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Prestigious legal event opens in Dublin today

The Law Society is hosting one of Europe’s most prestigious legal events, the European Law Institute’s (ELI) annual conference, which starts today and will run until Friday.

Held in Dublin for the first time, the event will bring together over 400 delegates from across Europe to the Law Society and the King’s Inns.

The conference will feature discussions on the impact of digitisation on law and society, artificial intelligence (AI) regulation and ethics, and the future of GDPR amid rapid technological advances, along with other topics.

The European Law Institute (ELI) is regarded as the voice of the legal community in Europe.

This evening, the Law Society will host a seminar on AI and GDPR at Blackhall Place.

It will hear from Mr Justice Gerard Hogan of the Supreme Court and former Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (CJEU).

ELI President Professor Pascal Pichonnaz said: "Dublin was chosen as the host city for its pivotal role as home to the European headquarters of many leading technology firms.

“The city provides an ideal backdrop for important discussions around the future of technology in law, AI regulation, and privacy issues, all of which have wide-reaching implications for the legal sector globally."

Solicitor and law Society council member Paul Keane, who is European Law Institute Irish Hub co-chair, said: “The European Law Institute (ELI) plays a vital role in relation to European Law. It focuses on the law as it should be, not as it is."

Practical legal thinking

“It produces quality-tested, practical legal thinking, with pragmatic proposals, to guide law-makers.

“The quality of the conference panels and the innovative work they will be highlighting are outstanding.”

He added that he hoped ELI visitors will be intrigued and inspired by the cultural and historical charms of Dublin.