COVID-19 & THE USE OF LEGALTECH

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THIS IS NO JOKE!  WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

According to Statscan's Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime, in 2017, 21% of Canadian businesses reported that a cyber security incident affected their operations.

 Cyber attackers are no longer limited to traditional entry points like employee mobile devices and laptops. They are now attacking companies through every entity that interacts with their business systems, including your clients and providers of business services. 

Don't become part of that 21%!  FOLA has some handy resources that we encourage you to check out.

Clio's Legal Trends Report provides an annual account of the most important issues faced within the legal profession. 

By analyzing the aggregated and anonymized data of nearly 70,000 legal professionals in the US, in addition to extensive survey research, Clio, the leader in cloud-based legal technology, is able to report on unique insights into law firm efficiencies, hourly rates, and other key metrics for success.

Blockchain & the Practice of Law

As the role of technology increases within the legal industry, the question of how and in what ways it can best be used in the practice of law is of top concern among lawyers in all practice areas.  From predictive analytics to machine learning, the message is clear: technology will underpin innovation in legal services in an increasingly rapid evolution.  And yet, there is one type of technology that frequently makes its way to the top of trending conversations—blockchain. 

And now, FOLA has you covered!

Ryerson's Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ) is a co-working space and the first legal tech incubator with a focus on building better legal solutions for the consumers of legal services. 

There are currently about a dozen companies active in the Zone and the LIZ boasts over a dozen up and running alum.  The companies are all either looking for users or testers in the legal community. 

Who better to turn to than a LIZ startup?

CHECK OUT THESE COMPANIES HERE

TechSoup Canada is a program of the Centre for Social Innovation, and a member of the TechSoup Global Network.   They can connect your Law Association to donated and discounted technologies through their tech donations program and provide valuable learning resources to equip you and your colleagues with tech tips and best practices. 

FOLA is a member!

BetaKit offers a quick and updated curated list of Canadian Legal Tech startup news & Legal Tech innovation (includes podcasts, event videos, and more). 

Did you know?  FOLA is a member of the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium! 

GLBC organizes and aligns global legal industry stakeholders  to enhance the security, privacy, productivity, and interoperability of blockchain technology.  Furthermore, GLBC adopts policies that promotes a universal blockchain-based technology infrastructure for law.

More than 160 organizations are involved with the GLBC in creating these standards and governance. Several of them are collaborating and creating blockchain-based solutions.

GLBC VIDEOS TO GET YOU STARTED!

Whether you’re a law firm and want to help your lawyers become better versed on the subject, or a corporate legal department with an IT ready to take the leap into blockchain, this 90 minute course will cover it. 

To stay current on all things tech and blockchain, follow @WorldHackathon on Twitter.  It's a great resource!

PEER TO PEER JUSTICE

If you agree that existing dispute resolution technologies are too slow, too expensive and too unreliable for an online real-time world, you're sure to be interested in Kleros!  Kleros is a fast, inexpensive, transparent and decentralized claim adjudication system.

Watch their explainer video!

What is Kleros?  It's  Peer-to-Peer Justice that uses crowdsourcing and blockchain to put the dispute resolution process in the hands of the community.

What is GROWL?  

GROWL stands for the Global Rise of Women in LegalTech.  Launched in advance of the 2019 Global Legal Hackathon, GROWL supports up-and-coming women leaders in legal innovation around the world.  GROWL will be fully integrated with this year’s Global Legal Hackathon, providing an enhanced track for women-led

teams.

HOW DOES GROWL WORK?

A globally-located panel of senior women leaders in the legal industry drawn from The Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, will support the hundreds of women-led teams expected to participate in tech events with an unprecedented global network of mentors, tools, and resources to accelerate and amplify their efforts to evolve and improve the world’s legal industry. Participation is voluntary, and there is no cost.

THE RISE AND FALL OF AI AND ALGORITHMS IN AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) released an important Issue Paper in October 2020 analyzing the potential use, impact and regulation of AI, algorithms and automated decision-making in Canadian criminal proceedings.  

The LCO’s paper, The Rise and Fall of Algorithms in American Criminal Justice:  Lessons for Canada, is the first of three LCO Issue Papers considering AI and algorithmic decision-making in the Canadian justice system.

A recent Globe and Mail series, Bias Behind Bars, highlighted how risk assessment in Canada’s federal correctional institutions is racially-biased.  In the United States, risk assessments are now often performed by AI or algorithms. The expansion of AI or algorithmic risk assessment tools in American criminal justice has been called "breathtaking." The LCO paper provides an important first look at the potential impact and regulation of “algorithmic risk assessments” from a Canadian perspective.  

The LCO identifies important legal, policy and practical issues that Canadian policymakers and justice stakeholders should consider before these technologies are widely adopted in this country and summarizes ten important lessons, including: 

• Racial Bias and Data Discrimination

• The “Metrics of Fairness”

• Data Transparency 

• Data Accuracy, Reliability and Validity

• Risk “Scoring” and Automation Bias

• The Distinction Between Predictions, Law and Policy 

• Best Practices in Risk Assessments

• The Need for Public Participation

• Algorithmic Accountability 

• The Limits of Litigation 

The LCO identifies many unexplored, unregulated and poorly understood issues respecting data, discrimination, algorithms and the law.   The paper concludes with a comprehensive analysis of law reform issues and options.  

Here is a copy of their Executive Summary and you can click on the button below for the full report.

WORTH THE READ!

The Law Society of Ontario has published a very thorough Technology Task Force Review  which FOLA encourages you to download and read.

The Report addresses:

1) supportive tech that helps lawyers in their practice such as AI, Blockchain (notably smart contracts), & cloud computing and storage, online dispute resolution, and “big data/analytics; and 

2) legal tech that serves the public.

All aspects of legaltech are covered (AI, the Blockchain, Microtargeting Merketing, GDPR, etc).

A summary of key priority regulatory considerations & questions can be found on p.406, regulatory options for innovative legal services delivery methods (including direct-to-public legal tech) can be found on p.415, and regulatory options for facilitating tech innovation within the legal professions can be found on p.416.

Next Steps for the Technology Task Force

The Task Force will continue to meet regularly and work towards the objectives outlined in

this report. It intends to report periodically to ensure that the public and the legal professions are aware of and engaged with the issues and ideas it is considering. The Task Force welcomes input from all those interested in these issues.

If you would like to join FOLA by serving on an Technology Committee, please email Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca