Simon Wallace
Professor Simon Wallace examines how computational methods and artificial intelligence can be used to analyse large datasets of legal texts. He is interested in the “great unread” of legal texts: every day the legal system produces more text than any researcher could read and digest. But could a computer, properly trained and programmed, help us develop a new approach on the archive of interesting but, because of the archive’s scale, forgotten texts? Inspired by the work of digital humanists, Professor Wallace wonders how we can read texts from a distance to better understand the deep repeating patterns in law.
Professor Wallace has published large empirical accounts of law’s shape in national and international journals. He has also written on the history of deportation law and how technological innovation has enabled new border enforcement practices. He maintains Obiter.ai, an open-source Python library for legal research, and BenchBabble.ca, which tracks historical patterns in Supreme Court of Canada decisions.
Before completing his doctoral studies at Osgoode Hall Law School (York University), Professor Wallace was an immigration detention and deportation defence lawyer. He has litigated before the Immigration and Refugee Board, the Federal Court of Canada, the Ontario Superior Court, and the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of detainees. Professor Wallace is particularly proud of his advocacy on behalf of clients detained in solitary confinement.
"I am just thrilled to join the Lincoln Alexander School of Law faculty. From first hand experience, I know how vibrant and dynamic the school’s students are and how consequential the faculty’s scholarship is."
