#83 The "Cheat Code" to Upskilling 100,000 Lawyers on AI

Colin Lachance's journey began at age 10, when a fateful summer camp experience introduced him to law as society's "cheat code." That early exposure launched a decades-long career from telecom regulatory law to becoming an entrepreneur determined to prevent lawyers from being left behind by AI. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores Colin's unconventional path to founding LawQi, a platform on a mission to upskill 100,000 attorneys on AI fundamentals before it's too late. After managing the Canadian Legal Information Institute, Canada's most-used legal research resource, Colin recognized an urgent problem: attorneys have a shrinking window to understand how AI works at its core before being relegated to using narrow tools without comprehension. His solution? An interactive sandbox called LawQi, where lawyers learn by doing, guided by an AI assistant trained on the course materials. Colin's contrarian approach challenges traditional legal education. Forgoing CLE accreditation, he charges bar associations as little as $1 per member annually, reflecting his mission-driven focus on impact over revenue. The conversation reveals Colin's unconventional entrepreneurial philosophy—intentionally building a business with a limited lifespan, capping growth at 10 employees, and measuring success by transformation rather than typical venture metrics. His goal is to reach 100,000 lawyers by 2030, building trust to navigate whatever comes next in an unpredictable AI landscape. Colin's journey serves as a wake-up call for legal professionals witnessing AI's rapid integration across research and practice management tools, as demonstrated in Jack Newton's pivotal Clio keynote that left 2,500 lawyers uncomfortably silent about their future. His story urges attorneys to proactively upskill before the window of opportunity closes.