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Sarah will be speaking at BIALL’s Conference, June 12-14 in Leeds, UK

Sarah will be giving a talk titled “Using the Law as Data” at BIALL’s Annual Conference to be held June 12-14 in Leeds, UK. Here’s the session description: Players in the legal sector are looking for opportunities for leveraging data to improve their work and understanding. This work is anticipated to be transformational, generating new … Continued

Numbers and Stats: Evaluation and the Legal Profession

Many people in the legal sector are working toward making the legal profession, and society as a whole, more equitable, which has led to calls to increase diversity in the legal profession. Employers and educators have tried to achieve more impartiality by integrating quantitative metrics, such as LSAT scores, grades, and litigation statistics, into their … Continued

Someone on LinkedIn Sold Me These Magic Beans: Generative AI and Legal Research

The hype around generative AI and legal research continues, and it seems everyone has an opinion. There are concerns about use of AI in practice, but there is less clarity about how to approach finding sustainable solutions. It is however apparent that we need to consider the risks associated with using these systems, especially those … Continued

Can the chatbot write my factum? The future of legal research

Sarah gave a a talk titled “Can the chatbot write my factum? The future of legal research” at the CLEBC event on October 17 2023. Here’s the session description: Increasingly, the practice of law is influenced in various ways by technology and AI. The rise of data and the way it is managed by technology … Continued

Separating legal information from legal advice

Many factors impede the adoption of technology and hinder innovation in the legal sector — the reliance on billable hours, the complex structure of legal documents and processes, and the chronic underfunding of courts, among others. Part of what makes it challenging to address these issues is that there is no clear governing body capable … Continued

VALL Substantive Session – Generative AI and the Law Librarian: A Discussion with Sarah Sutherland

Hosted by the Vancouver Association of Law Libraries October 3, 2023 | 12:00pm-1:00pm Location: Zoom Cost: FREE for VALL members, non-members, and students! Please join VALL for our inaugural substantive session of the 2023-24 season, featuring Sarah Sutherland discussing that hot topic: generative AI as a current and potential research tool for lawyers and law … Continued

Writing Your Book Once You’ve Planned It

If you read my column from April and thought: “Yes, writing a book is exactly what I want to do with all my free time for the next one+ years”, then you may be wondering how to get to the next step of actually writing a book. Firstly, I want to include the caveat that so far … Continued

Could an AI winter happen again?

From the peak of the AI hype cycle, the only way to travel is down. While the AI applications at our fingertips are remarkable — some might say magical — they are not a universal solution for every problem as some enthusiasts proclaim. These tools excel at specifically designed tasks and show promise for diverse … Continued

Uncovering opportunities for legal services

Canada’s access to justice gap is widening, and the legal industry must find ways to narrow it. It’s a gap that also presents major opportunities for growth in legal services. Both for-profit and non-profit services have the chance to tap into a large, underserved market. By analyzing data on how people experience legal problems, we … Continued

Ten Years of Writing for Slaw and Filling the Gaps in Legal Publishing

Yesterday marked the ten year anniversary of my first regular Slaw column. I don’t think I could have guessed I would still be writing it after so much time, and it’s gratifying to hear when people say that they read my pieces. Having a venue where I can write regularly has been a gift for … Continued