Thinking of using AI tools for legal help and information? Read this first. Earlier this year, CPLEA worked with Alberta Law Libraries (ALL) to gather frontline insights about how people are using AI tools to find legal help and information. We used our findings to develop a new public … [Read more...]
AI Quick Start Guide for Legal Help: Part I – Know Your Tools
Thinking of using AI tools for legal help and information? Read this first. Earlier this year, CPLEA worked with Alberta Law Libraries (ALL) to gather frontline insights about how people are using AI tools to find legal help and information. We used our findings to develop a new public … [Read more...]
Now Live: The Legal Foundations for Justice Navigators Program
The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) has launched a training program for justice navigators! Here’s what to expect and how to get started. We at CPLEA are excited to announce the launch of the Legal Foundations for Justice Navigators program! This free program aims to equip … [Read more...]
Canada’s Oldest and Youngest Law Schools: A history of change
Law schools in Canada started out as elite and exclusive places but are now changing to adapt to the needs of the future. Law schools may conjure many images in a person’s mind: sturdy granite and sandstone walls covered with a dense growth of English ivy, centuries-old neoclassic buildings … [Read more...]
Charting a new path with legal information in Alberta
The following is a summary of what we heard through CPLEA’s community consultations project – along with a glimpse into human-centred design in action within the legal information and services ecosystem. This is probably a problem we can all relate to when working on a long-running project or … [Read more...]
Calgary Launches Community Court to Tackle Minor Offences, Aid Vulnerable Citizens
Calgary's Community Court is an alternative court space that gives people facing minor offences the support they need to improve their lives. "Justice is a basic human need. In our highly regulated and complex society, people confront legal problems in myriad aspects of their daily lives. And … [Read more...]
Introducing Preventive Legal Services: Seeing law differently
Preventive law (also known as “preventative law”) is an approach to law that empowers people about their legal rights and responsibilities, while minimizing the risks of litigation. In the cyberpunk science fiction film, The Matrix, there’s an iconic scene where the main character, Neo, meets … [Read more...]
A Day in the Life of Alberta Law Libraries
Did you know that Alberta Law Libraries offers services to the public, not just the legal profession? Each day, staff support Albertans by answering questions about court forms, legal research, processes and more. Working for Alberta Law Libraries (ALL) is an engaging and rewarding career, but … [Read more...]
Artificial Intelligence in Public Legal Education: An experiment from the bottom up
The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) undertook a trial of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to explore ways to improve both internal workflows and its public legal education and information resources. The 2022–2023 Bridging the Gaps Legal Needs Assessment from the Alberta Law … [Read more...]
When Silence Speaks Volumes
Low reporting rates for sexual violence reveal a lot about the need for specialized services that prioritize safety, choice and long-term support beyond the traditional justice system. Despite decades of advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and law reform, the vast majority of sexual violence … [Read more...]
