Canada’s first virtual legal conference to be hosted by Queen’s Law honouring electronic research pioneer

Photo by Michael Onesi

Professor Arthur Cockfield poses with his virtual avatar in the site of the upcoming event "Human Autonomy, Law and Technology: A Virtual Conference in Honour of the late Professor Emeritus Hugh Lawford"

Professor Arthur Cockfield, with the help of Queen’s students and collaborators, is preparing to make Canadian history by hosting a legal conference on March 18, 2010 – in cyberspace.

The conference will bring together leading scholars from around the world to discuss the relationship between law and technology. They will meet in the computer-generated world of Second Life on an island – a virtual hub – hosted and maintained by the Queen’s Faculty of Education.

At 1 p.m. (EST) participants armed only with a computer and an internet connection will log on as avatars from different cities across the globe to participate in this Canadian first.

Remembering a technological innovator

Professor Emeritus Hugh Lawford, pictured in 2001 when he was presented the Law Society Medal

The conference honours the memory of Professor Emeritus Hugh Lawford, who passed away in 2009.  A technological pioneer in legal research, Lawford was dedicated to ensuring that the law was accessible to everybody, from a big city law firm to a small country law office, and used computers to make it happen.  As far as Cockfield is concerned, it is only fitting that the next Canadian step in making legal scholarship available through technology is in Lawford's honour.

“He was the person who innovated online legal research,” Cockfield recalls. In the 1960s, Lawford created the technology that went on be licensed by LexisNexis and became QUICKLAW, the hugely popular online legal research tool.

Cockfield, who was a student in Lawford's small-section torts class, and two of his Law ‘93 classmates, Matt Zischka of Smart & Biggar and Gavin Wise of HBO’s WestCoast Programming, will pay tribute to Lawford.

“His contribution to the law was invaluable,” Cockfield says.

Technology meets the law

The conference, titled “Human Autonomy, Law and Technology: A Virtual Conference in Honour of the late Professor Emeritus Hugh Lawford” will be a step towards understanding how the law should react to continuously changing technology.

“So far, there is no theory that informs legal analysis and technology,” says Cockfield, explaining that the conference will be a step towards helping to fill that gap.  The papers presented will cover humans’ relationship with technology, privacy issues, and the impact of new technologies.

The conference will proceed like any normal conference. Dean Jim Chen of the University of Louisiana will deliver the keynote address. Speakers will present papers and then panellists, such as Zischka and Wise, will offer commentary. The only difference is that participants will interact with each other only through their voice and their virtual representatives. Audience members will be able to submit text questions and panellists will respond orally.

Cockfield has been working for the better part of a year with students Erin Durant, Law ‘09, and Nathan Green, Law ‘10, as well as the Queen's Faculty of Education and its e-learning team to get the conference up and running.

Cockfield says he is unsure whether this sort of forum is a glimpse into the future of legal conferences, but it is definitely a step towards a more exciting way to interact with fellow human beings.  The potential extends into academia and beyond, enabling scholars and professionals to attend conferences and meetings without ever having to leave the comfort of their own offices.

“Imagine being able to come to a virtual Macdonald Hall and into my office and visit me without having to come to Kingston,” Cockfield says.

Smiling, he adds, “It’s a technological dream!”
    
To register for the conference, please complete the form at http://orgs.educ.queensu.ca/law/.  
There is no registration fee; however, attendance will be limited by space requirements and registration will take place on a 'first come first served' basis until maximum attendance is reached.

Watch a recording of the Conference (Answer NO to a Security Warning pop-up. If video does not play, install Adobe Flash Player) 

For the conference agenda and papers, see http://law.queensu.ca/events/recentConferences.html