There have been many entrepreneurial projects born recently at the intersection between the legal world and artificial intelligence. Bench IQ is one of them. This Toronto-based legal research startup, founded by legal technology entrepreneur Jimoh Ovbiagele and former Kirkland & Ellis partner Jeffrey Gettleman, promises a novel application of AI in law.
Bench IQ aims to record judges' decision-making processes and offer lawyers a tool that attempts to predict how judges think. In this sense, the goal is to provide privileged information to adapt legal arguments and strategies.
Bench IQ leverages AI technology based on large linguistic models to analyze a judge's rulings. This approach would provide lawyers with detailed information about judges' decision-making patterns, a feat so far unattainable with traditional legal research tools. They would achieve this because artificial intelligence can analyze a lot of data and extract patterns that inform strategic legal decisions.
Legal knowledge
Bench IQ's approach merges technological innovation with the legal perspective that lawyers have. By offering insight into judges' legal reasoning that goes beyond mere statistics, Bench IQ aims to be an explanatory rather than a descriptive tool. This distinction underscores the value of understanding why judicial decisions are made, enabling lawyers to tailor their strategies with an unparalleled level of precision.
The implications of Bench IQ technology for legal practice are profound. By providing insight into judges' decision-making patterns, lawyers can approach cases with a more informed strategy, which can lead to more favorable outcomes for their clients. This level of knowledge enhances a lawyer's ability to make data-driven decisions, a significant advance over the traditional reliance on intuition and experience.
While the promise of Bench IQ is immense, it also raises ethical considerations regarding privacy and potential misuse. The company's commitment to confidentiality and its pending patents suggest a conscious approach to these concerns. Although, going forward, ethical concerns may arise regarding judge data or those of the cases handled.
Bench IQ's foray into legal technology marks an important milestone in the application of AI to law. By offering a window into the minds of judges, the startup not only promises to improve legal strategies, but also to instill a greater sense of confidence in the legal process. As this technology continues to evolve, its impact on the legal profession and beyond will undoubtedly be watched with great interest.
