President's Message: How Do Lawyers Remain Central as Transformative Legal Technology Ascends?
As the Association spearheaded our second annual OBA AI Week in May, under the theme “AI: Just Give it a Try”, we invited members to explore in their own time, and according to their own interests, what practical benefits the latest technological tools might bring to their practices. As with all the OBA’s innovation offerings, the aim is to equip members with everything they need to know and experience, to make the decisions that support their success in law: not to steer, but to empower.
As the Association spearheaded our second annual OBA AI Week in May, under the theme “AI: Just Give it a Try”, we invited members to explore in their own time, and according to their own interests, what practical benefits the latest technological tools might bring to their practices. This low-commitment, go-at-your-own-pace entrée is effective because for every lawyer brimming with enthusiasm for the potential advantages of AI, there is a least one other backing away with suspicion. But, the objective, as it is with all the OBA’s innovation offerings, is to equip members with everything they need to know, and to directly experience, to make the decisions that support their success in law – the aim is not to steer, but to empower.
The OBA’s AI Academy has been uniquely valuable in this regard, providing a platform through which lawyers can get their feet wet – to find out what all the fuss is about – and to make their own determinations about how AI tools fit into their day-to-day operations. Encouraged by regular AI Week email suggestions, members learned how to engage constructively with AI, through games and interactive exercises (both guided and self-directed), to, among other things, perfect their prompting techniques and hone their examination and client-interview skills.
Lawyers who have dropped into the weekly, virtual AI Office Hours, hosted by OBA Innovator in Residence Colin Lachance and featuring leaders in the legal and tech spheres, found a welcoming space in which to pose all the questions they may have been reticent to ask elsewhere, as they joined others charting a course through unfamiliar terrain, with shared fascination and caution around leveraging transformative technology.
While the OBA’s AI Office Hours and AI Week 2025 have come to an end, we continue to offer Real Intelligence on AI – through dedicated live and on-demand programming, like our imminent Effective Legal Prompting program; AI-focused sessions and insights incorporated into multi-faceted events like our recent Anatomy of a Trial and upcoming TECHxpo; current and conversational newsletters and articles; and practical AI Academy training sessions, delivered virtually and in cities across the province.
It's our mission to ensure lawyers remain in a position of control in employing the technological tools, supports and strategies that serve them best – whether that’s an AI assistant that eases administrative burden; a Pro Bono Portal that makes finding service-organizations and communities in need of legal advice a snap; or a community platform (details to come!) that connects OBA members, with a few simple clicks, to career, mentorship and engagement opportunities that might form a turning point in a professional trajectory or foster a greater sense of fulfilment.
As the lawyer-technology partnership evolves, the OBA is committed to keeping the lawyer’s skill, compassion and professionalism at the centre – to ensure that new tools enhance, not replace, our important work. Providing our members with the intelligence and opportunities to develop the competence, curiosity and confidence around promising and increasingly prevalent tech tools puts them in the driver’s seat on a road open to infinite possibilities.
