technologists to map the next chapter of legal practice.

Setting the Tone: Responsible, Inclusive Innovation

Opening remarks from Justice Aidan Xu, Singapore High Court Judge, charted TLF’s journey from 2018 to 2025 as a platform that has grown beyond Singapore into a truly global innovation hub. He emphasised that legal innovation must remain ethical, inclusive, and focused on access to justice.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social & Family Development, Eric Chua, reinforced this, reminding the profession that AI is a tool, not a replacement of lawyers. While Generative AI can draft documents or analyse cases, it cannot replace a lawyer’s judgment, ethics, and professional duty. This perspective resonated with exhibitors showcasing AI products at TLF, underscoring that innovation operates within a wider social and ethical framework.

Keynote speakers Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and UK Information Commissioner John Edwards shared a unifying message: “trust is infrastructure”. As AI becomes integrated into Singapore’s justice system, transparency, accountability, and legitimacy are crucial; without trust, even the most sophisticated technologies cannot scale responsibly.

Revealing LawNet 4.0

One of the most anticipated announcements came from Singapore High Court Judge, Justice Kwek Mean Luck, who unveiled LawNet 4.0. This is the country’s first national legal research platform powered by generative AI.

Developed jointly by  the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, the new platform features:

• AI-generated case summaries for unreported judgments.
• Natural language Q&A capabilities, allowing users to pose questions and receive AI-generated responses.
• Enhanced statute searches, presenting relevant cases and references with an AI-generated overview.

By integrating cutting-edge AI with curated data, Singapore has set a new benchmark for reliable and authoritative legal research.

AI at the Centre of the Conversation

At TLF 2025, AI was discussed as a present, lived reality that is already impacting legal professionals, clients, and educators. Over the two-day event, participants explored how AI is being integrated, governed, and applied across the legal ecosystem. 

Sessions such as “The Machines Are Not Taking Over” provided hard data from real-world deployments:

• Litigation discovery powered by TAR 2.0 and generative AI now achieves recall rates above 90% while cutting costs and turnaround times.
• Hands-on workshops, such as “Unlocking the Power of Prompt Engineering”, trained lawyers to use prompt techniques like chain-of-thought reasoning to get the best results from GenAI tools.
• The session “Managing the Machine: Shaping the Future Legal Workforce” addressed concerns regarding AI implementation and balancing technology integration while retaining the human value brought by legal professionals.
• Possible shifts in the business model of law were explored in the session “The End of the Hour?”, a discussion on whether AI will hasten the decline of the billable hour. 

These sessions demonstrate that AI is not a replacement for lawyers, but a powerful tool that enhances their work. At the same time, proper governance, training, and accountability in AI usage remain essential.

Justice, Courts, and Regulation

Another defining theme at TLF 2025 was how AI is reshaping access to justice and regulatory frameworks:

• • “The State Courts: Scaling Access to Justice Using Technology” showcased digital tools for case management, online filing, and remote hearing infrastructure.

• “Tech Empowering Justice: Inside the Supreme Court” revealed AI-assisted judicial tools, data analytics, and resources to support self-representing litigants.

Panel discussions addressed ethical governance in AI, while sessions on cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and online safety reinforced that innovation must never compromise security or public protection.

Cybersecurity and Digital Safety in Focus

Cybersecurity emerged as one of the key focuses at TechLaw.Fest 2025.

SAL’s latest publication, Foundations of Cybersecurity Law, highlights the need to move from reactive breach responses to proactive, preventive duties. This volume offers a comprehensive overview of Singapore’s cybersecurity framework and examines the complex challenges policymakers face amid increasingly sophisticated digital threats.

Other valuable and insightful discussions included:

• “Decoding Digital Infrastructure Regulations in Asia” examined how regional frameworks are adapting to the simultaneous pressures of sustainability and data sovereignty.
• “Navigating Asia’s Online Safety Regulations”, regulators and platforms debated their shared responsibility in moderating harmful content, safeguarding youth, and curbing online harassment.
• “The Use of AI in Anti-Scams and Anti-Money Laundering” highlighted the scale of financial crime in the digital age, stressing that prevention requires a society-based approach that unites governments, financial institutions, technology providers, and community groups.

Global and Cross-Border Perspectives

TLF 2025 spotlighted the role of technology in transforming litigation, arbitration, and cross-border regulatory challenges. 

• “Litigation, Regulation, and the Future of Digital Assets in Asia” examined how courts are classifying digital assets like cryptocurrencies and tokens.
• “Cross-Border Disputes in the Video Game Industry” showed how niche industries raise complex issues in the realms of intellectual property and dispute resolution.
• “Quantum Leap: From Lab to Law” shared insights from experts about how quantum computing could eventually undermine encryption, a foundational element of security and confidentiality in law. This discussion emphasised the need for policymakers to begin work on post-quantum encryption technologies. 

These sessions reinforced Singapore’s role as an innovation hub where global perspectives converge to drive collaboration and shape forward-looking solutions.

e-Apostille: Streamlining Cross-Border Transactions

In partnership with IMDA, SAL also launched the e-Apostille, a digital service based on World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Verifiable Credentials standards. 

Currently available for ACRA-issued documents such as Business Profiles and Certificates of Incorporation, the service will expand by the end of 2025 to include all notarised documents. Requests can be made entirely online, with verification via the SAL Legalisation Portal, significantly reducing turnaround time and simplifying administrative processes in cross-border dealings.

A Blueprint for the Digital Age of Law

TechLaw.Fest 2025 underscored that the digital transformation of law is no longer a future prospect; it is already shaping the profession here. AI, cybersecurity, and cross-border disputes are now part of everyday legal work, demanding new skills, governance frameworks, and business models.

As the legal profession evolves, success lies in adopting technology responsibly, inclusively, and with trust at the core. With SAL as your partner in learning and innovation, you can stay ahead of technological advancements and help shape the future of Singapore’s legal profession. 

Explore our continuing professional development programmes, specialist accreditation, and extensive catalogue of publications on emerging areas such as technology, AI, dispute resolution, and cross-border practice on LawNet store. 

Save the date for TechLaw.Fest 2026, where industry experts will gather once again to share insights, innovations, and ideas shaping the future of law. 

We also welcome you to stay updated on our other upcoming events, workshops, webinars, and more on SAL’s 2025-2026 Event Calendar, designed to support your professional growth.