6 Katie Sykes - From Medieval Animal Trials to Intelligent Legal Tech and the Future of Law

How do I define success? Being useful. Making something better. We all have, in our jobs, these moments… we’re like: Why am I doing this? And I always have an answer. ~ Katie SykesProf. Katie Sykes (@katiesykes01) is a legal innovation powerhouse. She has degrees from the University of Toronto (Gold Medalist), Harvard and Dalhousie. She clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. She practiced at a big international firm in New York. She has been published in a range of areas including a pioneering work on the treatment of animals. It’s hard to imagine a more impressive list of qualifications.But Katie’s present day work is even more impressive. In addition to being active in the area of law concerned with cruelty to animals, she also provides incredible learning opportunities for law students, including a course that teaches them how to build intelligent legal apps. This innovative spirit also drives Katie’s other efforts to push for improvements to legal education, access to justice and the practice of law on a large scale.In this episode, we had a fun, wide-ranging conversation about all this and more. Topics CoveredThe development and culture of one of Canada’s newest law schools.The path to legal academia.Experiences clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada. Recent developments in animal law.Historical approaches to animal law.Legal technology.Improving legal education and lawyering skills.Multidisciplinary legal skills.The Law Society of BC’s Futures Task ForceEmpirical legal research on public justice processes.Professional wellness.