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Alongside fellow legal leaders, he urged practical, ecosystem-wide action to redesign workflows, strengthen AI governance, and create healthier career pathways for lawyers.
The kick-off of Hackathon for a Better World (H4BW) 2026, attended by Human Resources Online, opened with a clear message that incremental change will not be enough to prepare the legal profession for what lies ahead.
Jointly organised by DBS, the Singapore Courts, and the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), the initiative brings together more than 40 teams comprising lawyers, working professionals, and students to co-create solutions for a more resilient and future-ready legal ecosystem.
H4BW adopts a two-month “learn-as-you-hack” format, allowing participants to test and refine ideas across three focus areas:
- strengthening cross-border legal capability,
- integrating artificial intelligence responsibly,
- and sustaining a rewarding and resilient legal practice.
Justice Kumar Nair calls for fundamental rethink of legal practice
In his opening address, Justice Hri Kumar Nair, Justice of the Court of Appeal and Chair of the Future of Legal Profession Committee, outlined the scale of disruption facing the sector.
He pointed to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), globalisation of legal services, and evolving client expectations as key forces reshaping the profession. Drawing on more than 25 years in private practice, he said the pressures on lawyers have changed significantly.
This, he noted, requires a re-examination of how lawyers are educated, recruited, trained, managed, and developed as well as how law firms are organised and how legal work is delivered.
He added that these challenges are more pronounced in Singapore, where the profession faces intensified commercial pressures, AI-driven disruption, and sustainability concerns such as burnout and gaps in mentorship.
Positioning the hackathon within broader efforts led by the Future of the Legal Profession Committee, he said it provides a platform to tap diverse perspectives and develop practical solutions. Participants were encouraged to rethink traditional models, including billable hours, and focus on ideas that are both innovative and implementable.
Panel highlights: Three deeper shifts shaping the profession
The session also featured a panel discussion, titled Charting the Path Forward and moderated by Paul Neo, Assistant Chief Executive, Singapore Academy of Law (most right).
Panellists included (from left to right):
- Raeza Ibrahim, Partner, TSMP Law Corporation
- Sadhana Rai, Chief Representation Officer, Pro Bono SG
- Cheng Pei Feng, Senior Assistant Registrar, Supreme Court
- Tan Ken Hwee, Chief Transformation and Innovation Officer, SG Courts
- Lam Chee Kin, Group Head of Legal and Compliance, DBS
The discussion explored how the profession can respond to sustainability pressures, technological disruption, and growing cross-border demands. Snippets are shared below:
Sustainability requires rethinking processes, purpose, and expectations
The panellists agreed that sustainability cannot be addressed through surface-level measures such as setting rules on working hours.
Raeza highlighted that issues such as inefficient processes, gaps in leadership capability, and performative workplace practices continue to shape how lawyers experience their work.
“It’s not about implementing rules,” he said.
"If I still have my young people, my middle people, and my senior people thinking about all their work after 7pm and at 1am and keeping them up at night and all through the weekend, nothing will be achieved. We would have just made a rule,” he added.
Sadhana approached the issue from both an individual and organisational perspective, emphasising the importance of clarity on purpose as well as environments that enable autonomy and growth.
According to her, sustaining a legal career requires two key conversations. The first is with oneself about purpose and what drives long-term motivation. The second is with organisations to ensure the right environment, where autonomy, supported by clear guardrails, helps lawyers build confidence, develop skills, and remain engaged.
From the courts’ perspective, Cheng noted that the profession will continue to demand a high level of commitment, and individuals will need to make deliberate choices about the trade-offs they are prepared to accept.
“You can't say, I want to have a certain outcome, but I don't want to put in the hard work.”
AI adoption shifts responsibility to individuals and raises expectations
On AI, the panellists emphasised that adoption would depend less on formal training and more on individual initiative.
Tan noted that technology is becoming more accessible, placing greater control in the hands of users. This creates opportunities for experimentation, but also raises expectations around productivity, accuracy, and turnaround time.
"The big change that we are seeing in recent years, whether with or without Gen AI, is really a lot more control has now gone out to the actual rank and file users.”
Sadhana added that while AI can support legal work, its use must be guided by clear principles to ensure accountability and trust remain intact.
"My philosophy is I will use AI, but I ensure that there's still a human being at the helm, in the loop, and on the loop.”
Sustainable change requires design thinking across the ecosystem
A recurring theme was that the profession’s challenges cannot be addressed by any single group in isolation.
Lam pointed out that the conversation must extend beyond lawyers and the courts to include clients and the broader pressures they face, including the demands placed on their own stakeholders.
“The conversation is not just courts and lawyers, lawyers and managing partners, law firms among law firms. It is also with the clients that believe in this.”
Design, he added, is critical, and solutions should be anchored to a clear "North Star" – including the rule of law, access to justice, and the future of the profession.
Looking at the wider picture, one key thing the panellists further agreed on was that as legal work becomes more cross-border, Singapore lawyers will need to strengthen regional understanding and collaboration to remain competitive.
“The future of the profession is not only local based within the boundaries of Singapore or jurisdiction,” Neo affirmed.
Images / DBS
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