戈尔韦大学招收法学博士
About the Project
Fully Funded PhD Scholarship in Regulation of Legal Analytics School of Law Application(s) are invited from suitably qualified candidates for full-time funded PhD scholarship(s) starting in September 2023 affiliated to the School of Law at the University of Galway.
University of Galway
Located in the vibrant cultural city of Galway in the west of Ireland, the University of Galway has a distinguished reputation for teaching and research excellence For information on moving to Ireland please see http://www.euraxess.ie
Detailed Project Description:
Legal analytics – the use of computational data analysis tools and techniques to analyse data on the operation of the legal system (such as legislation or case law) or on the operations of legal professionals and enterprises – is an established but rapidly-developing field. It includes many different approaches, such as ‘artificial intelligence’ systems that attempt to predict the outcomes of litigation; automated contract review, pleadings and contract drafting; access to justice tools that support non-lawyers in engaging with legal processes; and business-focused tools that assist law firm managers in making decisions on marketing, hiring and other aspects of the bottom line. The recent expansion in availability and functionality of these tools has caused concern in some jurisdictions and led to some regulation, with more likely to come in the future.
First of all, while the provision of legal services is generally a regulated sector from country to country, the exact scope of that regulation varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The development of legal analytics has led to litigation, for example over services that assist couples in preparing documents for a non-contentious divorce. The outcomes of these cases have diverged: in England and Wales, the Family Court has ruled that assisting couples to prepare paperwork for a non-contentious divorce is not prohibited there, while in France, the Court of Appeal for Aix-en-Provence found a similar service was providing unauthorised legal advice. These examples may be motivated by protectionism or by the need to ensure that consumers are not exploited by insufficiently educated or unethical providers; or indeed, by a mix of both. A second, and perhaps more concerning, approach is a specific ban, such as that in France. This prohibits the use of legal analytics on judicial decision-making, and was enacted in the wake of studies which seemed to demonstrate very different patterns of outcomes in asylum decision-making. This could be explained by the civil law’s view of the judge as an anonymous and interchangeable fonctionnaire or by an unwillingness to be held accountable for biased processes. Funding Agency Logo (if applicable).
A third source of potential regulation is data protection and privacy law, which will also vary widely between jurisdictions and in some contexts (particularly the EU) could significantly limit the development of legal analytics. The regulation of these tools is still contested, therefore, both as a matter of practice and in terms of the justifications provided for them. This PhD would research this contestation. It should consider how analytics offer opportunities for better access to justice, greater transparency and accountability, and more consistent and fairer legal processes. It should also consider the extent to which market forces, technological limitations, and the uncomputability of the law may hinder such positive developments. It should explore the implications that this has for the regulation of analytics and their adoption by practitioners, judges, and courts.
It is open to a candidate to define their own PhD topic, but representative research questions could include:
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of analytics techniques as applied to law?
• What approaches to regulation of (new) legal services are adopted in different jurisdictions worldwide, and to what extent are these focused on protecting consumers or on vested interests?
• Are legal analytics an economic activity which should be regulated by the European Union, as part of the common market, and if so, to what degree of harmonisation and with what level of competence retained by the Member States?
• What are the implications of data protection and privacy laws, which are developing rapidly in many jurisdictions worldwide, for legal analytics? • How can the governance of legal analytics foster better access to justice?
Academic Entry Requirements:
A minimum 2:1 Honours (or equivalent grade) UG and/or PG Degree in law or a related discipline (philosophy, social science etc). In exceptional circumstances a 2.2 would be considered where the candidate had significant practical or lived experience in the field.
To Apply for the Scholarship:
Interested candidates should complete this Proposal Form, and submit a CV and an academic writing sample (e.g. article, course essay, dissertation) by 5pm, 28th August 2023 to ronan.m.kennedy@universityofgalway.ie and/or abigail.rekas@universityofgalway.ie. Informal inquiries can be sent to the same addresses. Candidates may be invited to interview. Funding Agency Logo (if applicable)
Contact Name: Dr Rónán Kennedy & Dr Abigail Rekas
Contact Email: ronan.m.kennedy@universityofgalway.ie and abigail.rekas@universityofgalway.ie
Application Deadline: 28August 2023 at 17:00
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