A Saanich-born UVic-alumnus has helped create an AI software that could revolutionize legal research.

Alistair Vigier, a UK-trained lawyer who is also the CEO of counsel-rating software Clearway Law, came up with the idea for Caseway B次元官网网址� an AI system designed to sort Canadian court decisions listed online. 

The goal: to help make legal information easier to find.

B次元官网网址淭here are millions of court decisions out there; I think we found 2.5 million of them across Canada," said Vigier. "TheyB次元官网网址檙e 100 pages each on average, and it takes paralegals and lawyers hours to find one case."

In contrast, Caseway, which ClearwayB次元官网网址檚 chief technology officer Andrew Hodge coded, can find relevant court decisions in just three seconds.  

The way it works is simple. Users input questions such as, "Find me three cases involving medical malpractice in Victoria," and the software scans its database of court documents B次元官网网址� most of which are from the Canadian Legal Information Institute B次元官网网址� in search of wording that matches the user's request. It then lists matches. 

B次元官网网址淥ur AI canB次元官网网址檛 consider what some guy wrote on Reddit, what someone wrote on their Facebook page B次元官网网址� it doesnB次元官网网址檛 know anything about that,B次元官网网址� said Vigier. B次元官网网址淚f a judge didnB次元官网网址檛 write about it, we donB次元官网网址檛 know about it.B次元官网网址�   

That makes it more reliable than other chatbots, according to the software's founder.

B次元官网网址淐hatGPT is good if you want a really high-level understanding of something," said Vigier. "ItB次元官网网址檚 not something you can ever reference in a court document. YouB次元官网网址檙e never going to reference a blog, youB次元官网网址檙e never going to reference a social media post B次元官网网址� you have to reference court decisions."  

Caseway also lists its sources, whereas ChatGPT doesnB次元官网网址檛. That makes it even more trustworthy because users can fact-check results the software has produced, Vigier says. 

Because the software is easy to use, Vigier said it could help self-representing people in addition to paralegals and lawyers.

B次元官网网址�70 per cent of people going through the justice system are self-represented,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭his is something they can actually ask it B次元官网网址� what kind of arguments should I be making, what kind of arguments have been successful, give me some cases.B次元官网网址�   

The founder added, however, that Caseway will benefit users only with a healthy understanding of the legal system and legal procedures.   

B次元官网网址淭he thing that we donB次元官网网址檛 want is some lawyer, paralegal or self-represented person to just copy and paste something into a court document and then file it,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e going to have to have some knowledge at least that youB次元官网网址檙e supposed to be presenting case law and statutes as your legal basis, otherwise youB次元官网网址檙e doomed regardless of what you do." 

Caseway could also benefit people who find the cost of lawyers prohibitive.

"The problem for the public is that, if youB次元官网网址檙e paying a lawyer $300 an hour and it takes them two hours to find a case, thatB次元官网网址檚 [already] $600," said Vigier.

If lawyers can reduce the time they spend finding court decisions, they could also reduce their costs, making council more affordable for the average person, Vigier says.

Despite all the software has to offer, Caseway still dons a beta label and can produce nonsensical answers. The company is working day-to-day to train it to reduce the chances of errors. Coders are also working to fix bugs, strengthen the software against cyber-attacks and improve speed.

In addition to these tweaks, Vigier wants to expand the database to include American court decisions to attract new customers.  

"The other thing IB次元官网网址檓 really excited about, and I guess this is more important for self-represented people, is there are many forms when you go through divorce court, bankruptcy court, whatever," said Vigier. "TheyB次元官网网址檙e really complicated and the court clerks donB次元官网网址檛 accept them unless they're perfect, so what I would like to do is get some samples of perfect court documents and then have the AI fill them out in a draft form for people."  

Caseway launched on Sept. 3. In the past seven days, 175 people have signed up for a free seven-day trial, said Vigier, who hopes even more lawyers will sign up.  

B次元官网网址淚 call lawyers herd animals,B次元官网网址� he joked. B次元官网网址淓ither everything is bad if itB次元官网网址檚 outside of whatB次元官网网址檚 being accepted or itB次元官网网址檚 really good if it is being accepted. Our job is to get ... credible lawyers using the platform.B次元官网网址�