THE advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened doors to countless possibilities across diverse industries. From healthcare and finance to manufacturing and transportation, AI is making a profound impact by automating tasks, improving efficiency, and enhancing decision-making processes. To get insights on how AI is revolutionising the legal sector, our business reporter Tafadzwa Mhlanga (TM) sat down with Law Society of Zimbabwe president, Rumbidzai Matambo (RM) during the society’s 2024 Summer School held in Nyanga last week. Below are excerpts of the interview:
TM: How do you see AI revolutionising the legal sector?
RM: I think like any sector, AI has shaken the situation. When we look at AI, it has both positives and negatives. It certainly will help the development of the law. It will help us in articulating ourselves better in the development of the law, but it must be used with caution as well. As you would know, there have been cases where people relied on AI to draft heads of argument, and it turns out AI had created some cases which were not in existence. So, I think as a profession, we need to look at how we can adapt to the use of AI, while ensuring that the legal boundaries remain clear and that there is no laziness or danger of the law being disrupted.
TM: During the indaba, discussions revealed a generational divide, with some senior lawyers expressing concerns that AI promotes laziness. What are your thoughts on this issue, and how can we bridge this gap?
RM: It has to be balanced because we do face the danger of younger lawyers failing to develop their skills, while relying on AI a lot. The older generation wrote on long notepads, we call them legal pads, and they read hardcovers. They spend a lot of time investing in the development of their careers, their profession, their knowledge, and there is that concern. But I think the issue is to ensure that as a profession, we work together to see how we can balance it out. We cannot ignore AI. It is an important tool that will shape the future.
TM: How has corruption impacted the sector?
RM: Corruption, unfortunately, is an evil cancer in our society right now, and it has affected every sector because legal practitioners are involved in almost every sector. You find that sometimes our members are victims of corruption or being implicated as perpetrators of corruption. So, it is something that I think we need to address.
TM: How have you addressed the issue?
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RM: We have tried to address this as the regulator by trying to encourage members of the public to report any instances of corruption or allegations of corruption that involve our members, and we try to discipline them.
TM: Are there enough policies that have been put in place to protect whistle blowers in such cases?
RM: I think this is something that we, perhaps as a council, should look into going forward. Up to this point, we had not seen it as necessary. But, as you raise it, I will certainly take it up with the rest of the council, see if the council deliberate on it and see if there is a need for that.
TM: What is the current rate of misconduct in the sector?
RM: There is an impression that lawyers have become rogue because there has been an increase in the cases that we are dealing with. But, the truth is, I think members of the public have become more aware of the existence of the Law Society so people are coming. We have done extensive work in publicising our role in encouraging members to come through and report any cases, and people are becoming more aware. Our community is becoming more sophisticated. They come through and they report cases, and they know when they have been wronged. However, I cannot quite say there is a rise in cases but rather, a rise in the reporting of cases and in the cases that we are now handling, dealing with on a day-to-day basis. But again, I would say it is a sign of the times where moral decadence cannot be ignored. You find that even in any sector, you are coming across challenges of misconduct and misbehaviour by professionals.
TM: What effects has the local currency depreciation had on your sector?
RM: I think economic issues will always impact lawyers because as you know, we handle trust funds, which are funds belonging to other clients and you find that sometimes you are holding trust funds, and there are currency changes. We encourage our members to have agreements with the clients to make sure that it is clear what happens when there is a currency change or there is a devaluation. For most members, the law has been guiding us. The judgments have been pronounced now and again.
The second issue is on charging fees. Yes, we do have a tariff, and we normally have a tariff in US dollars and local currency but what we have done seeing the changes in the currency that have happened frequently is we now advise members to rely on the US dollar currency and then they convert if the client opts to pay in local currency.
They convert as at the date of conversion. We are hoping that has mitigated the situation for our members.
TM: Zimbabwe has been named one of the countries with most expensive legal services in the region
RM: I do not quite agree, because you find that sometimes we do cross-border work, and we do work with international lawyers. You find that the fees that clients are willing to pay foreign lawyers are usually much higher than what Zimbabwean lawyers receive locally.
So, while I have not done the research around it, I do not generally agree. But I think that because we are using a foreign currency, sometimes, it may appear more expensive than most countries. So, I disagree, but I will not categorically say it is wrong.
TM: What is the current state of legal aid in Zimbabwe?
RM: This is one of the topical issues we raised because we are facing challenges in terms of legal aid. There is not enough funding available to fund the legal aid system, particularly, the criminal legal aid system. We have been having challenges with lawyers.
Originally, what used to happen was that a lawyer would be appointed by the registrar of the High Court to act on behalf of an indigent person, and they would get some out-of-pocket expenses and be able to travel.
However, because of the difficulties that we are currently facing in the funding situation, this system is no longer in place. Generally, there is quite a significant gap in legal aid.
TM: Have you received any support from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)?
RM: Recently, the JSC did come in and rescue legal practitioners and rescue the government in the provisions of pro Deo services for the Gokwe Circuit Court and many other circuit courts.
But, what the JSC has done is mobilise some funding for just out-of-pocket expenses to enable lawyers to travel and deal with the pro Deo system.
But, on a long-term basis, there is a need for all the parties involved to sit down and come up with a comprehensive and sustainable system that would enable compliance with the provisions of Section 31 and Section 71 of the Constitution to provide legal aid to people in Zimbabwe.
TM: Previously funding came from the government, right?
RM: Yes, it was coming straight from the Treasury.
TM: With the few resources that are there, do you think that the public has enough knowledge of this legal aid?
RM: I think there is a fair understanding. I think people do know of it, but the issue is that they do not know where to find it and where to get the correct help. I agree that more needs to be done to help the community with that.
