Tobenna Erojikwe, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education (NBA-ICLE), announced today a new partnership between the NBA and global tech education provider ALX. The collaboration aims to provide free artificial intelligence (AI) skills training to young Nigerian lawyers.

Under the arrangement, ALX will offer its 6-week AI Career Essentials Programme (AICE) to NBA members below 35 years old starting on April 5th. The course is focused on building AI proficiency to help lawyers offer tech advisory services, improve workplace performance, and enhance service delivery.

“I am happy to announce this strategic partnership with ALX to bridge the digital gap identified in the legal community and expand access to world-class tech training,” Erojikwe said in an email to NBA members.

The partnership is supported by Mastercard Foundation, which is funding ALX to provide technology skills training to young Africans.

The free course will require participants to have a laptop and a reliable internet connection. Registration opened today, February 28, 2024, and will close on March 25th. Interested candidates can sign up at bit.ly/alx-nba.

“We encourage you to register while the registration window remains open,” Erojikwe told members.

The AICE curriculum covers topics like machine learning, neural networks, computer vision, and natural language processing. Participants will learn to develop AI applications using Python programming.

According to ALX, the skills taught will enable lawyers to understand AI systems and provide robust tech advice to clients. Trainees can also use their new knowledge to automate legal workflows, review documents, and conduct research more efficiently.

“We are excited about this opportunity and are working with the ALX team on further developing bespoke tech training courses for our members,” said Erojikwe.

The NBA-ICLE Chairman called the partnership strategic for equipping lawyers with the digital skills required in the modern legal workplace.

Erojikwe encouraged young lawyers hoping to upskill or start their own firms to seize the free training chance.

The NBA has over 125,000 lawyers as members across Nigeria. The association has been pushing for the adoption of technology in legal practice through its various institutes and programmes.

The ALX partnership represents progress in enhancing digital literacy among Nigerian lawyers. Industry experts have lauded the collaborative initiative as timely and promising.