Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/1541334
14 www.lexpert.ca Feature for judgment," he says. Strategic advice, ethical reasoning, and understanding client goals will always require human insight. He also cautions that overreliance on AI could erode foundational training. Junior lawyers who no longer spend hours on document review may miss key learning experiences that build expertise and writing ability. "If AI is doing most of the writing, you're not developing as a writer," he says. Maintaining training opportunities will be essential as AI evolves. For lawyers, the challenge is to integrate technology wisely, leveraging efficiency without losing the human judgment that defines good lawyering. Vasilis Pappas, partner and co-head of Bennett Jones LLP's international arbitration practice group, emphasizes AI's rapid evolution and transformative impact on legal practice in arbitration. "It's evolving so fast that what I say today may be completely obsolete tomorrow," he notes. "The type of activities that armies of associates used to undertake over weeks can now be undertaken in hours by an AI platform." Pappas also highlights AI's utility in international arbitration, especially in legal research, drafting, identification of arbitra- tors, transcriptions, document translation, and real-time interpretation at hearings. "Now you can … more efficiently translate huge volumes of documents," he says. Despite these benefits, Pappas cautions against overreliance on AI at this point. "These are still imperfect tools… You still need that double-checking by a human lawyer." While AI may boost efficiency, Pappas is cautious about whether it will ultimately reduce costs. He recalls the digitization of legal research with Westlaw and LexisNexis a few decades ago, which was assumed would reduce costs but "actually did the opposite" despite increasing productivity. Those platforms were expensive and significantly increased the availability of information requiring review. The same could occur with AI platforms. Nevertheless, Pappas stresses the impor- tance of preparing young lawyers to work effectively with AI: "I would rather that our young associates … learn how to use it in a way that makes sense for our practice and for our clients." Pappas foresees AI handling low-value disputes and notes that several institu- tions already offer online dispute resolu- tion (ODR) platforms. "There is a world … where relatively simple, low-value disputes can be resolved essentially by AI." However, he warns that complex, high- value cases require nuance, judgment, and emotional intelligence that AI may not be able to replicate soon. Sarah McEachern, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Vancouver special- izing in commercial and construction disputes, notes that many AI-enabled tools are already embedded in practice, partic- ularly in e-discovery, for complex, docu- ment-heavy disputes. She says platforms with predictive coding allow lawyers to review large amounts of data more efficiently than manually. Still, McEachern cautions "that one excellent, relevant document might not be flagged," underscoring the continuing need for stra- tegic human judgment. While AI can assist with rapid legal research and case identification using veri- fied platforms, open tools like ChatGPT may produce hallucinations – results that sound persuasive but can't be verified. She says properly checking sources and evalu- ating the AI-generated material for context remains essential. McEachern notes AI's value in transcript review and evidence management, partic- ularly for lengthy hearings or discovery. Generative tools can quickly locate refer- ences, highlight admissions, or identify evidentiary gaps, freeing junior lawyers to focus on substantive strategy. However, she acknowledges that traditional research tasks also cultivate analytical skills. She also points to broader AI devel- opments in online dispute resolution (ODR), including platforms like PayPal "AI is not, and will not, replace the role of human lawyers and decision- makers in ADR processes" Adam Goldenberg MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT LLP "The type of activities that armies of associates used to undertake over weeks can now be undertaken in hours by an AI platform" Vasilis Pappas BENNETT JONES LLP