May 13, 2020
Watch Benjamin Alarie, co-founder and CEO of Blue J Legal, discuss the expanding role of artificial intelligence in tax with contributing editor at Tax Notes Federal Benjamin Willis.
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April 14, 2020
CIBC Innovation Banking is pleased to announce a $2 million growth capital financing for Toronto-based Blue J Legal (“Blue J”), a machine learning and AI-powered predictive legal software platform that specializes in North American tax law and Canadian employment law.
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February 24, 2020
First of its kind initiative aims to prepare graduate students for careers in tax law where AI will be integral to the decision-making process
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February 4, 2020
The federal justice department is applying Blue J Legal’s AI platform to conduct research for and forecast the outcomes of labour and employment cases within the public service. The pilot project is Ottawa’s second application of the Toronto-based startup’s software, following a successful test of its tax law tools.
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January 17, 2020
“It’s not just about speeding up [analysis] that would otherwise happen,” says Benjamin Alarie, co-founder and CEO of Blue J Legal and Osler Chair of Business Law at the University of Toronto. “It’s about making [widely] available a really good prediction that would otherwise be the domain of an experienced [lawyer].”
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December 19, 2019
"We are already starting to see significant advantages being gleaned by sophisticated parties leveraging machine learning legal prediction technologies," said Blue J Legal CEO Benjamin Alarie. "In the next ten years, these algorithmic technologies will become the natural starting point for legal advice."
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December 18, 2019
Today’s lawyers don’t need to fear being replaced—at least not by robots. They should, however, fear being outpaced (and eventually replaced) by peers who have effectively harnessed and deployed AI-powered legal tech.
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November 29, 2019
"Artificial intelligence adds a dimension to your thinking," says Chodikoff. "The analysis identifies insights that you might not have thought of and may lead you to a case that adds to your approach to a particular issue. That’s invaluable — you can’t put a price on that."
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November 12, 2019
Blue J Legal announced today its partnership with Moodys Tax, an integrated tax law/advisory, planning, and accounting firm, to develop a dynamic Tax on Split Income (TOSI) navigator, housed on Blue J Legal's Canadian Tax Foresight platform. This strategic collaboration marks a first-of-its-kind solution.
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October 24, 2019
The robots are coming for the tax planners, but from what I can see, we will probably last longer than the truck drivers. This is my tentative conclusion from poking around with Blue J Legal’s Tax Foresight.
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October 17, 2019
One of the issues employers are still grappling with is drug testing for marijuana - even though the legal test to determine when and in what circumstances drug testing is reasonable remains the same, says Bettina Xue Griffin, legal associate at Blue J Legal.
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September 18, 2019
Automation will shake up jobs the legal sector. It’s also a golden opportunity for firms to update the skills of their legal professionals.
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September 18, 2019
"Ultimately, it's going to come down to some extent to geopolitics -- the amount of tax isn't going to make a dent with these tech players," [Blue J Legal CEO Benjamin Alarie] said.
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September 5, 2019
“The legal system is supposed to operate the same for everybody regardless of the judge you get or the lawyer working on your case,” [Blue J Legal CEO] Alarie said in an interview.
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July 5, 2019
January 4, 2019
"A renaissance in artificial intelligence research has been driven by reimagining obstacles as 'prediction problems,' according to a professor and author." Benjamin Alarie, CEO of Blue J Legal, interviewed for CBC's The Current.
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November 29, 2018
"Blue J Legal, a Toronto, Canada-based machine learning and artificial intelligence legal service, raised US$7m in a Series A financing."
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November 29, 2018
"Blue J Legal, a Toronto-based software platform focused on the legal industry, has secured about $9.3 million (US$7 million) in a Series A financing."
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November 29, 2018
"Toronto-based Blue J Legal has raised $9.3 million CAD in a series A round. The round was led by Relay Ventures, with participation from US-based LDV Partners, and returning investors BDC Capital and Mistral Venture Partners."
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September 13, 2018
"The Justice Department has quietly launched an artificial intelligence experiment as the Trudeau government prepares to use such sophisticated software to help make decisions in cases involving immigration, pension benefits and taxes."
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June 5, 2018
"Does one successful startup lead to another? That’s definitely the case for Ben Alarie and his co-founders at Blue J Legal, the Toronto start-up which experienced success with the 2015 launch of Tax Foresight, a system that uses machine learning algorithms to predict the likely outcomes of tax law cases. Now they’ve applied that same winning formula to employment law."
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April 16, 2018
"Machine learning is now able to analyze court decisions and predict how judges may respond in certain situations, based on an analysis of existing caselaw."
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April 4, 2018
Benjamin Alarie co-founded Blue J Legal, which makes AI tools that run legal simulations to predict court decisions
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March 14, 2018
"'As law professors, we co-founders have always studied judicial decisions using quantitative methods,' says Benjamin Alarie, Osler Chair in Business Law at the University of Toronto and co-founder of Blue J Legal. "So I think we were primed for using machine learning and new algorithms to analyze judicial decision making." Adding that he believes within five years it will be taken for granted that law firms will be using computational tools to get an initial take on a client situation or a legal research problem."
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February 12, 2018
"With the impending legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, times are changing for Canadians. Different as they may seem, these developments have something surprising in common: Artificial intelligence is being used by employers and employment lawyers to navigate the challenging question of what constitutes legally justified testing for employee cannabis use."
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November 27, 2017
"Toronto startup Blue J Legal has launched new artificial intelligence software to help predict how courts would resolve employment law issues.
Mark Le Blanc, general counsel at educational public broadcaster TVO, says the software “doesn’t give you the answer, but if you can frame the question clearly, what they can do is really limit the risk — they’re risk tools. That’s the most valuable thing for me as a GC.”
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November 24, 2017
"Compliance with legal requirements is critical, and non-compliance can be costly. For many organizations, solving these challenges cost-effectively and efficiently is itself a challenge. This is where software that helps to identify what might be needed to address a particular employment law issue is valuable."
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November 22, 2017
"Toronto startup Blue J Legal has launched new artificial intelligence software to help predict how courts would resolve employment law issues.
Mark Le Blanc, general counsel at educational public broadcaster TVO, says the software “doesn’t give you the answer, but if you can frame the question clearly, what they can do is really limit the risk — they’re risk tools. That’s the most valuable thing for me as a GC.”
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November 21, 2017
"Canadian companies lay off an estimated 800,000 employees every year, and organizations grapple with employment law at every step along the way, especially if they are unable to afford in-house lawyers or consultation. Employment Foresight collects and analyzes the facts and findings from thousands of cases to predict how a court may rule in new circumstances."
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November 8, 2017
"If there is one word that sums up a central obsession in today’s legal word it is innovation. Law firms and their clients are both continually seeking innovation and being innovated for. It is time to ask, ‘what does innovation actually mean?’ Fear not, we aren’t looking to bore you with the etymology of the word and how it has evolved over time, but rather to examine what it means in practice."
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November 6, 2017
"Litigation is a complex practice of law, with many sub-niches requiring specialization in a particular field. However, one thing that brings all litigators together, regardless of their practice areas, is the adversary process. On this list, you’ll find ten companies supporting litigators both in and out of the courtroom, as well as helping in-house legal departments make more informed choices about who will represent them in court. From crowdfunding litigation expenses to managing IP dockets, it’s all here. Keep an eye on these ten companies that are sure to continue to make waves in 2018."
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October 30, 2017
"For years, budding airplane pilots and race-car drivers have been able to strap themselves into virtual simulators to test their respective skills and odds of real-world success. But what about lawyers?"
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October 16, 2017
"Many graduates will find themselves starting their own law firm, alone or in association with a few colleagues. Others will seek to use their technology skills to develop outstanding legal tools such as Blue J Legal, ROSS and Kira Systems that are changing how lawyers practise."
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August 28, 2017
"Blue J Legal and Thomson Reuters recently launched a machine-learning algorithm called Tax Foresight that searches for patterns in case law in Canada to find what elements influence judges’ rulings in tax disputes. “Let’s say the user has a legal question — maybe they are in dispute with the tax authorities — where the law is ambiguous,” said Benjamin Alarie, founder of Blue J Legal and a professor of law at the University of Toronto."
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September 1, 2017
"For many lawyers, the problem of adoption stems from a culture that nurtures the image of the “ ingenious lawyer who triumphs by intellect rather than by procedural discipline” To overcome this image, lawyers need to understand that there is still room for unique judgment, analysis and creativity when using technological systems. In fact, using technology for many of the more rote aspects of a file can free lawyers up to apply these higher-level skills to any issue."
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July 1, 2017
"Artificial intelligence, until recently, could not perform jobs that required human judgment and creativity. Not so today. Is any profession safe from the encroachment of AI?"
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June 5, 2017
"Maybe it’s unfair that some people think tax lawyers have the personality of a robot, but Benjamin Alarie considers that to be a plus. A Yale-trained lawyer himself, Mr. Alarie’s Toronto firm, Blue J Legal, harnesses artificial (or augmented) intelligence (AI) to help lawyers and their clients work their way through the complications of tax law."
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March 1, 2017
"Jobs you may have thought safe from automation, like mortgage brokers or paralegals, may soon be replaced by intelligent software."
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February 7, 2017
"By using machine learning to rapidly analyze case documents, Blue J Legal’s software helps lawyers spot problems before their day in court."
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August 24, 2015
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