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For lawyers, it is not about becoming technologists but about applying their legal knowledge in new ways www.canadianlawyermag.com 1 EDITOR'S DESK UPFRONT www.canadianlawyermag.com S everal years ago, the rage for technology-focused lawyers was learning to code. Many lawyers who embraced change were preaching the value of knowing JavaScript and Python, heralding the new generation of legal professionals with tech skills ready to take on the world. This fad was not just restricted to the legal profession. Governments across Canada pushed for coding skills to be taught in schools, and computer science program enrollment skyrocketed. While lawyers' obsession with artificial intelligence may be dismissed as the next tech fad, it fundamentally differs from the coding trend. Artificial intelligence promises to change everything, including software development, radically. Paul-Erik Veel, profiled in this issue (p. 10), has worked with technology and legal data for several years. His firm, Lenczner Slaght LLP, launched its data- driven decisions project in 2021 after Veel had been experimenting with using software to analyze legal cases. Veel said the coding did not take much of his team's time. It was looking at cases, identifying information about those cases, and plugging them into a dataset. "One of the little secrets of a lot of data analytics programs is that the vast majority of the work is spent on building your data sets on the front end. You can get very robust predictive models in a matter of seconds from your data," Veel says. In other words, it was their legal knowledge, not coding skills, that they applied to the job. But they were not doing their job like lawyers have always done it. For Quinn Ross (p. 64), AI is as revolutionary as the Gutenberg press while "everyone is acting like it's the next-generation iPhone." Yet Ross is optimistic that the profession can navigate the changes. "Integrating AI into law practice is not a threat but an opportunity. We must embrace this tech- nology and adapt our methods, focusing on testing and refining AI-generated output," he argues. For lawyers, it is not about becoming technologists but about applying their legal knowledge in new ways. So, don't feel bad if you never learned to code. But you may soon realize you missed the boat if you aren't harnessing technology to provide legal answers. Tim Wilbur, managing editor The AI revolution: No coding necessary ISSUE 47.01 | JUNE 2023 Canadian Lawyer is published 10 times a year by KM Business Information Canada Ltd. KEY MEDIA and the KEY MEDIA logo are used under licence by KM Business Information Canada Ltd. CANADIAN LAWYER is a trademark of KM Business Information Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #41261516 ISSN 0703-2129 ©2021 GST/HST Registration #799898465RC-0001 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 910, Toronto, ON M5V 1P9 RETOURNER TOUTE CORRESPONDANCE NE POUVANT ÉTRE LIVREÉ AU CANADA AU SERVICE DES PUBLICATIONS 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 910, Toronto, ON M5V 1P9 KM Business Information Canada Ltd 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 910 Toronto, ON M5V 1P9 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com EDITORIAL Managing Editor Tim Wilbur Senior Editor Zena Olijnyk Editor Aidan Macnab Production Editors Christina Jelinek, Karen Atienza Writers Lucy Saddleton, Angelica Dino, Bernise Carolino, Kiezzsa Cruz ART & PRODUCTION Designers Loiza Razon, Juan Ramos Vice President, Production Monica Lalisan Production Coordinator Kat Guzman Client Success Coordinators Dyanne Dimatulac, Kristina Reyes SALES & MARKETING Director, Business Development Lynda Fenton Digital Development Director Kevin Shields Sr. Business Development Manager Steffanie Munroe Business Development Manager Jacquie Rankin Account Executive Mathew Oriel CORPORATE President Tim Duce Director, People and Culture Julia Bookallil Vice President, Strategic Event Development Chris Davis Vice President, Strategic Alliances John Mackenzie Chief Revenue Officer Dane Taylor Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Global COO George Walmsley Global CEO Mike Shipley EDITORIAL INQUIRIES tim.wilbur@keymedia.com NAUK SUBSCRIPTIONS CO-ORDINATOR Donnabel Reyes tel: 647 374 4536 ext. 243 donnabel.reyes@keymedia.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES lynda.fenton@keymedia.com