INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LAWYERS

Transcription

1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LAWYERS

2 Information Technology and Lawyers Advanced Technology in the Legal Domain, from Challenges to Daily Routine Edited by ARNO R. LODDER Centre for Electronic Dispute Resolution (cedire.org) ANJA OSKAMP Computer/Law Institute (cli.vu)

3 A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN (HB) ISBN (HB) ISBN (e-book) ISBN (e-book) Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Printed on acid-free paper All rights reserved. C 2006 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed in the Netherlands.

4 CONTENTS Preface vii 1. Introduction: Law, Information Technology, and Artificial Intelligence 1 ANJA OSKAMP AND ARNO R. LODDER 1.1. Information Technology and Lawyers Information Technology and Law Information Technology Law IT for Lawyers Technology and the Involvement of Lawyers Some Basic Concepts Taxonomy of Technology Support for Lawyers Three Different Taxonomies Knowledge Management and Taxonomies Artificial Intelligence Problem Solving Modeling Tasks and Processes Games Communication Perception Robotica Conclusion AI and Law Information Retrieval 1950s Knowledge Systems and Argumentation 1980s Organizations and Conferences Convergence in it and Law Online Dispute Resolution Intelligent Agents Validation Courtroom Technology or IT Support of the Judiciary The European Countries Australia, Singapore and Venezuala Case Management: Road to Success Structure of the Book Case-Based Reasoning 23 KEVIN ASHLEY 2.1. Introduction: A Computerized Case-Based Legal Assistant Desiderata for a Computerized Case-Based Legal Assistant 25 v

5 vi CONTENTS 2.3. A Computer Program Compares Legal Cases on Their Facts Legal IR Case Retrieval vs. Case Comparison Automating Case-Based Comparison, Inference, and Argument Dimensional Case Comparison, Inference, and Argument Case Comparison, Inference, and Argument With Ebes Integrating Case-Based and Logical Inference Prediction in Computerized Case-Based Legal Assistants Connecting With Full-Text Legal Information Retrieval Tools Conclusion: Synthesizing a Computerized Case-Based Legal Assistant: How Far Off? Argumentation 61 TREVOR BENCH-CAPON AND HENRY PRAKKEN 3.1. Introduction Proof and Argument Early Systems For Legal Argumentation Conflicting Interpretations Reasoning with Precedents Logical Accounts of Reasoning Under Disagreement Reasoning about Conflicting Rules Other Arguments about Rules Dialogue and Mediation Systems Tactics for Dispute Argument Schemes Systems to Structure Argument Prospects for Practical Realisation Concluding Remarks Knowledge Discovery from Legal Databases Using Neural Networks and Data Mining to Build Legal Decision Support Systems 81 ANDREW STRANIERI AND JOHN ZELEZNIKOW 4.1. Introduction Differences Between Legal and Other Data Open Texture and Discretion Landmark and Commonplace Cases Stare Decisis Phases in the Knowledge Discovery From Database Process Data Selection Data PreProcessing Data Transformation Data Mining and Evaluation Neural Networks Feed Forward Networks Neural Networks and Defeasible Rules Neural Networks and Vague Terms Neural Networks in Law 102

6 CONTENTS vii 4.5. Knowledge Discovery from Database Techniques Classification Clustering and Text Mining Time Series Analysis Association Rules Limitations of Knowledge Discovery From Databases Conclusion Improving Access to Legal Information: How Drafting Systems Help 119 MARIE-FRANCINE MOENS 5.1. Introduction Legal Information State of the Art of Legal Drafting Systems State of the Art of Legal Information Retrieval Systems Legal Drafting Improves Access to Legal Information Drafting and Traditional Retrieval Interactive Question Answering System Future Directions Conclusions Internet, WWW, and Beyond 137 GERALD QUIRCHMAYR 6.1. Aim, Organization, and Background of this Chapter What the Internet Means for Lawyers and How it Has Contributed to Changing the Work Environment of Lawyers The Internet as Increasingly Important Source of Information Searching For Information on the Internet Providing Information and Doing Business on the Internet The Language of the WWW E-Administration A Profound Change For the Legal Profession Integrating the Internet with Traditional Desktop-Based Office Environments and Databases Emerging Technologies: Mobile, Ubiquitous, and Pervasive Systems Security and Stability: Concerns for Internet-Based Infrastructures Mobile Lawyers and Live Spaces: A Look at Technology Without Walls Selected Best Practice Examples Conclusion Artificial Intelligence in the Real Legal Workplace 165 MARC LAURITSEN 7.1. Nature and Artifice Three Kinds of Knowledge Technology Storage and Transport 166

7 viii CONTENTS Extending Humans Independent Work Law Office Knowledge Tool Examples AI More Specifically What Does It Mean To Be Smart? Some Distinctions AI in Law Legal Uses of Nonlegal AI Legal Uses of Legal AI Obstacles and Opportunities Theory and Practice The Legal Industry Signs of Change Room for Improvement 175 Bibliography 177 Index 191

8 PREFACE The area of Information Technology and Lawyers is a fascinating one. Both from a practical and an academic perspective the opportunities of applying Information Technology to law are tremendous. At the same time, however, lawyers are, in this field, amongst the most conservative professionals, and traditional late adapters of technology. Nowadays the gap between Information Technology and Lawyers is gradually closing, in particular due to the Internet and the richness of legal sources to be found online. This book provides material to further bridge the gap by showing people with alegal background what is possible with Information Technology now and in the near future, as well as by showing people with an IT background what opportunities exist in the domain of law. Generally, this book hopes to be a source of interesting material to all interested in the intersection between Information Technology and Lawyers, both from an academic and a practitioners point of view. The authors of the various chapters did a great job in discussing the topics at a level that can be understood by readers with no particular legal or IT background, while at the same time even specialists in the field of IT and Law should appreciate this book. We thank Christa Hoeksel for helping us in preparing the Camera Ready manuscript. Amsterdam, July 2005 Arno R. Lodder Anja Oskamp ix