virtual law office – Law and Innovation 2

December 3, 2015September 3, 2016

Artificial Intelligence: Shaping the Future of Law

I very much enjoy Sci-Fi movies about artificial intelligence, but I am not particularly keen on being replaced by a machine that can spew out better legal arguments in a milli-second based on an algorithm. The majority of our class discussions have focused primarily on technological innovations in the legal field. Artificial intellegence has been hailed as the future of law. It’s all very exciting, until the foreboding feeling sets in and you’re reminded that not only do you have to compete with 4.0 Bobby for a job, but with a machine as well. According to Michael Cross in his article, Role of Artificial Intelligence in Law, “ a computer is as fresh and alert at 2 am as it was at nine o’ clock the previous morning.” Yeah, well, no arguments there. Computers will always be faster, more efficient and accurate at any given time of the day.

The abstracts from the 14^th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence & Law sum up the relationship between law and artificial intelligence eloquently. Both fields are involved in the process of creation. AI systems are built, experiments are designed and paradigms are replaced. In law, legislation is drafted, precedents are set and beliefs are balanced. Both fields struggle with the complexity of modeling human behaviour. AI aims to recreate human behaviour, while the law intends to drive human behaviour. The meeting of law with AI was inevitable. But where does that leave the plethora of graduating law students and lawyers?

Throughout this class, we have all been reminded of the concept of the “legal sherpa” and helping the ordinary lay person navigate the convoluted path of the law. A more refined role for AI in law is to provide strategic legal guidance. Programs such as ROSS a digital legal expert, built on IBM Watson helps attorneys with their legal research based on plain word searches. This serves as a valuable tool to help guide lawyers in their everyday research. In the end this will make legal profesisonals more effective because they will be able to complete their tasks more efficiently therefore charging the client less for services.

London firm Hodge Jones & Allen has pioneered a predictive model of personal injury case outcomes to assess the predictability of their current caseload. The program will assist the firm in determining which cases have a greater chance of success, therefore allowing the firm to direct their client towards either settling or proceeding with a claim. This is an example of a legal technological advancement in action and in the future personal injury firms and perhaps others as well, may greatly benefit from using such programs.

This new technology will not hinder or replace legal professionals at all. In fact, I see it helping to make the jobs of lawyers easier and more enjoyable. It will also help them bring a wider array of services to their clients in a quicker and more streamlined manner. These advancements will thrust lawyers into more advocacy-based roles because those types of positions cannot be fulfilled by AI, at least not for now. In conclusion, I do not believe that lawyers will ever fully be replaced by AI but it can serve as a useful tool that can better the practice of law.

October 28, 2015September 3, 2016

Access to Justice in Canada: Students with high hopes to help the low-income

“[Canada is] increasingly failing in our responsibility to provide a justice system that [is] accessible, responsive and citizenship focused.”

The above was a statement by our Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada, about the inability for Canada’s families to obtain affordable legal counsel. The Chief Justice has also stated that “legal-aid funding and coverage is not available for most people and problems, and the cost of legal services and length of proceedings is steadily increasing”, and that “statistics show that people who get legal assistance in dealing with their legal problems are much more likely to achieve better results than those who do not.”

As Canadians, the majority of us believe access to justice is a fundamental right. Contrary to this belief, Canada is witnessing a gap between the fundamental right and the stark reality that the wealthy the are the ones that can afford a lawyer’s legal services. With specific reference to British Columbia, cuts to BC Legal Aid have taken a toll on access to justice, especially for those with low-incomes. A list of cuts from 2005-2010 can be found here.

In 2013 the Canadian Bar Association released the ‘Reaching Equal Justice Report’. The report states that there is a need for more federal funding for civil legal aid. It says that the Canadian Bar Association will reach its goal for Canadians living at and below the poverty line to be eligible for full coverage of essential public legal services by 2020. Additionally, the report puts forth that all law schools in Canada will have a student legal clinic to help low-income people by 2020. The Canadian Bar Association advises that all 31 targets mentioned in the report are expected to be completed by 2030. A video about the proposed legal aid system can be watched here.

It is important to note that change does not fall solely on governments or the bar association. As the report says, law schools and other stakeholders must be involved. It is obvious that “tinkering” or making a few changes here and there will not be enough. The report states that “the civil justice system is too badly broken for a quick fix. People fall between the cracks at an unacceptable cost. Injustice is too deeply woven into the system’s very structure for piecemeal reforms to make much of a dent.”

It is obvious that now is the time to use the resources we have, like our Canadian law students, to help improve Canada’s access to justice for low-income people. With 18 law schools in Canada teaching common law, these numbers have the potential to create a significant positive difference. If that is not motivation enough, pro bono work by law students helps not only those who find themselves facing a legal conundrum, but also the law students involved. The students typically receive training to be more understanding, companionate, and patient, and in turn become more competent lawyers to enter the work force.

From what I could find, only one Canadian law school (Osgoode Hall Law School at York University) has what they call a public interest graduation requirement. If pro bono work by law students is part of the answer, why are we not making full use of this potential resource? Is it lack of resources, lack of incentive, or lack of an enforced requirement?

In correspondence with TRU Law’s Professor Dhand (who is currently the Project Leader on a Law Foundation Large Project Grant for a poverty law clinic), she informed me that the school is implementing the Community Legal Advice Clinic in 2016. The Community Legal Advice Clinic will assist low-income earners in the Kamloops and Interior region with legal problems – initially in the area of residential tenancy law and housing issues – with direct client services. The clinic will run approximately two to three days a week and can be found at the Centre for Seniors Information in Kamloops, BC. Additionally, Professor Dhand advises that TRU Law has the Legal Information Service, located on campus, where she supervises and mentors 60 student volunteers each year, who provide legal information, resources, and public legal education workshops in all areas of law. Lastly, Professor Dhand also teaches TRU Law’s Community Lawyering course where students receive instruction about the substantive and procedural aspects of community lawyering such as client interviewing, strategic litigation, legal research, and ethical issues.

It is clear that TRU Law is taking steps towards improving the ability for low-income British Colombians to access justice, well before the Canadian Bar Association’s goal of 2020. Are there additional steps that TRU Law and other law schools can take to facilitate access to justice for the low-income? Should TRU Law’s Community Lawyering class be a required course for students?

September 14, 2015September 3, 2016

Can the virtual law office stop the exodus of women?

In recent times, commentators and academics alike have predicted the decline of the legal profession. Many have argued that in its current state, the legal profession is unsustainable.

Within the field of law change seems imminent. Discontent is rising as lawyers grapple with the demanding nature of the profession.

In August, Chief Justice Beverly Mclachlin addressed concerns of decline and stressed the need for change if the legal profession is to remain strong, relevant and independent in the 21^st century. Her Honour pointed to several areas of internal frustration, which may hasten the winds of change.

“Discontent within the legal profession extends to the culture of law firms… This culture imposes a high professional price on lawyers with family responsibilities – typically women.”

Described as the “only job with an industry devoted to helping people quit” dissatisfaction within the field of law is widespread. Indeed an entire side industry has sprouted up with the sole purpose of helping lawyers find new jobs in non-legal sectors and female lawyers are among the first to leave.

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has suggested three main reasons why women leave the profession:

Discrimination in the workplace – treatment and type of work women are assigned/offered
Work-life balance – in the home, women still do the lion’s share of the work and are less likely than men to have a stay-at-home spouse
Pursuit of other interests – women are less likely than men to identify themselves solely as a lawyer

In its current state, the legal profession is strongly influenced by male culture. Business networking happens more often at golf tournaments than spa days in the world of law. Hierarchy, style of practice, networking approach, client development and competitiveness can create a “conform-or-fail” environment for newcomers.

STATS

50%	Lawyers who said they felt their firms were doing “poorly” or “very poorly” in their provision of flexible work arrangements
75%	Women associates who found it difficult to manage the demands of work and personal/family life
69%	Women partners who found it difficult to manage the demands of work and personal/family life

http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-law-canada-and-us

Why is change important? The exodus of female lawyers is having a negative impact on the legal profession. In terms of hard numbers, one study reported that when an associate leaves, the average cost to a firm (training and development, separation costs, etc.) is $315,000. Gender equality promotes diversity, which brings different viewpoints and new problem solving approaches to the workplace. Some have argued that having women in leadership roles may equate to success or growth. A 2010 study showed a correlation between female directors and being in the top of the Fortune 500. In 2012, Harvard Business Review published an article titled “Are Women Leaders Better” which looked at a study of over 7,000 corporate leaders. When evaluated on sixteen core competencies, women continued to score higher on twelve out of sixteen of those competencies.

It is clear that keeping women in the law is of some importance. So how do we stop the exodus?

In her speech, Chief Justice Beverly Mclachlin suggested that a virtual revolution of the legal profession could be a potential game changer for women: “Electronic communication with clients and colleagues frees lawyers from the need to huddle together in the same physical space, permitting more flexible work places and raising the possibility of the virtual law office. Such arrangements may increase efficiency, allow lawyers to reach clients they might otherwise not reach, and provide flexibility to people who for family or other reasons find it difficult to check into a distant office each morning and stay there the entire day.”

Many have proclaimed the virtual law office to be the perfect solution for the exodus of women. In fact, Canada has seen a rise of women taking advantage of the virtual law office.

In 2009, Pam Jefcoat and two other partners founded Valkyrie Law, a virtual law firm made entirely up of women. Jefcoat says of her daughter “I do enjoy being more a part of her life than I was when I was working downtown. You’re not commuting, so you save so much time after work and before work. You can have breakfast together. You’re home for dinner. There’s that flexibility there and a sense of security when your child knows you’re home.” See more here.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, it is essential to note that the virtual law office is not without its drawbacks. While one may save on real estate costs, office supplies, staffing and commuting costs, there are a host of new problems that go along with the virtual office. Running a virtual law office requires certain cloud services: document management, website hosting, portals etc. In most cases a third party provides these services. Because of this, issues arise concerning confidentiality, privilege, ownership and protection of intellectual property rights and data. The lines surrounding liability and indemnity can become blurred if something goes wrong. The problem can be compounded if the third party is based in a foreign jurisdiction. For larger files, outsourcing staff can threaten ethical integrity as managing, monitoring and evaluating people becomes difficult if not impossible. Perhaps less troubling, running a virtual law office often limits your access to the brotherhood of knowledge present in a conventional firm. Working virtually can be an isolating experience. If your virtual firm is home based, it may be difficult to establish work-life balance, ironically bringing the problem full circle.

The exodus of women is what you would call a wicked problem— as solutions come forth, an entirely new set of problems rises up. But this doesn’t mean that we should entirely avoid addressing the problem. Changing the culture of the legal profession and the way we do business will not happen overnight. The solution to the exodus of women must come incrementally, one step at a time. So while the virtual office comes with a lot of drawbacks, it represents a preliminary step towards increasing the number of practicing women and bettering the world of law as a whole.