Figuring out how data in the legal sector can be understood and used to create new opportunities for the future is a challenge to legal information professionals the world over; which is why books like Legal Data and Information in Practice, by Sarah A. Sutherland, can be so useful.

Sutherland, who is the President and CEO at the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CANLII), writes regularly on legal data internationally and is therefore well placed to tackle the subject of accessibility and exploitation of legal data in a variety of organisational settings.

This book, which is sub-titled How Data and the Law Interact, is broken down into nine chapters, with chapter one setting the scene, outlining why a better understanding of data is needed, and providing some examples of the benefits this brings: such as improving the profitability of a legal practice, developing insights into how decisions are made, and understanding how different legal systems produce differing data – while also uncovering sources of legal data.

Chapter two takes a more detailed look at where legal data can be found and identifies issues with accessing such data. Then the technical aspects of data formats are described in chapter three, where challenges specific to legal data are highlighted, including a succinct consideration of why understanding formatting issues will significantly increase the success of any data driven project.

The fourth chapter gives the reader an overview of the various data analysis techniques available, including statistical analysis, machine learning, natural language processing, plus other methods, while chapter five gives more practical information, building on the previous chapter and helping the reader to formulate an approach to interpreting and analysing legal data.

Chapter six discusses in more detail the challenges faced when using legal data, noting that these are often exacerbated by the fact that data has not always been created with the intention that it will actually be used as data (for example, case law or legislation). Also, the contextual ambiguity of legal data needs to be considered, and therefore it can be hard to create reliable analysis using traditional methods of analysis.

The last three chapters look towards the future of the field of data analysis. An overview of artificial intelligence (AI) is provided in chapter seven, with a discussion on the promise and challenges automating routine data tasks will entail. Law and politics are covered in chapter eight, and in the final chapter Sutherland sets out some probable, plausible, and possible futures which take into account not only the adoption of technology within the legal discipline but also its acceptance, while also considering how concerns within the wider society might play out.

Legal Data and Information in Practice provides the perfect introduction to legal data and the associated key concepts involved in locating, managing, interpreting, and analysing legal data analysis for those who are new to this technical subject. There are many social and regulatory issues that naturally overlap with legal data, along with some concepts that can be difficult to describe in plain English to the uninitiated, but Sutherland certainly succeeds in doing just this.

It is a thought-provoking book, which considers the use of legal data across a range of organisations, including law libraries, courts, governments, universities, and law practices. It also provides a very interesting international dimension, with examples of legal data and methodology drawn from across multiple jurisdictions. Sutherland is particularly fascinating when she is drawing out the differences between jurisdictions where there is an abundance of data, and others where data is missing either through it simply not being available or because the regulatory environment means that data must be redacted.

However, those readers looking for more practical tips in applying the methods in this book to their own organisation may feel that this is one area where Sutherland falls short. On the other hand, perhaps this is understandable, given that this book is aimed at a very wide readership. Also, readers who would like to delve deeper into specific discussion points can always refer to the in-depth footnotes at the end of each chapter, and the extensive bibliography provided at the end of the book.

Either way, when it comes to showing how data and the law interacts on a worldwide stage Legal Data and Information in Practice certainly delivers.