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 香蕉视频直播� an AI system designed to sort Canadian court decisions listed online. 

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

香蕉视频直播淭here are millions of court decisions out there; I think we found 2.5 million of them across Canada," said Vigier. "They香蕉视频直播檙e 100 pages each on average, and it takes paralegals and lawyers hours to find one case."

In contrast, Caseway, which Clearway香蕉视频直播檚 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 香蕉视频直播� most of which are from the Canadian Legal Information Institute 香蕉视频直播� in search of wording that matches the user's request. It then lists matches. 

香蕉视频直播淥ur AI can香蕉视频直播檛 consider what some guy wrote on Reddit, what someone wrote on their Facebook page 香蕉视频直播� it doesn香蕉视频直播檛 know anything about that,香蕉视频直播� said Vigier. 香蕉视频直播淚f a judge didn香蕉视频直播檛 write about it, we don香蕉视频直播檛 know about it.香蕉视频直播�   

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

香蕉视频直播淐hatGPT is good if you want a really high-level understanding of something," said Vigier. "It香蕉视频直播檚 not something you can ever reference in a court document. You香蕉视频直播檙e never going to reference a blog, you香蕉视频直播檙e never going to reference a social media post 香蕉视频直播� you have to reference court decisions."  

Caseway also lists its sources, whereas ChatGPT doesn香蕉视频直播檛. 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.

香蕉视频直播�70 per cent of people going through the justice system are self-represented,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淭his is something they can actually ask it 香蕉视频直播� what kind of arguments should I be making, what kind of arguments have been successful, give me some cases.香蕉视频直播�   

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

香蕉视频直播淭he thing that we don香蕉视频直播檛 want is some lawyer, paralegal or self-represented person to just copy and paste something into a court document and then file it,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淵ou香蕉视频直播檙e going to have to have some knowledge at least that you香蕉视频直播檙e supposed to be presenting case law and statutes as your legal basis, otherwise you香蕉视频直播檙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 you香蕉视频直播檙e paying a lawyer $300 an hour and it takes them two hours to find a case, that香蕉视频直播檚 [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 I香蕉视频直播檓 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. "They香蕉视频直播檙e really complicated and the court clerks don香蕉视频直播檛 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.  

香蕉视频直播淚 call lawyers herd animals,香蕉视频直播� he joked. 香蕉视频直播淓ither everything is bad if it香蕉视频直播檚 outside of what香蕉视频直播檚 being accepted or it香蕉视频直播檚 really good if it is being accepted. Our job is to get ... credible lawyers using the platform.香蕉视频直播�