Lawyers of the future will need to understand coding, artificial intelligence and other technologies, Matheson partner Rebecca Ryan said at the launch of the firm’s second Smart Week initiative.

Ms Ryan, a litigation partner and leader of the Matheson Smart Programme, said: “Technology is changing every industry, including law. Innovations in AI and blockchain, for example, will alter the way we process and draft legal contracts.

“Lawyers of the near future will need to demonstrate an understanding of this technology, as well having a better understanding of coding.”

She said Smart Week is “about collaborating to hardwire innovation into every Matheson team and every process, big and small”.

Throughout the week, staff will be encouraged to attend technology workshops and keynote addresses from senior figures including:

The discussions will put the spotlight on topics as diverse as blockchain, AI, cybersecurity and drones.

Kicking off the week, Mr McCrea, in conversation with Mr Kuhn, discussed “AI and The End of Law as We Know It”. The pair discussed how ‘augmented intelligence’ is a better way to describe the concept which is set to revolutionise the way law firms analyse data and provide services. Mr Kuhn explained however, that the use cases of AI wrap around business problems, not so much ethical quandaries, and therefore human judgement will always have value.

Michael Jackson, managing partner at Matheson, said: “Innovation is one of our core values at Matheson; it is at the heart of everything we do because we understand the importance of keeping ahead of the curve. Smart Week demonstrates our commitment to innovation and providing the best possible service to our clients.”