Lexpert Magazine

76 LEXPERT MAGAZINE | JUNE 2016 TECHNOLOGY | COLUMNS | George Takach is a senior partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and the author of Computer Law. pert Bay Street partner with loads of black- letter legal experience, and even more tact, judgment, savvy and a visceral sense of the human condition — such as what makes senior corporate people comfortable and uncomfortable. But just as the crack litiga- tor requires an army of support specialists, and the lead commercial negotiations law- yer is backed by an army of draing staffers in Bangalore, the M&A magician requires platoons – nay, divisions – of legal foot sol- diers to slog through documents to under- take quick but illuminating due diligence. Like IT-driven litigation support, to- day's modern deal-oriented due diligence is buttressed by the virtual data room — fully digitized, indexed and online. Target companies can even review the digital trails le by various bidders, to learn what areas are of interest to the prospective buyers; to understand which of the potential suitors is a serious bidder; and to glean valuable insight from the digital breadcrumb trails. At the same time, the prospective ac- quirer is conducting a rigorous analysis of the key representatives of the target based on their LinkedIn profiles and other so- cial-media activity. By understanding who among this group is posting what on the Internet, and how frequently, the stalker company can (legally) reverse-engineer valuable insight into what the target is up to, what they are planning and, frankly, whether they are in economic trouble. is is not, however, industrial espionage — it is merely sensible use of today's modern digi- tal information infrastructure. ese three examples share a few key factors in common. In these high-stakes settings, huge reams of disparate data have to be organized and marshalled quickly — and the essential messages garnered from the data have to be distilled in record time. Knowledge is power, and today, to be able to unlock the power of information so that it can generate real value in a legal setting, you need to harness global-services supply chains. If you fail to do this, you will lan- guish — you'll be like the horse carriage maker looking ruefully at the new automo- biles some 120 years ago. DISINTERMEDIATED BY IT If you're a great litigator, or a superb com- mercial negotiator, or an expert deal-mak- er, I believe you will continue to see a rosy future for your legal career. If you are cor- porate counsel and you bring significant value to your organization by being able to predict and manage risk, then I also think you have a bright future ahead of you. Where lawyers in Canada are at risk, in my view, is where the traditional "legal ac- tivity" they perform turns out to be more document management, or even project management, because the world is chock full of people who can dra agreements, and provide project-management services, at low salaries, and with higher rates of ef- ficiency. Lawyering, therefore, becomes all about adding value, and thereby becoming a trusted advisor to your client. THE FUTURE OF LEGAL AI Another area worth keeping an eye on is artificial intelligence, and whether an IT platform like IBM's Watson (of Jeopardy! fame) can eventually be architected to help consumers of legal services — for example, someone needing a basic will. I believe the potential is certainly there. Take a look at Watson's development in a few short years. It has a range of ap- plications built around it, which span from medicine, to wealth management, to big data analysis. And once you have a grow- ing ecosystem around a computing system like Watson, the applications get better ex- ponentially, as the participants in the com- munity mutually assist each other. Perhaps Watson will not be quite ready in five years to dra a will for a high-net- worth couple with a very sophisticated es- tate, but if it can do even 50 per cent of to- day's "standard wills" for most middle-class couples, that's already a huge impact on the legal profession. If your legal practice is based on preparing relatively simple wills, I'd suggest you start thinking about your situation in a post-Watson-enabled world. AI will not infiltrate every Canadian law firm and in-house legal department next year. Again, we tend to overestimate the short-term impact of IT. When I first start- ed teaching my Computer Law evening course at Osgoode 25 years ago, I included some material on AI that argued the tech- nology was just around the corner. Well, in that sense, it's been a "long cor- ner." But the AI base technology is getting much more powerful (witness Watson and its many applications), and people gener- ally are much more comfortable now us- ing their smartphones as an extension of not only their data-retention capabilities (i.e., memory), but also cognitive skills (i.e., thinking). So, for the first time, I think we can fairly talk about AI systems with com- pelling applications for lawyers in terms of single-digit years rather than decades. And when we hit the inflection point, watch out — adoption will be swi and impressive. ese and other IT impacts on lawyers are only just beginning to be felt. But woe betide the lawyer who ignores them. Next month: how to take practical advantage of these IT trends. JUST AS THE CRACK litigator requires an army of support specialists, and commercial negotiations lawyers are backed by an army of drafting staffers in Bangalore, the M&A magician requires platoons of legal foot soldiers to slog through due diligence documents

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