Lexum inc. is proud to be associated with the University of Montreal, it’s Faculty of Law and with the Public Law Research Centre in association with the Chaire Lexum.
The Lexum Research Chair conducts various research projects according to its schedule and to its mission and this with all the independence which its membership in the University extends. The guidelines and objectives of the Chair were approved by the Executive Committee of the University of Montreal on November 11, 2014 and can be summarized as follows:
The University established in 2004 the Chaire LexUM in Legal technologies to maintain the leadership position established by the Lexum laboratory in legal information, and research in computer science and the law, established in 1995 by Professor Daniel Poulin. The latter served as the holder of the Chair until his retirement in January 2014. On this occasion and with his agreement, arrangements and the future direction of the Chair have been reviewed to be expanded and to be made more flexible.
The original purpose of the Chair is renewed. It shall promote legal information and access to justice. The establishment of the Chair promotes research in legal technologies and thus promises to contribute to the development of our values and legal traditions. The targetted results relate to the democratization of access to legal information or access to justice itself. For this, the Chair continues and expands the collaboration established by the Lexum laboratory in legal technologies with key stakeholders in the legal sector, whether from government, industry or business. The Chair focuses on the social and legal issues of developments in legal technologies. Finally, the Chair offers a conducive platform for the ongoing development of the transfer of expertise and outreach activities internationally.
More specifically, the Chair aims to:
- Develop new approaches for the design of legal information systems, including the exploration of new avenues for the search and retrieval of information;
- Explore, develop and analyze new distribution models of the law, particularly those associated with open access to law;
- Explore and conduct research in legal technologies to improve the preparation and management of legal information by the government, the professional sector, and other;
- Develop new technical approaches in order to improve the exchange of legal information;
- Participate with organizations in the development of documentary and technical standards for the law;
- Study the social and legal issues of the upheavals brought by information technologies in the legal sector;
- Promote the development and distribution of free and open source software in the legal sector in order to democratize access to technology, particularly in emerging countries.
The Chaire Lexum is capitalized with funds coming from Lexum’s research contracts while the company worked within the University, as well as payments made by Lexum since it left the University to become a fully private company. The amounts available annually for the operation of the Chair are determined by University policy, aiming at the protection and growth of long-term capital and the optimization of the amounts actually available for the undertaking of the Chair’s activities.
For information on the activities of the Chaire Lexum please contact the Chair Holder at the University of Montreal.
