Canada

The 2025 AI Index Report [Stanford University]

On 04/09/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Africa, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, bots, business, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communities of practice, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, economics, education, education technology, emerging technologies, ethics, Europe, experimentation, faculty/staff, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, learning ecosystem, legislatures / government / legal, mathematics, morals/values, platforms, policy, research, science, society, trends, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The 2025 AI Index Report — from Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Lab (hai.stanford.edu); item via The Neuron

Top Takeaways

AI performance on demanding benchmarks continues to improve.
AI is increasingly embedded in everyday life.
Business is all in on AI, fueling record investment and usage, as research continues to show strong productivity impacts.
The U.S. still leads in producing top AI models—but China is closing the performance gap.
The responsible AI ecosystem evolves—unevenly.
Global AI optimism is rising—but deep regional divides remain.
…and several more

Also see:

12 Graphs That Explain the State of AI in 2025 — from by Eliza Strickland; item via The Neuron
Stanford’s AI Index tracks performance, investment, public opinion, and more

The Neuron’s take on this:

So, what should you do? You really need to start trying out these AI tools. They’re getting cheaper and better, and they can genuinely help save time or make work easier—ignoring them is like ignoring smartphones ten years ago.

Just keep two big things in mind:

Making the next super-smart AI costs a crazy amount of money and uses tons of power (seriously, they’re buying nuclear plants and pushing coal again!).
Companies are still figuring out how to make AI perfectly safe and fair—cause it still makes mistakes.

So, use the tools, find what helps you, but don’t trust them completely.

We’re building this plane mid-flight, and Stanford’s report card is just another confirmation that we desperately need better safety checks before we hit major turbulence.

Addendum on 4/16:

The 2025 ABA Techshow Startup Alley Pitch Competition Ended In A Tie – Here Are The Winners — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

This year, two startups ended up with an equal number of votes for the top spot:

Case Crafter, a company from Norway that helps legal professionals build compelling visual timelines based on case files and evidence.
Querious, a product that provides attorneys with real-time insights during client conversations into legal issues, relevant content, and suggested questions and follow-ups.
.

DC: If https://t.co/c3Io6EqFds can do this with legal-related conversations, what about with lectures & learning-related applications of this?

Querious transforms client conversations with real-time legal insights while reducing non-billable administrative tasks.#legaltech #AI pic.twitter.com/s0r9o4N89q

— Daniel S. Christian (@dchristian5) April 9, 2025

AI academy gives law students a head start on legal tech, says OBA innovator — from canadianlawyermag.com by Branislav Urosevic

The Ontario Bar Association has recently launched a hands-on AI learning platform tailored for lawyers. Called the AI Academy, the initiative is designed to help legal professionals explore, experiment with, and adopt AI tools relevant to their practice.

Colin Lachance, OBA’s innovator-in-residence and the lead designer of the platform, says that although the AI Academy was built for practising lawyers, it is also well-suited for law students.

Several Hundred Law Professors File Amicus Brief Defending Biglaw Firms Against Trump’s Executive Order Attacks [Lenin Laus]

On 04/07/2025, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), Canada, Daniel S. Christian, ethics, faculty/staff, future, game-changing environment, law schools, Legal operations, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, society, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I value our constitutional democracy and I want to help preserve it. If you are an American, I encourage you to do the same. I’m not interested in living under an authoritarian government. The founders of this great nation developed an important document that integrated a system of checks and balances between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government. The rule of law was important then, and it should still be important now. That’s why I’m posting the following two items.

Several Hundred Law Professors File Amicus Brief Defending Biglaw Firms Against Trump’s Executive Order Attacks — from jdjournal.com by Maria Lenin Laus

In an unprecedented show of solidarity, over 300 law professors from leading American law schools have filed an amicus brief condemning former President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting major law firms. The professors argue that the orders—issued in retaliation for the firms’ clients, diversity initiatives, and legal work opposing Trump policies—represent a dangerous abuse of executive power and a direct violation of constitutional protections.
…
The amicus brief, filed in support of the law firms’ challenge, was signed by professors from nearly every top-tier U.S. law school, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, and the University of Chicago. The professors argue that Trump’s orders:

Violate the First Amendment by penalizing firms for the viewpoints they express through advocacy and representation;
Undermine the rule of law by discouraging legal professionals from taking on controversial or unpopular clients;
Set a dangerous precedent for political retaliation against attorneys and the institutions of justice.

Law school deans around the country react to Trump’s undercutting the legal foundations/principles of our nation — from linkedin.com by Georgetown University Law Center

“We write to reaffirm basic principles: The government should not punish lawyers and law firms for the clients they represent, absent specific findings that such representation was illegal or unethical. Punishing lawyers for their representation and advocacy violates the First Amendment and undermines the Sixth Amendment.

We thus speak as legal educators, responsible for training the next generation of lawyers, in condemning any government efforts to punish lawyers or their firms based on the identity of their clients or for their zealous lawful and ethical advocacy.”

For related postings, also see:

President’s Third Term Talk Defies Constitution and Tests Democracy — from nytimes.com by Peter Baker (DSC: This is a free/gifted article for you.)
The 22nd Amendment is clear: President Trump has to give up his office after his second term. But his refusal to accept that underscores how far he is willing to consider going to consolidate power.

“This is in my mind a culmination of what he has already started, which is a methodical effort to destabilize and undermine our democracy so that he can assume much greater power,” Representative Daniel Goldman, Democrat of New York and lead counsel during Mr. Trump’s first impeachment, said in an interview.

“A lot of people are not talking about it because it’s not the most pressing issue of that particular day,” he said on Friday as stock markets were plunging in reaction to Mr. Trump’s newly declared trade war. But an attack on democracy, he added, “is actually in motion and people need to recognize that it is not hypothetical or speculative anymore.”
…
Mr. Trump’s autocratic tendencies and disregard for constitutional norms are well documented. In this second term alone, he has already sought to overrule birthright citizenship embedded in the 14th Amendment, effectively co-opted the power of Congress to determine what money will be spent or agencies closed, purged the uniformed leadership of the armed forces to enforce greater personal loyalty and punished dissent in academia, the news media, the legal profession and the federal bureaucracy.

BigLaw gives up on its future — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
By putting business ahead of the rule of law when faced with assaults on their independence, many large US law firms have tarnished their reputations. Tomorrow’s lawyers could make them pay the price.

Two young Skadden associates, Rachel Cohen and Brenna Trout Frey, resigned from the firm, the former before its deal with Trump and the latter afterwards. “If my employer cannot stand up for the rule of law,” wrote Ms. Frey, “then I cannot ethically continue to work for them.” There might’ve been other public resignations I haven’t seen, but I’m confident there have been private ones from both firms, as well as intense efforts by other associates to find positions elsewhere.

This is the risk these firms are taking: It matters to young lawyers when their law firms fail to defend the rule of law. And it matters especially to young lawyers who are women and members of visible minorities when law firms jettison their vaunted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs under pressure from the government.

Let’s impeach Donald Trump while we still have a constitutional democracy. This is unbelievable! [Christian]

On 03/26/2025, in Access to Justice (A2J), Canada, change, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, legislatures / government / legal, policy, political science, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
This is unbelievable to me! I’m posting this item from Will Richardson because I agree with him 100%. I’m embarrassed to be an American right now. Again, this is unbelievable. Our nation is in an extremely dangerous situation. Donald Trump and his Republican Administration have made a mockery of justice and Donald has now put his thumb to his face and doesn’t even listen to the orders from the Justice Department anymore*.

To the Republican Leadership in our nation, may you be held accountable for your actions — and may they be remembered in the future.

And for our neighbors in Canada — as well as in other nations: Please forgive us. We are one messed-up country these days. This is NOT how many of us want our nation to be and to act.

The following posting is here on linkedin.com and here is the article that Will links out to at The Guardian.

It was surreal listening to my friends recount everything they had done to get me out: working with lawyers, reaching out to the media, making endless calls to detention centers, desperately trying to get through to Ice or anyone who could help. They said the entire system felt rigged, designed to make it nearly impossible for anyone to get out.

The reality became clear: Ice detention isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s a business. These facilities are privately owned and run for profit.

Companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group receive government funding based on the number of people they detain, which is why they lobby for stricter immigration policies. It’s a lucrative business: CoreCivic made over $560m from Ice contracts in a single year. In 2024, GEO Group made more than $763m from Ice contracts.

— Jasmine Mooney

Also see (below excerpted from this list of articles/items):

Canadian Who Was in an ‘American Pie’ Video Says ICE Held Her for 12 Days — from nytimes.com by Neil Vigdor
Jasmine Mooney, 35, said she was put “in chains” after immigration enforcement officers flagged her visa application paperwork. The former actress was finally allowed to return to Vancouver.

Jasmine Mooney’s Immigration Lawyer Sounds US Alarm— from newsweek.com by Billal Rahman

U.S. immigration lawyer Jim Hacking says Mooney’s case is part of a rising number of incidents in the past 10 days where individuals with different immigration statuses— including one with a permanent resident card—have been detained or deported in unprecedented ways.

Hacking says he has been advising non-citizens to avoid leaving the United States, as he believes there is a growing risk they may not be allowed to return.

This warning also applies to Canadians with current or past work visas or other forms of immigration status, he adds.

* Here are but a few articles re: Trump attacking or outright disregarding the Justice Department:

Defiance and Threats in Deportation Case Renew Fear of Constitutional Crisis — from nytimes.com by Adam Liptak (DSC: This is a GIFTED article)
Legal scholars say that the nation has reached a tipping point and that the right question is not whether there is a crisis, but rather how much damage it will cause.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration ignored a federal judge’s order not to deport a group of Venezuelan men, violating an instruction that could not have been plainer or more direct.
…
The line between arguments in support of a claimed right to disobey court orders and outright defiance has become gossamer thin, they said, again raising the question of whether the latest clash between President Trump and the judiciary amounts to a constitutional crisis.

Legal scholars say that is no longer the right inquiry. Mr. Trump is already undercutting the separation of powers at the heart of the constitutional system, they say, and the right question now is how it will transform the nation.

Judge Grants the Government Another Day to Share Details on Deportation Flights — from nytimes.com by Alan Feuer (DSC: This is a GIFTED article)
Judge James Boasberg has asked the government to tell him what time two planes took off from U.S. soil and from where, what time they left U.S. airspace and what time they landed in El Salvador.

Earlier this week, department lawyers sought to cancel a hearing where they were supposed to talk about the flights in open court and then, in a highly unusual move, tried to have Judge Boasberg removed from the case altogether.

When they filed their emergency request asking for a stay on Wednesday morning, the court papers used bombastic language attacking Judge Boasberg, who has already faced calls for impeachment by President Trump and some of his congressional allies.

It’s Trump vs. the Courts, and It Won’t End Well for Trump — (DSC: This is a GIFTED article) — it is an opinion piece out at The New York Times by J. Michael Luttig (Judge Luttig was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1991 to 2006.)

President Trump has wasted no time in his second term in declaring war on the nation’s federal judiciary, the country’s legal profession and the rule of law. He has provoked a constitutional crisis with his stunning frontal assault on the third branch of government and the American system of justice. The casualty could well be the constitutional democracy Americans fought for in the Revolutionary War against the British monarchy 250 years ago.
…
The bill of particulars against Mr. Trump is long and foreboding. For years Mr. Trump has viciously attacked judges and threatened their safety. Recently he called for the impeachment of a federal judge who has ruled against his administration. He has issued patently unconstitutional orders targeting law firms and lawyers who represent clients he views as enemies. He has vowed to weaponize the Department of Justice against his political opponents. He has blithely ignored judicial orders that he is bound by the Constitution to follow and enforce.

The Learning & Development Global Sentiment Survey 2025 [Taylor]

On 02/20/2025, in 21st century, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Augmented Reality (AR), Australia, business, Canada, change, CMS/LMS, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, Europe, experimentation, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, lifelong learning, microlearning, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, technology (general), training / L&D, trends, UK, United States, universities, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

The Learning & Development Global Sentiment Survey 2025 — from donaldhtaylor.co.uk by Don Taylor

The L&D Global Sentiment Survey, now in its 12th year, once again asked two key questions of L&D professionals worldwide:

What will be hot in workplace learning in 2025?
What are your L&D challenges in 2025?

For the obligatory question on what they considered ‘hot’ topics, respondents voted for one to three of 15 suggested options, plus a free text ‘Other’ option. Over 3,000 voters participated from nearly 100 countries. 85% shared their challenges for 2025.

The results show more interest in AI, a renewed focus on showing the value of L&D, and some signs of greater maturity around our understanding of AI in L&D.

State of Higher Ed LMS Market for US and Canada: Year-End 2024 Edition — from onedtech.philhillaa.com by Phil Hill
Less about market share and more about diverging strategy
.

“The Potential of GenAI to Promote Access to Justice” [Sprague] + “The legal tech trends that defined 2024” [ Black] + numerous other items re: legaltech

On 12/17/2024, in 21st century, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, change, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, parents/guardians, podcasting, society, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

The legal tech trends that defined 2024 — from abajournal.com by Nicole Black

The year 2024 was one of change. In the midst of a largely unpopular back-to-office push, technological innovation and development occurred at a rapid clip. Legal professionals approached technology with a newfound curiosity and appreciation gained as a result of pandemic-era remote work experimentation. The increasing demand for generative artificial intelligence tools fueled heavy investments in the legal technology industry.

Simultaneously, law firm technology adoption was supported by a flurry of guidance released by ethics committees across the country. As technology upended traditional ways of working, some state bars reconsidered bar exam requirements and others experimented with loosening licensing regulations.

No matter where you looked, change was occurring at a breakneck pace as technology’s impact on the practice of law became inescapable. Through it all, a few key trends emerged that offer clues on where we’re headed in the coming year.

Meanwhile, some states, including Oregon, Washington and Nevada, explored allowing unlicensed professionals to practice law in limited areas, such as family law and small claims. These efforts seek to improve access to justice, representing a revised perspective on long-standing rules about who can —and cannot—deliver legal services.

What to Expect in 2025: AI Legal Tech and Regulation (65 Expert Predictions) — from natlawreview.com by Oliver Roberts

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead to how AI will shape the law and legal practice in 2025. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed growing adoption of AI across the legal sector, substantial investments in legal AI startups, and a rise in state-level AI regulations. While the future of 2025 remains uncertain, industry leaders are already sharing their insights.

Along with 2025 predictions from The National Law Review’s Editor-in-Chief Oliver Roberts, this article presents 65 expert predictions on AI and the law in 2025 from federal judges, startup founders, CEOs, and leaders of AI practice groups at global law firms.

The Potential of GenAI to Promote Access to Justice — from law.com by Joanne Sprague
GenAI-assisted legal support is not a substitute for lawyers, but may help legal aid professionals serve more clients efficiently and effectively.

Generative AI (GenAI) has been heralded as a transformative force, poised to revolutionize everything from medicine to education to law. While GenAI won’t perform surgery or earn diplomas, it holds the promise of enabling lawyers to get due process for more of their clients or even empowering individuals to represent themselves in court. The harsh reality is that low-income individuals do not receive sufficient legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems, and legal aid organizations must turn away one of every two requests they get, according to the 2022 Justice Gap Report. GenAI-assisted legal support is not a substitute for lawyers, but may help legal aid professionals serve more clients efficiently and effectively.

If implemented equitably, GenAI could democratize legal knowledge and empower individuals to navigate the complexities of the justice system more easily.

In her new book “Law Democratized,” Renee Knake Jefferson says that GenAI “has the potential to become the single most important tool in solving the legal justice crisis … if harnessed to do so ethically.” With GenAI, we can envision a possible future of informed self-representation and legal decision-making regardless of ability to pay.

Experimenting in the sandbox — from nationalmagazine.ca by Julie Sobowale
Ontario Bar Association launches AI platform for lawyers to learn tech

The Ontario Bar Association has launched a new, free interactive learning platform for lawyers looking to learn about generative AI.
…
The new learning platform, created to clarify some of that and help lawyers navigate this technology, is part of OBA’s Real Intelligence on AI project. It is being spearheaded by Colin Lachance, the association’s innovator-in-residence.

Users can ask questions to LawQI, an AI assistant specializing in Canadian law, and work through learning modules about prompt engineering, different generative AI tools and best practices. The portal is free for OBA members and Ontario law students.

“Lawyers need to know how AI works,” says Lachance, principal at PGYA Consulting and former president and CEO of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII).

“I wanted to create an environment where lawyers can experiment. By using the technology, you learn how to use it.”

The Innovation Strategist: Nicole Black — from substack.com by Tom Martin and Nicole Black
Where I interview Nicole Black about how she merged her legal expertise with her passion for technology to become a leading voice in legal innovation

Excerpt from Key Takeaways:

Her role as employee #1 at MyCase in 2012 allowed her to combine her legal expertise with her passion for technology, leading to her current position as Principal Legal Insight Strategist at Affinipay
She believes generative AI will fundamentally transform the legal profession, potentially more significantly than previous technological innovations like PCs and the internet
Her advice for new lawyers includes actively experimenting with AI tools like ChatGPT and preparing for significant changes in legal education and entry-level legal work

Legal Liabilities of AI for Attorneys and Small Firms — from ethicalailawinstitute.org by Trent Kubasiak

Many small firms and solo attorneys could be in for a nasty shock when it comes to the use of AI. A detailed report from NYU’s Journal of Legislation and Public Policy is shedding light on the potential legal liabilities of using generative AI. Co-authored by EqualAI CEO Miriam Vogel, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and others, the report underscores a widespread misconception—that liability for AI-related outcomes rests solely with the developers of these technologies.

For attorneys and small business owners, this misconception can be dangerous. As Vogel explains, “There are so many laws on the books that people need to know are applicable.” From lending and housing regulations to employment law, the use of AI—even indirectly—can expose firms to significant risks.

Challenges And Opportunities Of Digital Transformation In US Law Firms — from forbes.com by Chad Sands

So, what is driving the transformation?

Some adoption of new “legal tech” is literally being forced by legacy software companies who are shutting down older, server-based technology platforms. But most law firms are now increasingly becoming more proactive in planning and executing their digital transformation strategies on their own.

This is no longer a choice or matter of “Why should we?”

It’s a question of “When will we?”

There are several factors driving this shift, one being client expectations.

Fresh Voices On Legal Tech with Ilona Logvinova — from legaltalknetwork.com by Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell, and Ilona Logvinova

The world of AI and legal tech is evolving ever more rapidly, and it is all too common for lawyers to feel intimidated at the thought of keeping up with the constant barrage of change. How should lawyers maintain their tech competence? Dennis and Tom talk with Ilona Logvinova about her work in tech and AI innovations for lawyers. She shares her career journey and offers perspectives on leveraging technology to create new and better opportunities for attorneys to thrive in their work.

AI Insights for Legal: Ten Key Takeaways from Summit AI New York — from techlawcrossroads.com by Stephen Embry

Despite the shortcomings, it still was a good Conference. (i.e., the Summit AI New York). I learned some things and confirmed that many of the AI related issues being faced by legal are also being faced by many other businesses. What were my top ten takeaways? Here they are in no particular order:

How to Secure Your 2025 Legal Tech [Bailey at the ABA] + several other legaltech-related items

On 12/03/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, data related items, ethics, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, policy, privacy, strategy, using teams, vendors, by Daniel Christian

How to Secure Your 2025 Legal Tech — from americanbar.org by Rachel Bailey

Summary

With firms increasingly open to AI tools, now is an exciting time to do some blue-sky thinking about your firm’s technology as a whole.
This is a chance for teams to envision the future of their firm’s technology landscape and make bold choices that align with long-term goals.
Learn six tips that will improve your odds of approval for your legal tech budget.

Also relevant, see:

Why Technology-Driven Law Firms Are Poised For Long-Term Success — from forbes.com by Daniel Farrar

Client expectations have shifted significantly in today’s technology-driven world. Quick communication and greater transparency are now a priority for clients throughout the entire case life cycle. This growing demand for tech-enhanced processes comes not only from clients but also from staff, and is set to rise even further as more advances become available.
…
I see the shift to cloud-based digital systems, especially for small and midsized law firms, as evening the playing field by providing access to robust tools that can aid legal services. Here are some examples of how legal professionals are leveraging tech every day…

Just 10% of law firms have a GenAI policy, new Thomson Reuters report shows — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

Just 10% of law firms and 21% of corporate legal teams have now implemented policies to guide their organisation’s use of generative AI, according to a report out today (2 December) from Thomson Reuters.

AI & Law Symposium: Students Exploring Innovation, Challenges, and Legal Implications of a Technological Revolution — from allard.ubc.ca

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been rapidly deployed around the world in a growing number of sectors, offering unprecedented opportunities while raising profound legal and ethical questions. This symposium will explore the transformative power of AI, focusing on its benefits, limitations, and the legal challenges it poses.

AI’s ability to revolutionize sectors such as healthcare, law, and business holds immense potential, from improving efficiency and access to services, to providing new tools for analysis and decision-making. However, the deployment of AI also introduces significant risks, including bias, privacy concerns, and ethical dilemmas that challenge existing legal and regulatory frameworks. As AI technologies continue to evolve, it is crucial to assess their implications critically to ensure responsible and equitable development.

The role of legal teams in creating AI ethics guardrails — from legaldive.com by Catherine Dawson
For organizations to balance the benefits of artificial intelligence with its risk, it’s important for counsel to develop policy on data governance and privacy.

How Legal Aid and Tech Collaboration Can Bridge the Justice Gap — from law.com by Kelli Raker and Maya Markovich
“Technology, when thoughtfully developed and implemented, has the potential to expand access to legal services significantly,” write Kelli Raker and Maya Markovich.

Challenges and Concerns
Despite the potential benefits, legal aid organizations face several hurdles in working with new technologies:

1. Funding and incentives: Most funding for legal aid is tied to direct legal representation, leaving little room for investment in general case management or exploration of innovative service delivery methods to exponentially scale impact.

2. Jurisdictional inconsistency: The lack of a unified court system or standardized forms across regions makes it challenging to develop accurate and widely applicable tech solutions in certain types of matters.

3. Organizational capacity: Many legal aid organizations lack the time and resources to thoroughly evaluate new tech offerings or collaboration opportunities or identify internal workflows and areas of unmet need with the highest chance for impact.

4. Data privacy and security: Legal aid providers need assurance that tech protects client data and avoids misuse of sensitive information.

5. Ethical considerations: There’s significant concern about the accuracy of information produced by consumer-facing technology and the potential for inadvertent unauthorized practice of law.

“Leveraging AI to Grow Your Legal Practice” [americanbar.org] + other items re: legaltech

On 11/19/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Australia, bots, Canada, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Five key issues to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech — from legalfutures.co.uk by Mark Hughes

As more of our familiar legal resources have started to embrace a generative AI overhaul, and new players have come to the market, there are some key issues that your law firm needs to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech.

Licensing
Data protection
The data sets
…and others

Knowable Introduces Gen AI Tool It Says Will Revolutionize How Companies Interact with their Contracts — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

Knowable, a legal technology company specializing in helping organizations bring order and organization to their executed agreements, has announced Ask Knowable, a suite of generative AI-powered tools aimed at transforming how legal teams interact with and understand what is in their contracts.

Released today as a commercial preview and set to launch for general availability in March 2025, the feature marks a significant step forward in leveraging large language models to address the complexities of contract management, the company says.

The Global Legal Post teams up with LexisNexis to explore challenges and opportunities of Gen AI adoption — from globallegalpost.com by
Series of articles will investigate key criteria to consider when investing in Gen AI

The Global Legal Post has teamed up with LexisNexis to help inform readers’ decision-making in the selection of generative AI (Gen AI) legal research solutions.

The Generative AI Legal Research Hub in association with LexisNexis will host a series of articles exploring the key criteria law firms and legal departments should consider when seeking to harness the power of Gen AI to improve the delivery of legal services.

Leveraging AI to Grow Your Legal Practice — from americanbar.org

Summary

AI-powered tools like chat and scheduling meet clients’ demand for instant, personalized service, improving engagement and satisfaction.
Firms using AI see up to a 30% increase in lead conversion, cutting client acquisition costs and maximizing marketing investments.
AI streamlines processes, speeds up response times, and enhances client engagement—driving growth and long-term client retention.

How a tech GC views AI-enabled efficiencies and regulation — from legaldive.com by Justin Bachman
PagerDuty’s top in-house counsel sees legal AI tools as a way to scale resources without adding headcount while focusing lawyers on their high-value work.

Innovations in Legal Practice: How Tim Billick’s Firm Stays Ahead with AI and Technology — from techtimes.com by Elena McCormick

Enhancing Client Service through Technology
Beyond internal efficiency, Billick’s firm utilizes technology to improve client communication and engagement. By adopting client-facing AI tools, such as chatbots for routine inquiries and client portals for real-time updates, Practus makes legal processes more transparent and accessible to its clients. According to Billick, this responsiveness is essential in IP law, where clients often need quick updates and answers to time-sensitive questions about patents, trademarks, and licensing agreements.

AI-driven client management software is also part of the firm’s toolkit, enabling Billick and his team to track each client’s case progress and share updates efficiently. The firm’s technology infrastructure supports clients from various sectors, including engineering, software development, and consumer products, tailoring case workflows to meet unique needs within each industry. “Clients appreciate having immediate access to their case status, especially in industries where timing is crucial,” Billick shares.

New Generative AI Study Highlights Adoption, Use and Opportunities in the Legal Industry — from prnewswire.com by Relativity

CHICAGO, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Relativity, a global legal technology company, today announced findings from the IDC InfoBrief, Generative AI in Legal 2024, commissioned by Relativity. The study uncovers the rapid increase of generative AI adoption in the legal field, examining how legal professionals are navigating emerging challenges and seizing opportunities to drive legal innovation.

The international study surveyed attorneys, paralegals, legal operations professionals and legal IT professionals from law firms, corporations and government agencies. Respondents were located in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The data uncovered important trends on how generative AI has impacted the legal industry and how legal professionals will use generative AI in the coming years.

“The end of courts?” [Furlong] + other legaltech-related items

On 10/29/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, Canada, emerging technologies, experimentation, funding / grants, future, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, podcasting, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Introducing QuizBot an Innovative AI-Assisted Assessment in Legal Education — from papers.ssrn.com by Sean A Harrington

Abstract

This Article explores an innovative approach to assessment in legal education: an AI-assisted quiz system implemented in an AI & the Practice of Law course. The system employs a Socratic method-inspired chatbot to engage students in substantive conversations about course materials, providing a novel method for evaluating student learning and engagement. The Article examines the structure and implementation of this system, including its grading methodology and rubric, and discusses its benefits and challenges. Key advantages of the AI-assisted quiz system include enhanced student engagement with course materials, practical experience in AI interaction for future legal practice, immediate feedback and assessment, and alignment with the Socratic method tradition in law schools. The system also presents challenges, particularly in ensuring fairness and consistency in AI-generated questions, maintaining academic integrity, and balancing AI assistance with human oversight in grading.

The Article further explores the pedagogical implications of this innovation, including a shift from memorization to conceptual understanding, the encouragement of critical thinking through AI interaction, and the preparation of students for AI-integrated legal practice. It also considers future directions for this technology, such as integration with other law school courses, potential for longitudinal assessment of student progress, and implications for bar exam preparation and continuing legal education. Ultimately, this Article argues that AI-assisted assessment systems can revolutionize legal education by providing more frequent, targeted, and effective evaluation of student learning. While challenges remain, the benefits of such systems align closely with the evolving needs of the legal profession. The Article concludes with a call for further research and broader implementation of AI-assisted assessment in law schools to fully understand its impact and potential in preparing the next generation of legal professionals for an AI-integrated legal landscape.

Keywords: Legal Education, Artificial Intelligence, Assessment, Socratic Method, Chatbot, Law School Innovation, Educational Technology, Legal Pedagogy, AI-Assisted Learning, Legal Technology, Student Engagement, Formative Assessment, Critical Thinking, Legal Practice, Educational Assessment, Law School Curriculum, Bar Exam Preparation, Continuing Legal Education, Legal Ethics, Educational Analytics

How Legal Startup Genie AI Raises $17.8 Million with Just 13 Slides — from aisecret.us

Genie AI, a London-based legal tech startup, was founded in 2017 by Rafie Faruq and Nitish Mutha. The company has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the legal industry by leveraging artificial intelligence to automate and enhance legal document drafting and review processes. The recent funding round, led by Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures, marks a significant milestone in Genie AI’s growth trajectory.

In-house legal teams are adopting legal tech at lower rate than law firms: survey — from canadianlawyermag.com
The report suggests in-house teams face more barriers to integrating new tools

Law firms are adopting generative artificial intelligence tools at a higher rate than in-house legal departments, but both report similar levels of concerns about data security and ethical implications, according to a report on legal tech usage released Wednesday.

Legal tech company Appara surveyed 443 legal professionals in Canada across law firms and in-house legal departments over the summer, including lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants, law clerks, conveyancers, and notaries.

Twenty-five percent of respondents who worked at law firms said they’ve already invested in generative AI tools, with 24 percent reporting they plan to invest within the following year. In contrast, only 15 percent of respondents who work in-house have invested in these tools, with 26 percent planning investments in the future.

The end of courts? — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Civil justice systems aren’t serving the public interest. It’s time to break new ground and chart paths towards fast and fair dispute resolution that will meet people’s actual needs.

We need to start simple. System design can get extraordinarily complex very quickly, and complexity is our enemy at this stage. Tom O’Leary nicely inverted Deming’s axiom with a question of his own: “We want the system to work for [this group]. What would need to happen for that to be true?”

If we wanted civil justice systems to work for the ordinary people who enter them seeking solutions to their problems — as opposed to the professionals who administer and make a living off those systems — what would those systems look like? What would be their features? I can think of at least three:

Fair: …
Fast: …
Fine: …

100-Day Dispute Resolution: New Era ADR is Changing the Game (Rich Lee, CEO)

New Era ADR CEO Rich Lee makes a return appearance to Technically Legal to talk about the company’s cutting-edge platform revolutionizing dispute resolution. Rich first came on the podcast in 2021 right as the company launched. Rich discusses the company’s mission to provide a faster, more efficient, and cost-effective alternative to traditional litigation and arbitration, the company’s growth and what he has learned from a few years in.

Key takeaways:

New Era ADR offers a unique platform for resolving disputes in under 100 days, significantly faster than traditional methods.
The platform leverages technology to streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance accessibility for all parties involved.
New Era ADR boasts a diverse pool of experienced and qualified neutrals, ensuring fair and impartial resolutions.
The company’s commitment to innovation is evident in its use of data and technology to drive efficiency and transparency.

“As we enter the Age of Accessible Law” [Furlong] + other legaltech-related items

On 08/15/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, emerging technologies, future, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

How Generative AI will change what lawyers do — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
As we enter the Age of Accessible Law, a wave of new demand is coming our way — but AI will meet most of the surge. What will be left for lawyers? Just the most valuable and irreplaceable role in law.

AI can already provide actionable professional advice; within the next ten years, if it takes that long, I believe it will offer acceptable legal advice. No one really wants “AI courts,” but soon enough, we’ll have AI-enabled mediation and arbitration, which will have a much greater impact on everyday dispute resolution.

I think it’s dangerous to assume that AI will never be able to do something that lawyers now do. “Never” is a very long time. And AI doesn’t need to replicate the complete arsenal of the most gifted lawyer out there. If a Legal AI can replicate 80% of what a middling lawyer can do, for 10% of the cost, in 1% of the time, that’s all the revolution you’ll need.

From DSC:
It is my sincere hope that AI will open up the floodgates to FAR great Access to Justice (A2J) in the future.

It’s the Battle of the AI Legal Assistants, As LexisNexis Unveils Its New Protégé and Thomson Reuters Rolls Out CoCounsel 2.0 — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

It’s not quite BattleBots, but competitors LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters both made significant announcements today involving the development of generative AI legal assistants within their products.

Thomson Reuters, which last year acquired the CoCounsel legal assistant originally developed by Casetext, and which later announced plans to deploy it throughout its product lines, today unveiled what it says is the “supercharged” CoCounsel 2.0.

Meanwhile, LexisNexis said today it is rolling out the commercial preview version of its Protégé Legal AI Assistant, which it describes as a “substantial leap forward in personalized generative AI that will transform legal work.” It is part of the launch of the third generation of Lexis+ AI, the AI-driven legal research platform the company launched last year.

Thomson Reuters Launches CoCounsel 2.0 — from abovethelaw.com by Joe Patrice
New release promises results three times faster than the last version.

It seems like just last year we were talking about CoCounsel 1.0, the generative AI product launched by Casetext and then swiftly acquired by Thomson Reuters. That’s because it was just last year. Since then, Thomson Reuters has worked to marry Casetext’s tool with TR’s treasure trove of data.

It’s not an easy task. A lot of the legal AI conversation glosses over how constructing these tools requires a radical confrontation with the lawyers’ mind. Why do attorneys do what they do every day? Are there seemingly “inefficient” steps that actually serve a purpose? Does an AI “answer” advance the workflow or hinder the research alchemy? As recently as April, Thomson Reuters was busy hyping the fruits of its efforts to get ahead of these challenges.

Though this next item is not necessarily related to legaltech, it’s still relevant to the legal realm:

A Law Degree Is No Sure Thing— from cew.georgetown.edu
Some Law School Graduates Earn Top Dollar, but Many Do Not

Summary
Is law school worth it? A Juris Doctor (JD) offers high median earnings and a substantial earnings boost relative to a bachelor’s degree in the humanities or social sciences—two of the more common fields of study that lawyers pursue as undergraduate students. However, graduates of most law schools carry substantial student loan debt, which dims the financial returns associated with a JD.

A Law Degree Is No Sure Thing: Some Law School Graduates Earn Top Dollar, but Many Do Not finds that the return on investment (ROI) in earnings and career outcomes varies widely across law schools. The median earnings net of debt payments are $72,000 four years after graduation for all law school graduates, but exceed $200,000 at seven law schools. By comparison, graduates of 33 law schools earn less than $55,000 net of debt payments four years after graduation.

From DSC:
A former boss’ husband was starting up a local public defender’s office in Michigan and needed to hire over two dozen people. The salaries were in the $40K’s she said. This surprised me greatly, as I thought all lawyers were bringing in the big bucks. This is not the case, clearly. Many lawyers do not make the big bucks, as this report shows:

…graduates of 33 law schools earn less than $55,000 net of debt payments four years after graduation.

.

Also relevant/see:

Explore Our ROI Rankings — from cew.georgetown.edu

AI literacy emerges as a global imperative
AI readiness initiatives drive emerging skill adoption across regions
The digital skills gap persists in a rapidly evolving job market
Cybersecurity skills remain crucial amid talent shortages and evolving threats
Micro-credentials are a rapid pathway for learners to prepare for in-demand jobs
The global gender gap in online learning continues to narrow, but regional disparities persist
Different regions prioritize different skills, but the majority focus on emerging or foundational capabilities

You can use the Global Skills Report 2024 to:

Identify critical skills for your students to strengthen employability
Align curriculum to drive institutional advantage nationally
Track emerging skill trends like GenAI and cybersecurity
Understand entry-level and digital role skill trends across six regions

Information Age vs Generation Age Technologies for Learning — from opencontent.org by David Wiley

Remember (emphasis DSC)

the internet eliminated time and place as barriers to education, and
generative AI eliminates access to expertise as a barrier to education.

Just as instructional designs had to be updated to account for all the changes in affordances of online learning, they will need to be dramatically updated again to account for the new affordances of generative AI.

The Curious Educator’s Guide to AI | Strategies and Exercises for Meaningful Use in Higher Ed — from ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub by Kyle Mackie and Erin Aspenlieder; via Stephen Downes

This guide is designed to help educators and researchers better understand the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education. This openly-licensed resource contains strategies and exercises to help foster an understanding of AI’s potential benefits and challenges. We start with a foundational approach, providing you with prompts on aligning AI with your curiosities and goals.

The middle section of this guide encourages you to explore AI tools and offers some insights into potential applications in teaching and research. Along with exposure to the tools, we’ll discuss when and how to effectively build AI into your practice.

The final section of this guide includes strategies for evaluating and reflecting on your use of AI. Throughout, we aim to promote use that is effective, responsible, and aligned with your educational objectives. We hope this resource will be a helpful guide in making informed and strategic decisions about using AI-powered tools to enhance teaching and learning and research.

Annual Provosts’ Survey Shows Need for AI Policies, Worries Over Campus Speech — from insidehighered.com by Ryan Quinn
Many institutions are not yet prepared to help their faculty members and students navigate artificial intelligence. That’s just one of multiple findings from Inside Higher Ed’s annual survey of chief academic officers.

Only about one in seven provosts said their colleges or universities had reviewed the curriculum to ensure it will prepare students for AI in their careers. Thuswaldner said that number needs to rise. “AI is here to stay, and we cannot put our heads in the sand,” he said. “Our world will be completely dominated by AI and, at this point, we ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Is GenAI in education more of a Blackberry or iPhone? — from futureofbeinghuman.com by Andrew Maynard
There’s been a rush to incorporate generative AI into every aspect of education, from K-12 to university courses. But is the technology mature enough to support the tools that rely on it?

In other words, it’s going to mean investing in concepts, not products.

This, to me, is at the heart of an “iPhone mindset” as opposed to a “Blackberry mindset” when it comes to AI in education — an approach that avoids hard wiring in constantly changing technologies, and that builds experimentation and innovation into the very DNA of learning.
…
For all my concerns here though, maybe there is something to being inspired by the Blackberry/iPhone analogy — not as a playbook for developing and using AI in education, but as a mindset that embraces innovation while avoiding becoming locked in to apps that are detrimentally unreliable and that ultimately lead to dead ends.

Do teachers spot AI? Evaluating the detectability of AI-generated texts among student essays — from sciencedirect.com by Johanna Fleckenstein, Jennifer Meyer, Thorben Jansen, Stefan D. Keller, Olaf Köller, and Jens Möller

Highlights

Randomized-controlled experiments investigating novice and experienced teachers’ ability to identify AI-generated texts.
Generative AI can simulate student essay writing in a way that is undetectable for teachers.
Teachers are overconfident in their source identification.
AI-generated essays tend to be assessed more positively than student-written texts.

Can Using a Grammar Checker Set Off AI-Detection Software? — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young
A college student says she was falsely accused of cheating, and her story has gone viral. Where is the line between acceptable help and cheating with AI?

Use artificial intelligence to get your students thinking critically — from timeshighereducation.com by Urbi Ghosh
When crafting online courses, teaching critical thinking skills is crucial. Urbi Ghosh shows how generative AI can shape how educators can approach this

ChatGPT shaming is a thing – and it shouldn’t be — from futureofbeinghuman.com by Andrew Maynard
There’s a growing tension between early and creative adopters of text based generative AI and those who equate its use with cheating. And when this leads to shaming, it’s a problem.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

This will sound familiar to anyone who’s incorporating generative AI into their professional workflows. But there are still many people who haven’t used apps like ChatGPT, are largely unaware of what they do, and are suspicious of them. And yet they’ve nevertheless developed strong opinions around how they should and should not be used.

From DSC:
Yes…that sounds like how many faculty members viewed online learning, even though they had never taught online before.

The University Student’s Guide To Ethical AI Use — from studocu.com; with thanks to Jervise Penton at 6XD Media Group for this resource

This comprehensive guide offers:

Up-to-date statistics on the current state of AI in universities, how institutions and students are currently using artificial intelligence
An overview of popular AI tools used in universities and its limitations as a study tool
Tips on how to ethically use AI and how to maximize its capabilities for students
Current existing punishment and penalties for cheating using AI
A checklist of questions to ask yourself, before, during, and after an assignment to ensure ethical use

Some of the key facts you might find interesting are:

The total value of AI being used in education was estimated to reach $53.68 billion by the end of 2032.
68% of students say using AI has impacted their academic performance positively.
Educators using AI tools say the technology helps speed up their grading process by as much as 75%.

School Librarian Day – April 4, 2024

On 04/04/2024, in Africa, Asia, Canada, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, education, higher education, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, library / librarians, UK, United States, universities, youth, by Daniel Christian

School Librarian Day – April 4, 2024 — from nationaltoday.com

Learning Ecosystems

Several Hundred Law Professors File Amicus Brief Defending Biglaw Firms Against Trump’s Executive Order Attacks [Lenin Laus]

Let’s impeach Donald Trump while we still have a constitutional democracy. This is unbelievable! [Christian]

State of Higher Ed LMS Market for US and Canada: Year-End 2024 Edition [Hill]

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