Sarah A. Sutherland

Hallucinated References, Government Reports, and Managing Your Citations - Slaw Given the high value placed on research excellence by legal professionals and consultants, I am surprised that stories continue to be reported about the lack of rigour exercised in the creation of wor...

I really think that using generative AI applications for generating citations to support writing is problematic practice, especially when tools like exist that manage references so well.
I wrote about this more in my most recent @slawdotca.bsky.social column:
www.slaw.ca/2026/02/02/h...

The Dark Lady | Bard on the Beach

We went to see a play about Emilia Bassano last year, which speculated that she had a relationship with Shakespeare as lovers and collaborators:
bardonthebeach.org/whats-on/the...

Publisher article page screenshot

Oh hey @parlcharlie.bsky.social! I just saw an interesting article to read and then looked at who wrote it: "Going beyond repeal: a preliminary exploration of ‘unenacting’ legislation," doi-org.eux.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/slr/...

J’ai le plaisir de partager la publication de mon tout premier article dans une revue de droit : « Démographie, droit civil ou autre chose ? Comprendre le taux plus faible de signalements de problèmes juridiques au Québec » : www.lex-electronica.org/articles/vol...

Démographie, droit civil ou autre chose ? Comprendre le taux plus faible de signalements de problèmes juridiques au Québec

Here's the French version: www.lex-electronica.org/articles/vol...

Photo of the Quebec City skyline across the St Lawrence River through a window.

I'm thrilled to share my first published law review article: "Demographics, Civil Law, or Something Else? Understanding the Lower Rate of Reported Legal Problems in Quebec."
It was published in Lex Electronica, Centre de recherche en droit public (CRDP): www.lex-electronica.org/articles/vol...

I'm happy to be joining the program committee for the ICAIL Conference, which will be held at Singapore Management University Centre for Digital Law, June 8-12, 2026.
Please send your conference proposals before January 31. The call for papers is here: site.smu.edu.sg/icail-2026#c....

In Vancouver the art students at Emily Carr University have a student sale at the end of the school year. There may be something similar there too.

Time to set an alarm…

Photo of two hands holding sparklers at sunset

"This is the time of year when many people are getting unwelcome news about something…", so I thought I'd reshare my Slaw column on "Failure and What Comes Next": www.slaw.ca/2019/12/24/f....

Clawbies.ca Canadian Law Blog Awards

* I would also like to take this opportunity to nominate myself for an honorary #clawbies2026 award for having my first Slaw column of the new year written already.

There's one more day to make your Clawbie nominations, please let us know what Canadian legal blogs, podcasts, and social media accounts you've been paying attention to this year by posting here with the #clawbies2025 hashtag. The deadline is Dec. 15 (for more information: www.clawbies.ca).

It seems to me that if you really want to speak with your dead family members, you would be better off with a good medium than an LLM model.

The Canadian Bar Association : Amplifying Canadian Legal Voices: Examining the Role of the Annual Clawbie Awards (Recording) Last year, it was predicted that 2025 would be “The Year of the Truth-Teller.” But for legal bloggers, what does that really mean for the profession and the clients it serves? Why do the Clawbies matter, and how do they help shape the conversation around legal issues in Canada?

.@jordanfurlong.com, @steveamatthews.bsky.social, and I spoke about the #clawbies2025 awards and the state of open legal publishing for one of @cba-news.bsky.social's Legal Futures Fireside Chats: www.cbapd.org/details_en.a....
(the video is free for CBA members and $25 for others)

What Doesn't Bore You Makes You a Scholar: On Picking a PhD Thesis Topic - Slaw When starting a PhD thesis or other long piece of writing (any substantial intellectual project really), choosing the right topic is a significant part of whether the end result will be successful. Gr...

My new Slaw column "What Doesn’t Bore You Makes You a Scholar: On Picking a PhD Thesis Topic" was published today:
"When starting a PhD thesis or other long piece of writing (any substantial intellectual project really), choosing the right topic is a significant part…"
www.slaw.ca/2025/12/09/w...

Demi Jenkins on Instagram: "Well this was therapeutic! ♥️ Had to repost cause I screwed up the music haha Featuring a gorgeous scarf from @charlieannbuxton And dress from @meshki Special shout o... Watch as a dancer takes you through a relaxing dance session, highlighting the importance of self-expression, fashion, and staying hydrated during the summer months. In this heartwarming post, the dan...

I’m still on our tights discussion, so here’s inspiration for brightly coloured tights to wear this week: www.instagram.com/reel/DSCva1p...

A photo of a Turin street scene

I'm happy to be in Turin, Italy, today for the 38th Jurix Conference. I look forward to learning about what people are working on and catching up with other attendees.
jurix2025.di.unito.it

Came across this observation from Joshua Walker's "On Legal AI" (2019) today in my research folders: ending war or contract disputes is not going to happen soon, but "ending X% of stupid disputes is a quest within our immediate grasp."

It would have been cool if we had done this.

I would have voted for you.

.@cyberjusticelab.bsky.social has shared the video of the panel I spoke on at the ACT Conference in October. Please take a look if you are interested in some of what I've been researching.

Tonight I was told that the combo of Tamanaha on legal pluralism and wine is iconic.

#legaltech #legalpublishing #aiinlaw #legalblogging #substack #clawbies #truthinlaw #legalcommunity #legalinnovation #thegeekinreview #tgir | Marlene Gebauer Lawyers as truthtellers. Steve Matthews, Owner of Stem Legal Web Enterprises, Inc., Sarah A. Sutherland, Founder and Principal Consultant at Parallax Information Consulting Ltd., and Jordan Furlong, P...

Big thanks goes out to Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert @geeklawblog.com for helping us kickoff #clawbies2025 on their Geek in Review Podcast. Happy 20th Clawbies anniversary to my judging colleagues Sarah Sutherland @parallaxinfo.bsky.social and @jordanfurlong.com!

20th Annual Clawbies – Nominations Now Open! #clawbies2025 “It was twenty years ago today…” Where were you in December 2006? Were you listening to speeches from Prime Minister Paul Martin or US President George W. Bush? Just returned from seeing Borat in t…

I'm grateful to have been invited back to judge the Clawbie Awards again for their 20th year with @steveamatthews.bsky.social and @jordanfurlong.com. Please send us your nominations using the #Clawbies2025 hashtag!
Here's more information and the formal announcement: www.clawbies.ca/2025/12/20th...

I bet you looked and felt awesome! The dominance of the basic has not done us favours. Clothes should make us want to do a little dance. Surely garishness is better than ubiquitous monotone.

I adored my garishly coloured, strangely patterned tights! I had puce footless tights with a pattern of red roses on them, and they were awesome.

I like “big _____-eve”.

Very useful & interesting couple of days at LVI2025, Law via the Internet conf www.lvi2025.org/program/ - "Shaping the Future of Legal Accessibility: Improving access to law through legal info, tech & AI” in Sydney at AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute www.austlii.edu.au/about.html)

I am happy to share that we have started a not-for-profit organization called @nomosanalytica.bsky.social with the goal of doing independent research to assist in supporting positive development in the Canadian legal system.

We will be sharing more information in the coming months as we grow.

The first I went to was in Limassol, Cyprus, in 2016, and it was such a valuable experience for me professionally and personally. I made professional connections there I am still working with.

Thank you Joshua! I'm looking forward to it.