Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 45 Thomson, he is currently working on his 10th tax book. Miller Thomson is a leading full- service national law firm that was founded in Toronto. The firm is widely regarded as one of Canada's best in business law. Innovation is critical to meeting demands Across nearly all industries, company spending on AI is expected to grow to $47 billion in 2020, up almost 600% from the $8 billion spent in 2016, according to research done by Thomson Reuters. Historically slow to change, the legal industry is also beginning to adopt AI. In fact, according to the Altman Weil "Law Firms in Transition" study from 2017, 29% of firms surveyed responded that they were starting to think about adopt- ing such tools. This gradual shift is driven in part by individuals like Chodikoff who continue to push the innovation envelope. "I think innovation is critical," says Chodikoff. "When you see how firms are evolving on a global basis and dealing with the demands that our world is putting upon businesses, you have to be thinking about and employing ways to better serve the interests of your clients." What clients want In today's competitive legal land- scape, clients are demanding bul- letproof advice at a reasonable cost. Firms that adopt AI-backed legal research software are taking proac- tive measures to ensure that clients walk away knowing they've received the highest quality legal advice with- out paying exorbitant fees. "At the end of the day, clients care about results and costs," says Cho- dikoff. "Clients want excellence of service, problem solving at the high- est level, and cost efficiencies." How does artificial intelligence help? In addition to the obvious time-sav- ing benefit, AI-based legal research tools offer lawyers a quick way to access data-backed support for their professional hunches. "Artificial intelligence adds a dimension to your thinking," says Chodikoff. "The analysis identifies insights that you might not have thought of and may lead you to a case that adds to your approach to a particular issue. That's invaluable – you can't put a price on that." The AI tool that Chodikoff men- tions is Tax Foresight, a joint effort between Blue J Legal and Thomson Reuters. The software applies AI to all relevant past judicial decisions in an effort to help lawyers and other tax professionals determine the strength of their position on issues like real estate, taxable benefits, car- rying on business, worker classifica- tion, and many others. The software also has an advanced search function that finds cases by specific factors, rather than by keyword or boolean searches. "With Tax Foresight, you can find a case that helps with an argument and you never know if that's going to be the winning argument before a court," says Chodikoff. On top of making lawyers more efficient, Chodikoff says that Tax Foresight is comprehensive and acts as "additional blanket coverage" by considering every relevant case in the selected area of tax law. "Prior to the availability of Tax Foresight and the rapid analysis of information that it enables, I'd either conduct my own research or rely on the assistance of an associate or stu- dent of law to conduct that research." According to Chodikoff, the use of Tax Foresight alongside his own research and the stellar work of the Miller Thomson's legal librarians has allowed him to bolster the quality of his legal research. "If you're looking for a way to ensure that you've covered every- thing … and of course in litigation the cardinal rule is 'prepare, prepare, prepare', it strikes me that one way to ensure you're prepared is by using technology. Tax Foresight is one way of doing so," he says. Widespread adoption is coming As AI-powered tax software con- tinues to advance, it's becoming more evident that those who hold off adopting such technologies are depriving themselves and their cli- ents of tools that can make a real dif- ference in practice. "At some point, the use of arti- ficial intelligence will be standard fare," says Chodikoff. "Technol- ogy continues to cause evolution in everything, including the law, and whether it takes longer or shorter, it's going to have an impact. It's just a question of time." "At some point, the use of artificial intelligence will be standard fare."

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