This fall, Lithuania will host its first international conference“LAW FORUM 2026”will be held in Lithuania for the first time this fall, bringing together legal professionals, decision-makers, and leaders to discuss one of today’s most pressing issues: whether lawyers today are taking on enough leadership and responsibility in the life of society and the state.
As geopolitical tensions rise, technological change accelerates, and public expectations of the state grow, the law is increasingly at the center of decision-making. At the same time, however, a problem is becoming increasingly apparent: a lack of leadership within the legal community, where, at critical moments, it is not legal knowledge that is lacking, but the courage to act.
It is precisely these uncomfortable questions that “LAW FORUM 2026” raises, as it seeks to become a platform for open dialogue on the role of legal professionals in today’s world. The event’s goal is to bring together lawyers, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, notaries, bailiffs, public sector representatives, and business leaders for a joint discussion on how to strengthen legal professionals’ leadership and their influence in society.
“Today, we still face a lack of leadership where it is needed most. Lawyers are one of those professional groups that not only possess important skills and knowledge of the foundations of the rule of law, but also have the opportunity to influence the processes of the state and society. That is why it is very important that they decide to take responsibility and initiative to act at critical moments for the state,” says one of the forum’s speakers, former President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė.
She emphasizes that the role of a lawyer today is not limited to interpreting legal norms—it involves actively shaping the direction of the state and fostering public trust in institutions.
The conference will address topics that reflect the common challenges currently facing all legal professions: leadership and responsibility among lawyers, the changes brought to organizations by new generations of lawyers, their career expectations, reputation and authority, as well as issues of diversity, tolerance, and professional awareness.
The event will be attended by prominent figures from the fields of law, politics, and business, both from Lithuania and abroad. Among them are John Swords, NATO’s Senior Legal Adviser and Director of the Office of Legal Affairs; Ivan Mishchenko, a judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine; Danguolė Bublienė, President of the Supreme Court of Lithuania and Chair of the Judicial Council; and Antanas Aleknavičius, Head of the National Cyber Security Center.
Particular attention will be paid to the role of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies in the legal field—not merely as tools for increasing efficiency, but as a fundamental factor transforming the very nature of the legal profession. The discussions will address questions such as whether lawyers today are adapting quickly enough to the solutions generated by AI, how to responsibly integrate them into practice, and where to draw the line between the possibilities of technology and professional responsibility.
The organizers aim to create a space where different perspectives come together not in a formal conference setting, but in a lively dialogue about practical solutions and responsibility.
It is hoped that the forum will mark the beginning of an ongoing dialogue that encourages the legal community to become more actively involved in the life of the state and society.
The conference is organized by the consulting agency “Good to know” in collaboration with its event partners: the Supreme Court of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Bar Association, and the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University. The event is sponsored by the law firm AVOCAD.
The conference will take place on October 15. For more information about the event, visit: https://lawforum.lt/