Notes on legal technology, Canadian legal research, AI, and current research projects.
A new CIPPIC report examines how privacy-relevant rights, obligations and data exposure can shift after an organization approves a cloud or AI service. Using Microsoft and Google as case studies, it describes agreement stacks whose documents, features and data practices may change on different schedules, alongside shadow AI as a separate route into a different contractual environment.
Read post →Zotero accepted the English and French McGill Guide 10th Edition citation styles into its Style Repository. Readers can now add either style directly from Zotero; the earlier post still links to downloadable stylesheets and examples.
Read post →Announces the Canadian Open Access Legal (COAL) Citation Guide, 2024 on CanLII, and makes the case for freely accessible citation resources for Canadian legal research. The post also reflects on developing McGill Guide Zotero stylesheets and the volunteers whose earlier work made that effort possible.
Read post →Introduces the English and French Zotero Citation Style Language (CSL) stylesheets for the 10th edition of the McGill Guide. The post links to downloads, example citations and Word documents, and explains that the styles were checked against examples in the Guide.
Read post →Introduces a custom GPT connected to Canada's Open Government API to help explore federal access-to-information requests and their outcomes. The post describes aggregated summaries, request-level details and visualizations; the GPT link is retained in the original post.
Read post →Describes a custom GPT that guides a legal researcher through a structured dialogue: identify a topic, supply research materials, consider relevant facts, and develop research questions and analysis. The original post cautions that it is not legal advice and that sources should be verified.
Read post →Introduces a research assistant intended for Canadian internet and technology policy questions, including privacy, intellectual property, telecommunications and online rights. The original post describes clarification questions, web research and document summarization, and says users should verify results against sources.
Read post →Presents a custom GPT designed to help clients—not lawyers or mediators—prepare for mediation by organizing concerns and interests. The post frames it as an experiment in using generative AI to support alternative dispute resolution and manage expectations.
Read post →Recommends iDissent, a browser extension that adds a table of contents and formatting features to CanLII decisions. The original post describes support for Chrome-family browsers, Edge and Firefox and notes the extension's then-current annual price; check the provider for current availability and pricing.
Read post →Announces English and French Zotero stylesheets for the 9th edition of the McGill Guide, with notes on examples, citation variations and using Zotero with word processors. The original post also acknowledges prior contributors to the open-source citation styles.
Read post →A 2020 comparison of recurring subscriptions with one-time purchases and a bundled software subscription, framed around the costs of a virtual law practice. Its prices and product assumptions are historical, not current purchasing advice.
Read post →The inaugural Blawg post, introducing a place to document and comment on studies, research and projects.
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