-
- More than half of delegates said their organisations do not have formal AI policies.
- Legal Indaba will release a post-conference report that captures practical recommendations and commitments.
- Future Indabas will measure progress by asking what changed.
Organisers of the inaugural Legal Indaba, held on Friday 28 August 2026, will publish a post-conference report to make sure the conversations that defined the event lead to real, measurable reform across South Africa’s legal profession.
Instead of just creating another conference document, the report will capture the major themes, practical recommendations, and commitments that came out of the event. Organisers say it is meant to become a working reference for law firms, professional bodies, academics, government, and other stakeholders who shape legal practice.
Paula Phukuje, speaking for the organisers, said the report is about creating accountability that goes beyond the conference itself. “We don’t want another document that sits on a shelf. We want something the profession can use to guide policy, governance, and real change,” said Phukuje, a senior associate at Fairbridges Attorneys.
The conference brought together members of the judiciary, practising attorneys and advocates, in-house counsel, academics, government representatives, legal technology specialists, and emerging practitioners to look at how artificial intelligence, ethics, accountability, transformation, leadership, wellness, and access to justice are reshaping legal practice.
The diversity of perspectives meant that no single part of the profession dominated the conversation. This allowed difficult issues, often discussed in private, to be addressed together. Delegates widely praised the conference for creating an open space where the legal community could have honest conversations about the future of the profession.
Phukuje said every discussion kept returning to one central question of what it means to be a legal practitioner in a profession that is changing so quickly.
AI governance becomes an urgent priority
One of the clearest findings was that more than half of delegates revealed their organisations still do not have formal artificial intelligence policies. For organisers, this exposed a significant governance gap as AI is becoming more common in legal research, document review, drafting, and contract analysis.
Phukuje said delegates agreed that while technology is transforming legal practice, professional responsibility always stays with the practitioner. “The practitioner is still responsible for the work they put their name to, submit, advise on, or endorse. The answer can’t just be the AI,” she said.
She said every legal organisation should have clear policies covering confidentiality, verification of AI-generated work, acceptable use, accountability, ethical billing, staff training, and the protection of client information.
Ethical billing becomes the next frontier
One of the most practical debates focused on how billing practices will change in a legal world driven by AI. Delegates asked whether it is ethical to charge clients as if hours of work had been spent manually when technology can now do many routine legal tasks much faster.
Organisers argued that efficiency should improve client service without compromising transparency or professional ethics, and that time savings should also be reflected honestly in how clients are billed.
Christine Qunta reinforced the accountability debate during her keynote, pointing out that lawyers have always used precedents, templates, and previous drafting. What makes AI different, she said, is not automation itself but the speed and scale at which it can generate and manipulate information.
Transformation is about who stays
Beyond AI, transformation was one of the conference’s main conversations. Instead of just celebrating improved representation, delegates looked at whether talented practitioners actually stay in practice, get meaningful client exposure, move into leadership, and build sustainable careers within the profession.
“Transformation can’t just be about getting people through the door. It has to be about creating the conditions that let people stay and succeed,” Phukuje said.
She called on firms to set up intentional mentorship programmes, sponsorship opportunities, and leadership pathways, and to measure retention and progression alongside recruitment. She also urged organisations to tackle the structural barriers that still push talented practitioners out of legal practice.
Technology must also expand access to justice
The conference concluded that artificial intelligence is both a governance challenge and a public interest opportunity. Delegates said spending less time on routine legal work should mean lower legal costs and greater access to legal services, not just bigger profit margins.
Phukuje said the profession has a real opportunity to make sure technology benefits both practitioners and the public, but warned this will only matter if efficiency leads to greater access or lower costs, not just higher profits for firms.
Leadership, wellness and accountability remain intertwined
Phukuje said discussions around women in leadership, wellness, ethics, and institutional accountability showed that the profession’s challenges can’t be solved in isolation. Instead, they are all part of the same conversation about the future of legal practice.
Many delegates also left with a more balanced understanding of artificial intelligence, seeing its potential to improve legal practice but also recognising the risks it brings around ethics, confidentiality, accountability, skill development, and billing. Feedback reinforced the value of open dialogue, with many delegates saying that real change depends on what happens after the conference.
The next question is: What changed?
Phukuje said the post-conference report will capture the key themes, practical recommendations, and commitments from the event. She said the report will be a working reference point for firms, professional bodies, academics, and other stakeholders, not just another document that sits on a shelf.
Organisers said that accountability is now the main priority. If the Indaba calls for better AI governance, ethical practice, and stronger transformation, stakeholders should be able to show real progress by the next conference. “The next Legal Indaba shouldn’t just ask, ‘What did we talk about last year?’ It should ask, ‘What changed?’” she said.
Phukuje confirmed the inaugural conference was always meant to become an annual platform. While the first Indaba was about starting the conversation, future editions will measure tangible progress in AI governance, ethics, mentorship, transformation, wellness, and institutional accountability, while also bringing new challenges facing the legal profession to the table.
The organisers stressed that Legal Indaba isn’t about having all the answers, but about asking better questions and making sure the conversation continues beyond the event itself.
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
