Legal Research and Writing - Legal Citation

AI in the practice of law

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to revolutionize the practice of law and legal research and writing. Although technology, such as word processing and email, is now ubiquitous in the practice of law, the last several years have seen the grown of much more powerful technology, such as generative AI systems like ChatGPT. These "large language models" can create new content, such as text, images, or music, based on the data they've been trained on.They are designed to understand and generate human-like text by analyzing and learning patterns from vast amounts of text data and can generate contextually relevant and coherent responses.

The full impact of AI on the practice of law remains uncertain. A few early examples showing the challenges of blindly relying on AI were when several American lawyers were sanctioned for citing in their briefs to case law that was hallucinated by AI (the cases did not exist and the lawyers failed to check their citations): Mata v Avianca, Inc, F Supp 3d, 22-cv-1461 (PKC) (SDNY, 22 June 2023), discussed in Dan Mangan, “Judge Sanctions Lawyers for Brief Written by AI with Fake Citations” (22 June 2023) CNBC News; Gauthier v Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, 2024 BL 431433, ED Tex, No 1:23-cv-281 (25 Nov 2024), discussed in Sam Skolnik, “Lawyer Sanctioned Over AI-Hallucinated Case Cites, Quotations” (26 Nov 2024) Bloomberg Law.

Here are several AI tools making headlines in the Canadian legal market in the past year:

CoCounsel (Thomson Reuters): This product is expected to use AI to assist legal research by leveraging content on Westlaw. It also has the ability to analyze and summarize lengthy documents (such as discovery or trial transcripts)

Harvey AI: Harvey AI is a large language model that can analyze contracts, review and analyze large volumes of documents quickly, predicting case outcomes and ensuring that legal documents comply with relevant regulations and standards. In addition to performing legal research, it can assist in drafting legal documents and works in multiple language.

Microsoft Copilot: Although Microsoft Copilot is not focused specifically focused on lawyers, most law firm use Microsoft products. Although there is a free version of Microsoft Copilot included with most web browsers, a licensed version is embedded into Microsoft products such as Microsoft Word or Teams that can help to generate draft contracts, legal briefs based on input and templates; conduct legal research and summarize concepts and principles; record client meetings on Teams and provide transcripts and summarize “action items” after the meeting; convert content in a Word document into a PowerPoint slide show in seconds; rewrite text into plain English; and evaluate potential risks in documents or scenarios, providing a comprehensive analysis.

AI and legal tech impacting legal research and writing

There are also several products focused specifically on legal research and writing:

BriefCatch: BriefCatch is a Word add-in aimed at lawyers that "catches" sub-optimal drafting as a spellchecker and grammar checker that, in providing suggestions on how to improve your writing, will provide examples of good writing compared to your wording by referring to court filed briefs or court judgments.

CiteRight: CiteRight is a Word and browser plug-in that can automate McGill Guide citations. It also creates a library of your citations and can create a hyperlinked book of authorities in a matter of seconds while black-lining pinpoint citations in your book of authorities.

Lexis+ Canada AI: As part of an add-on subscription, LexisNexis will use its proprietary AI to search content on Lexis+ Canada..

Westlaw Edge Canada AI: Likewise, as part of an add-on subscription, Thomson Reuters is also expected to allow users to leverage their CoCounsel AI technology in searching content on Westlaw Edge Canada.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of some recent books and reports and articles on AI and the law (links to content on commercial databases requires your own subscription/password):

Books and reports on AI and the Law

Ahmad, Imran & Shreya Gupta. Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies. (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2023) [bookstore].

Aidid, Abdi & Benjamin Alari. The Legal Singularity: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Law Radically Better. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2023) [website].

Beatson, Jesse et al, eds. Litigating Artificial Intelligence. (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2021) [bookstore].

Bensoussan, Jérémy & Jean-François Henrotte. Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence. (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2019) [bookstore].

D'Agostino|, Giuseppina et al. Leading Legal Disruption: Artificial Intelligence and a Toolkit for Lawyers and the Law. (Toronto: Thomson Reuters Canada, 2021) [bookstore].

Dobrev, Dessislav. Artificial Intelligence and the Law: A Comprehensive Guide for the Legal Profession, Academia and Society.(Toronto Thomson Reuters Canada, 2021) [bookstore].

Grinhaus, Aaron. A Practical Guide to Web3, Blockchain, and Smart Contract Law, 3rd ed. (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2024) [bookstore].

Ontario Law Commission, AI in the Civil/Administrative Justice System (various reports on the impact of AI).

Queen’s University Law Library, “Canadian Legal Research Manual: Generative AI and Legal Research”
Scassa, Teresa & Florian Martin-Bariteau. Artificial Intelligence and the Law in Canada. (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2021) [bookstore].

Articles on AI and the Law

Tara Raissi & Maude Goulet, "The Legal Implications of AI Hallucinations" (Apr 2024) Toronto LJ (Online).

Uwais Iqbal, “What is Artificial Intelligence?” in Technology and Legal Practice (Toronto: LSO, 2024).
Ryan Shah, "Law Facts or Fiction? Generative AI and Legal Research" (Summer 2024) 43:1 Adv Soc J 26.

Barry Sookman, "Moffatt v Air Canda: A Misrepresentation by an AI Chatbot" (May 2024) Toronto LJ [Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149].

Simon Wallace, "Speaking Like a Judge: Using Artificial Intelligence to Empirically Assess Judicial Speech in Supreme Court of Canada Hearings by Language Spoken and Gender of the Speaker" (2024) 115 Sup Ct L Rev (2d) 297.

Anna Wong, "Here Comes Sophia: Is Tort Law Ready for Autonomous AI"? (Spring 2024) 42:4 Adv Soc J 12.

Charles Cahillane, "Traditional Legal Education: Outdated Model of Schooling for a Modern Legal Industry That Utilizes Artificial Intelligence Technology" (2023) 17 JPPL 359.

Joshua Henderson, "Rise of the Robots: ChatGPT Comes for Lawyers" (Winter 2023) 42:3 Adv Soc J 34.

Edona Vila et al, "Artificial Intelligence as Evidence in Civil Proceedings: Practical Perspectives for Litigators" (Oct 2023) Toronto LJ (Online).

Teresa Scassa, "Regulating AI in Canada: A Critical Look at the Proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act" (2023) 101 Can Bar Rev 1.

Bradley Budden, "On the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law" (2022) 47:1 Can L Libr Rev 10.

Ignacio Cofone, "AI in Judicial Decision-Making" (2021) 102 Sup Ct L Rev (2d) 21.

Emmanuelle Demers, "AI, Law and Transnational Private Governance" (2021) 2021 Ann Rev Civil Lit 225.

Carys Craig & Ian Kerr, "The Death of the AI Author" (2021) 52:1 Ottawa L Rev 31.

AI for Litigators (Toronto: LSO, 2021):

Edward Walters, “The Model Rules of Autonomous Conduct: Ethical Responsibilities of Lawyers and Artifcial Intelligence”

Jake Heller et al, “AI in Legal Research: How AI is Providing Everyone Access to Information and Leveling the Playing Field for Firms of All Sizes”

Benjamin Alarie, “The Path of the Law: Toward Legal Singularity”

Gerald Chan et al, “Litigating Algorithms in Criminal Law: A Defence Perspective”

Anthony Casey et al, “Self-Driving Laws; The Death of Rules and Standards; Will Robot Judges Change Litigation and Settlement Outcomes? AI for Lawyers: How Artificial Intelligence Is Adding Value, Amplifying Expertise, and Transforming Careers”