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 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 19 allows users to visually explore the law through the use of heatmaps, dashboards and diagrams. The system uses a hybrid approach, combining machine learning along with human input to transform densely worded legal information into highly struc- tured data, enabling users to derive new and exciting knowledge. It also leverages network data activity within an organization to create the "Amazon effect" by tying relevant user activity metadata to legal information (e.g. users who also searched for X looked at Y). What does all this "law as data" mean for lawyers? If data really is the new oil, then it must be extracted, refined and turned into a valuable asset. For data, that means turning it into actionable knowledge to realize its full and profitable potential. These start- ups and other innovators like them in the legal space seem to be doing exactly that. I can't say what the ultimate end game might look like if we keep building on top of structured data to create new opportunities, but Google is always a great lense to use. Its new Knowledge Graph, for instance, is a relatively new technology that has some similarities with what some of these startups are attempting. You might have noticed that, on some of your searches, rather than getting pages (and pages) of results that may or may not contain the answer to your question, you get the answer instantly in a "knowledge panel" at the top of the results. Although a simple example — typing in How old is Justin Trudeau? — gives an instant answer of 44 years old along with his birthdate. To get that answer, Google needed to know that Justin Trudeau is a person, which Justin Trudeau I mean, and that "how old" means I want to know his age. If you then ask how old Justin Trudeau's son is, Google additionally has to understand the relationships of Justin Trudeau to return the age and birthdates of both of his sons. This "answers not links" system is based on semantic tech- nologies, where humans add metadata and tags to connect concepts and facts together that provide structure to data. This means machines have a better chance at understanding natu- ral language questions and providing confident and accurate answers. By connecting these data bits together semantically, Google can now be the answer to our question rather than just the signpost to others who may have the answer. This type of innovation is happening here in the legal space, too. Those involved in Access to Justice often argue that putting statutes online, even in a structured way, does not help those in need understand their rights or what they need to do to resolve their issues. BlueJLegal, Loom Analytics and Rangefindr are actively building "answers not links" solutions that allow law- yers and laypersons to access answers rather than pages of legal information to read, understand and cross-reference. The other powerful innovation being built on top of the "legal information as data" construct is with document automa- tion and "Smart Contracts," which are machine-readable and can be queried in similar ways to Google's Knowledge Graph. A database of smart contracts would enable one to ask questions such as: What is my potential liability in light of [x] new regula- tion due out next year? But to provide us with answers to such foreseeable questions or to help clients be more proactive, we have to convert our current agreements into machine-readable data form. Sadly, at the moment, the markup and coding needed to achieve this is still rather complex, but great strides are being made, not only in developing such smart contracts today but in preparing for a future where contracts are negotiated and drafted as coded, machine-readable data. Creating legal data may not sound as highly skilled (and let's be frank, as highly paid) as traditional legal work. But some innovators are already pushing these skills to extremes such as Legalese, which argues that, "Tomorrow's lawyers will look a lot like today's computer programmers." And there are initiatives underway to establish standards for publishing all of the law as data that is both far more detailed and computable than today; one that excels at the logic and rigour required of both coding and applying the law. Right now, "the digital version of the law is basically a PDF" (Adam La France, Knomos). But Google is leading the way, and we have a bunch of passionate and energizing entrepreneurs and innovators who are extracting and refining the data out of our podgy PDFs to create new value, new knowledge and a new future. Kate Simpson is national director of knowledge management at Bennett Jones LLP, and is responsible for developing the firm's KM strategy and initiatives. She can be followed on Twitter @k8simpson. The opinions expressed in this article are her own. Check out in-house counsel's best networking tool! The 2016/17 Lexpert CCCA/ACCJE Directory & Yearbook online edition is a user-friendly, outstanding key resource for all in-house counsel. Along with immediate access to more than 4,100 listees at more than 1,500 organizations, you'll also find fresh editorial content, information on deals and links to important resources. Directory listees and CCCA members can also receive log-in credentials for access to detailed contact information to be able to connect with colleagues or research the in-house bar. ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. ANY DEVICE. CONNECT WITH IN-HOUSE COUNSEL COLLEAGUES AT LEXPERT.CA/CCCA Untitled-6 1 2016-09-14 3:45 PM

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