The second annual Canadian Legal Summit took place in downtown Toronto Wednesday
Kicking off the Canadian Legal Summit on Wednesday, Aarani Stoneham admitted to using artificial intelligence to help draft the keynote speech she was delivering to a roomful of lawyers at The Carlu in downtown Toronto.
The tool, which Stoneham called Ben, “helped with the research and challenged my thinking,” though the judgment, lived experience, and accountability involved in the writing process was hers, she said.
“I would tell you exactly how much drafting he [Ben] assisted with,” joked Stoneham, who is general counsel and head of legal, data privacy, AI governance and ethics at ModiFace Inc. “But we’re still negotiating the attribution clause.”
It was an appropriate start to the Canadian Legal Summit, Canadian Lawyer and Lexpert’s annual conference for private practice lawyers, in-house counsel, and legal innovators that featured over 60 speakers and drew in more than 600 attendees this year. Though the panels covered a wide range of issues – from how to run a small law firm in 2026 to how corporate legal departments are leveraging data – AI, and the way it’s shaken up how lawyers do their jobs, was a major throughline of the day.
In her keynote, Stoneham acknowledged that this moment in history could feel exhilarating, overwhelming, and even unsettling.
“We hear that AI will eliminate jobs, destabilize the traditional law firm model, and allow clients to do more legal work themselves,” Stoneham said. “We hear growing concerns about children forming emotional attachments to chatbots, often with tragic consequences, people relying on AI for mental health support, and professionals like everyone in this room surrendering their skills.”
But whether or not every prediction pans out, it’s hard to ignore the direction the world is traveling in, Stoneham said, adding it’s the role of lawyers to help ensure that AI is adopted responsibly.
“We know fear is not a strategy, but neither is blind optimism,” Stoneham said. “And our profession exists to protect rights, challenge power, and ensure that people are being treated fairly.”
The lawyer went on to argue that AI literacy – understanding how to evaluate, use, and communicate with AI tools responsibly – has become key to lawyers’ professional competence.
“At the end of the day, you can’t meaningfully supervise, challenge, or advise a client on something you don't understand,” she said.
“It doesn't mean that we’re all required to master every new tool,” Stoneham added. “It just requires knowing about the tool in your practice to recognize the limitations and knowing when to bring in that technical expertise.”
Wednesday’s summit was divided into three streams that ran simultaneously, focusing on small and mid-sized firms, AI and innovation, and general counsel and law firm partnerships, with panels covering issues like hiring strategies, succession planning, burnout, how AI is impacting litigation and the billable hour, and decision-making for general counsel who are under global pressure.
See the agenda for the day-long conference here.
