Oct 25 2010

Sometimes people ask me, why would we even want to think about the future of law? Law always adapts to its environment through a gradual process. Lawyers prefer order and predictability, thus they are naturally predisposed against changing circumstances. I believe however, that the reactive nature of law as we know it, can no longer suffice in the fast-changing globalised society of the 21st century. So many long-standing realities have come under pressure, but our legal toolbox does not seem to adapt to these changing conditions. Fundamental uncertainties mean that the future of organised life on an interconnected planet is at stake.

That’s why HiiL embarked on a long-term challenge to plot the legal space of our new global era. By collaborating with the best brains in the world and the most influential societal and corporate decision-makers, HiiL will develop its Law Scenarios over the course of the next months. These Scenarios will then be presented to a global audience during our fourth HiiL Law of the Future Conference in June 2011. For HiiL, the 2011 Law of the Future Conference is just a starting point.

We will make Law Scenarios a core part of our work building on the top level research we have done thus far. We will regularly review our scenarios and link them to monitoring systems, so that we can continue to feed our client community with innovative, up-to-date knowledge products that work for them.