Organization Profile
Blue J leverages the power of artificial intelligence and industry-leading legal expertise to help lawyers to deliver the answers and insight they need to be successful. Blue J’s platform is designed to improve productivity while enabling the legal team to focus on higher value tasks.
The Opportunity
Students have the opportunity to work part of the summer with Blue J, preparing legal work and conducting research projects under the guidance of Blue J’s team. After working in the fast-paced world of legal technology, they will have the chance to take the learnings out into the real world as they develop their own legal tech start-up with the assistance of Blue J’s team and the Future of Law Lab.
Student Profiles
Name: Daniel Mester
Year: J.D. Candidate 2023
Future of Law Lab Position: Future of Law Fellowship with Blue J Legal
Q&A
How did you first become interested in tech, innovation, and the evolution of the legal profession? Prior to law school, I had completed a business degree with a focus on entrepreneurialism and had also worked at a growing e-commerce company, so my interest in tech and innovation came before my interest in the legal space. However, I didn’t know exactly how I could combine those interests with my legal education until I got involved with the Future of Law Lab. From there, my interest in legal innovation and technology only continued to grow.
How has the Future of Law Lab helped you to pursue your interests? One of the most significant ways the Future of Law Lab helped me pursue my interests in legal innovation was by simply allowing me to hear from lawyers who had done exciting, non-traditional things with their legal education. Also, through the more hands-on events that the Lab hosted, such as the Design Thinking workshop, I gained some of the practical tools that legal innovators have used to succeed. I then got to put these skills to use in the Future of Law Lab Fellowship—with constant support from the Lab.
How have you found your work experience with the Future of Law Fellowship? I found the Future of Law Fellowship incredibly rewarding. Through the placement at Blue J, I got my first chance to develop legal research and writing skills outside of the classroom and I learned a ton about different areas of substantive law. I also got to experience first-hand how a legal tech startup operates and scales. The experience translated well for the second half of the summer, where my partner and I developed our own legal tech business idea—a really rewarding experience in itself. We were able to work on our own schedules and based on our specific areas of interest but received constant support and mentorship from Josh and Ben Alarie.
What is your favourite moment working in the Fellowship this summer? The final presentation in front of Josh Morrison (Director of the Lab), the CEO of Blue J, and the Dean of the Faculty of Law was my favourite part of my Fellowship. It was a great way to cap off 6 weeks of hard work and the questions and feedback we received at the end were very helpful and insightful. We also came away from the experience with a polished business plan and pitch deck that we can one day use to launch our legal tech business.
Do you have any recommendations for students who want to engage with technology and innovation? Take advantage of all the opportunities the Future of Law Lab, the Faculty of Law, and the university in general have to offer—whether that is guest speakers, workshops, or summer internships. After university, these resources become more difficult to access and other obligations get in the way.
Name: Eliana Viner
Year: J.D. Candidate 2023
Future of Law Lab Position: Future of Law Fellowship with Blue J Legal
Q&A
How did you first become interested in tech, innovation, and the evolution of the legal profession? How has the Future of Law Lab helped you to pursue your interests? As a graduate of the Ivey Business School, who has worked at a scaling tech company, I was eager to combine my business knowledge with my passion for technology and the startup space. I was particularly interested to learn how the legal profession can harness innovative technologies to improve access to justice. Through the Future of Law Lab’s programming and summer fellowship, I was able to hear about technological developments and how they impact the delivery of legal services. I was then given the opportunity to immerse myself into this forward-looking environment through the Future of Law Fellowship. During this fellowship, I saw how lawyers, businesspeople and software developers can combine their expertise to create a product that streamlines legal research and strategic planning in the areas of tax and labour and employment law.
How have you found your work experience with the Future of Law Fellowship? What was your favourite moment over the course of the Fellowship? My primary responsibility at Blue J was to conduct legal research on Canadian and US tax issues. After conducting this research, I was able to provide legal insights to other members of the legal research and product development team to enhance current products and inform feasibility of new ones. Being able to work across functions and see how legal research can be combined with other disciplines to predict legal outcomes was a unique and outstanding experience. After Blue J, my partner and I began developing a legal tech idea of our own. Making connections with lawyers, accelerators and incubators, and entrepreneurs while conducting market research for this project was invaluable as I learned about the nuances of the lawyer-client relationship from experienced professionals. Culminating the summer by pitching our business idea to an expert panel was a great way to showcase our summer’s work and gain feedback to improve our idea for the future. Working on these different projects and benefiting from the mentorship of Ben Alarie, Josh Morrison, and others throughout the summer made the Future of Law Fellowship a truly unforgettable experience.
Do you have any recommendations for students who want to engage with technology and innovation? I am keen to continue learning about technology and innovation, with a particular interest in how it will continue to shape the legal profession. One way in which I plan to do this, and encourage others interested in these topics to do so, is to continue taking advantage of the programs offered at U of T law. The Future of Law Lab offers great workshops and exposure to technology and innovation in law. Another great resource is U of T Legal Hackers. These both provide a great opportunity to learn from experts and connect with others who share a common interest!