The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and the Legal Innovation Zone launched an artificial intelligence (AI) legal challenge to encourage law firms to use technology companies that apply AI to legal applications.

The six finalists each provide a unique approach using AI to solve legal problems in one way or another. Their work also sheds light on the AI possibilities for the legal market.

Destin AI created an AI chatbot which assists individuals undergoing an immigration process. The chatbot provides eligibility feedback, prepares documents, and offers guidance to individuals through the various steps of their application.

Diligen Inc. uses machine learning algorithms to assist large law firms with the due diligence process of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions. The algorithm does both automatic contract review, and provides project management tools.

Evichat provides an e-discovery tool which allows lawyers to collect and review mobile communication and social media data from litigants. The use of e-discovery instead of lawyers reduces costs while decreasing the turn-around time.

LoomAnalytics uses a data-driven legal research assistant that finds, classifies and sorts case law. The combination of legal analysis and machine learning provides information on win/loss rates, judge ruling histories, and litigation trends over time.

Legacity created NLPatent, a patent analysis tool, which examines millions of existing patents to consider the similarity between those patents and the proposed invention. NLPatent also evaluates the novelty of the creation to assess the eligibility for patenting.

Splyt allows applicants to complete an application for divorce online. Its main focus is uncontested divorces and assists users by taking them through every step of the process, as well as auto-filling the necessary court forms.

Each of the six finalists now completes a residency at the Legal Innovation Zone where they’re offered support and access to technology before pitching their final products to the panellists. The three top companies will receive funding and a further residency.

Norton Rose Fulbright also launched a chatbot to help manage data breaches. ‘Parker’, the first Australian law firm chatbot to respond on privacy law, is powered by artificial intelligence.