Generative AI is nearly impossible to avoid as a law student. Over the past few years, it has been embedded into many of the products commonly used for legal work (See e.g., proprietary research platforms, Google, Microsoft products, etc). Whether welcomed or resisted, generative AI is now part of the legal information environment.

There are many questions remaining about how to prepare students for the use of generative AI during their legal education for their future practice. While technological competence ≠ generative AI, we know that use of generative AI systems is a technical skill . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Cultural Humility in Libraries: A Call to Action and Strategies for Success. Edited by Shannon D. Jones & Beverly Murphy. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2024. xv, 179 p. Includes bibliographic references, figures, and index. Medical Library Association Books Series. ISBN 9781538162149 (hardcover) $138.95; ISBN 9781538162156 (softcover) $56.95.

Reviewed by . . . [more]

Two recent events in my professional life have me thinking (and worrying as is my nature) about the push and pull we lawyers experience when communicating with clients. In an increasingly connected world, how do we balance our obligation to respond in a reasonable timeframe with the client’s expectation to receive frequent and immediate responses via text or instant messaging?

The first event is the launch of the Public Concerns Pathway (PCP) from the Law Society of Saskatchewan. I was the Knowledge Engineer on this project that provides the public with clear information about common concerns with legal professionals and . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Addressing the Jury: Achieving Fair Verdicts in Personal Injury Cases. By Roger Oatley & Troy Lehman. 3rd ed. Toronto: LexisNexis, 2025. xix, 438 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 9780433531654 (softcover) $145.00.

Reviewed by Lorissa Kinna
Reference Librarian
Great Library, Law Society of Ontario

The third iteration of Addressing . . . [more]

I don’t have to ask if you’ve ever encountered a bully at work. I know you have. We all have.

There’s one flavour of workplace bully that is particularly challenging to deal with: the narcissist. I’m using the term colloquially here­ — they aren’t waving around a clinical diagnosis to show off their bona fides — but you know the signs.

They gossip and stir conflict. Undermine others. Seek attention. Create constant drama. And they are masters of manipulation, turning others against you. Sometimes, the constant gaslighting and blame-shifting is enough to turn you against yourself

I’m exhausted just writing . . . [more]

On 5 November 2025 the Department of Justice updated the Justice Laws website to, “enhance usability, accessibility, and consistency across government platforms.” per the Canada.ca redesign. However, Justice Laws has been adapting to the evolving digital landscape for over three decades, sometimes with incremental changes and sometimes in noticeable design leaps like this latest iteration. Looking back at its earliest versions reveals how far the provision of electronic federal law has come. This blog post will review the visual history of the website in an effort to show how design choices have always communicated ideas about access to law . . . [more]

While reading Susannah Tredwell’s post, Does this case really exist? from last October, I realized how much this question is at the heart of my work. As the Associate Librarian for International and Comparative Law, I joke with my students and colleagues, most people think they don’t need my expertise until they desperately need me. Despite the fact that they come to my office last minute, with multiple deadlines upon them and at the cusp of a nervous breakdown, I do tend to help them with a simple yet existential question: Does this even exist?

When it comes to legal . . . [more]

This submission is part of a column swap with the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) bimonthly member magazine, AALL Spectrum. Published six times a year, AALL Spectrum is designed to further professional development and education within the legal information industry. Slaw and the AALL Spectrum board have agreed to hand-select several columns each year as part of this exchange. 

The Data Rescue Project is an archetypal librarian story. A community of data librarians, researchers, concerned individuals, and organizations sprang into action to preserve U.S. federal government data after it began disappearing from websites at a rapid pace in . . . [more]

Google Street View is a great resource that can be used for a number of different purposes (e.g. travel planning).

While legal research is not really something normally associated with Street View, I’ve used it to confirm whether an address really exists and, if if it exists, what kind of address it is. For example, when it says “suite 270” in an address, is there really a suite with that number or is it the number of a PO Box? 

The ability to go back in time on Street View is also helpful. At the bottom right of the screen . . . [more]

I understand the reluctance to commute. I’ve been working from home since the pandemic first hit—and I love it. Laundry gets done more often, and my cat (sometimes) appreciates the extra cuddle time.

Remote work has become the norm for many of us. Ontario courts continue to conduct remote and hybrid hearings, and legal professionals have access to excellent online research tools through LiRN-funded courthouse libraries and platforms like CanLII.

So I get why people ask whether we still need physical library space?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Library spaces remain vital, not just as repositories of knowledge, . . . [more]

In my previous post, Is it All About the Prompts? Experimenting with Gen AI to Develop Public Legal Information, I experimented with the free version of ChatGPT-5 to determine if the steps in my usual process for creating public legal information content could be streamlined or eliminated altogether. These steps include:

1. Research: Research is conducted on the topic to create a draft framework. If a legal process is being described, the steps are outlined with any requirements to complete each step identified. I rely upon existing credible websites or resources that can include applicable legislation. Internal documents may

I’m frequently asked to track down cases that lawyers can’t find. Most of the time the problem is an incorrect citation, but sometimes the problem is that the (usually older) case isn’t available in any online databases or print reporters. I’m now running into a new challenge: does the case exist or is it an AI hallucination?

I generally start with the assumption that the problem is an incorrect citation. In this situation, the most common issues are the misspelling of a party name or missing or incorrect numbers. I use multiple resources (e.g. CanLII, Lexis+, Westlaw Canada) and search . . . [more]