WLN Spring into the Future Conference Report
24 May 2023Hannah Mason
Spring has always been a time of renewal and hope. It is a time to invite change into our lives and to look forward to brighter times ahead. The days are longer and sunnier (unless you live in the U.K.), and summer feels just around the corner…
We truly embodied the spirit of Spring during our recent conference; generating excitement towards the opportunities AI and technological advancements hold, whilst carefully considering the inevitable challenges that our everchanging world presents for our lives and careers.
Huge thanks are due to our wonderful hosts, Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co. Their vision and dedication towards all aspects of the conference helped make it such a success.
Business program:
An unexpected guest joined us on Friday, a central figure in many of our discussions. ChatGPT also helped to introduce the conference – saving David and Hannah a bit of work (and reminding them to keep their remarks ‘engaging and concise’).
It was great to listen to and participate in the following presentations and discussions across Friday and Saturday morning:
• ‘Ecosystem for Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship’: Prof. Philippos Patsalis is the former Minister for Health in Cyprus. He explained Cyprus’ journey to being a ‘Strong Innovator’ in Europe and the framework of the Innovate Cyprus proposal.
• ‘Legal Profession in the Era of disruptive Technologies’: Mr Kyriakos Kokkinos is the former Deputy-Minister for Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy in Cyprus, gave an inspired speech about how we must change to adapt to the ‘new normal’ and how we should develop within in ourselves and in future generations the skills needed to succeed in this new technological world: cognitive skills, interpersonal skills, digital skills, and leadership skills.
• ‘ChatGPT Roundtable’: Charis Papachristodoulou moderated this roundtable and sparked debates around ChatGPT and its potential impact on the legal profession, with the great help of Patrick Gilmour, Aneliya Batleva, and Susanna Grichtmaier.
• ‘AI Legal Panel’: The panel discussion was led by members of our WLN Technology Focus Group: Diane Frank (Chair), Renata W. Lewicka, Carlo Gurioli, and Randy Whitmeyer; and sparked interesting discussions about the opportunities and challenges AI presents in the legal field, now and in the future. These included issues surrounding AI concerning liability and regulation, IP, data protection, and human rights.
• ‘Internet Marketing for Lawyers': Adonis Anastasiou, business consultant and MD of Adonis Business academy, helped us dive into the world of social media and digital marketing. We learned how investing in digital marketing and boosting our branding can impact our ability to attract new clients and remain reputable and personable to all of our current and future connections.
We were also joined by Thomas Paoletti and Fauzia Khan from firm Paoletti Law Group in UAE. Thank you, Thomas and Fauzia, for joining us in Cyprus, it was fantastic to meet you both and learn more about your practice!
We thank all our guests and speakers for sharing their expertise in their presentations and encouraging interesting discussions across topics. These technologies are not going anywhere so it is good to try and stay ahead of the curve and remain informed about their developments; both for our own sake, and for the sake of our clients.
After Adonis’ speech on Saturday morning, we blurred the lines between the business and social programs. Keeping in line with the innovative spirit of the conference, we dared to board banana boats and twister floats at Stavros Water Sports for some ‘team building’ activities. Whether we ‘sprung’ into the Mediterranean by choice, or were flung into the sea by the waves, will remain a mystery…
Social program:
Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co hosted an excellent reception at their offices in Nicosia on Thursday evening, followed by a superb dinner at Pralina. If anyone sneaked some sweet chilli squid (or pavlova, although admittedly more difficult) into their handbags to take away, we do not blame you.
If we thought that the great atmosphere had peaked on Thursday evening, we were simply not prepared for Friday… After we enjoyed a scenic sunset trip along the coast aboard the Aphrodite II cruiser, we made the short journey to Taverna Napa; which was dripping in charm and character.
Inundated with delicious meze and treated to live music, it was impossible to keep still – whether you were the first up dancing like Matthew, Kyriakos, and Patricia, or clapping and swaying in your seats.
After dinner, some of the group ventured into the town in search of more music and dancing, and thanks to Ramon, the Castle Club baseball caps were secured – which was fortunate because it was very sunny during the taxi journey back to the hotel at 3am.
A fantastic number of us stayed for the Saturday social program: a boat cruise to the Blue Lagoon with two chances to swim (and just one chance to announce ‘I’ll go in next time’). The sun kept hiding as soon as we reached our swimming destinations, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the group – with many choosing not only to dip into the sea, but to jump in from the top deck of the boat! Perhaps we should have named the conference: ‘Spring into the Med’.
We were joined again by our wonderful hosts for dinner on Saturday evening at Kalifi Beach Bar. We arrived during sunset to stunning sea views and enjoyed lots of seafood and cocktails. As if the world knew what type of group it was dealing with, by 9pm we were almost alone in the restaurant. It was just us and the DJ – and a dozen strawberry daquiris.
One thing you will learn upon joining Warwick Legal Network is that anywhere can be a dancefloor, if you are innovative enough.
Thank you, Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co, for hosting an unforgettable conference on your beautiful island!
Will you join us at our next conference in Autumn 2023?
We look forward to seeing you in…
MUMBAI!
22-25 November 2023
For further information, please contact:
Hannah Mason, WLN Manager
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