About

The premise for The Future of Law Lab is to support your examination of the legal discipline through experiential learning practices that incorporate a real-world approach to analyze the legal field from an academic lens. 

By reviewing the practice of law, and gaining a better understanding of the changing legal landscape through trending subject matters such as: artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, cybersecurity, and technology (to name a few), we encourage the future of legal professionals and the greater community to enhance their command of the legal field.

The Future of Law Lab is based at The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and focuses on enhancing: experiential learning, research, policy development, and interdisciplinary knowledge-sharing from a judicial lens. We provide a platform for students, academics, lawyers, and the community to examine the evolving legal profession, operating at the intersection of law, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Our mandate focuses on three key areas: academia, legal practice, and experiential education. We explore what lawyers practice, how they practice, and the new ways in which they practice as the legal field rapidly changes. Within each theme, we delve into subject matters that include: artificial intelligence, climate change, financial regulation, privacy, cybersecurity, access to justice, competition law, space, legal technology, leadership development, public speaking, and legal design.

We aim to be catalysts of change for legal innovation by recognizing the evolving needs of a rapidly changing world.

What is the Future of Law Lab Focused On?

The Future of Law Lab’s activities will focus on five key themes: 

1. The Legal Industry

How will the profession change amid new developments in law, policy, regulation, business models, delivery methods, partnerships, and global competition? How will law firms be structured? What will the profession look like and which skills will lawyers need to thrive in the future?

2. Technology

How will technology affect the lives of citizens and how will the legal system need to respond? How will technology affect the way laws are made and how they are understood by citizens? How will technology change the legal profession and the way legal services are delivered? How might direct-to-consumer legal technology services impact the profession? What role will data analytics, machine-learning, and artificial intelligence play? 

3. Innovation

How will legal processes evolve in the coming years? How can we best develop laws and technologies that will benefit society? How can lawyers better deliver value to their clients? How can we cultivate a spirit of innovation in law students today? 

4. Entrepreneurship 

What do entrepreneurs need to know about the law to set themselves up for success? How will legal policy influence entrepreneurial ventures? How can small business owners better interact with the law? How can we encourage creativity and experimentation among law students? 

5. Access to Justice

Can we redesign the justice system to better suit the needs of Canadians?