This page is part of a collaboration between the MIT Computational Law Report and the SMU Centre for Computational Law. For more information about this page, please visit https://cclaw.smu.edu.sg/or follow-up with the contacts listed below.
CALL FOR CONTENT
COMPUTATIONAL LEGAL STUDIES: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
The rise of statistical learning methods in academia has permeated law, triggering what has been called a “computational turn” in legal scholarship. In this emerging field, novel techniques such as network analytics and natural language processing are being applied to uncover, and quantify, previously hidden insights about the law. However, the novelty of the computational legal method and its implications mean that traditional venues for discussing and publishing such work remain scarce.
Against this backdrop, the SMU Centre for Computational Law, in collaboration with law.mit.edu, will organise an academic conference on 2 – 4 March, 2022 to gather leading scholars and thinkers in the field. Confirmed keynote speakers for the conference including the following distinguished scholars:
Professor Arthur Dyevre, Professor of Empirical Jurisprudence, KU Leuven
Professor Charlotte S. Alexander, Connie & Ken McDaniel WomenLead Chair and Associate Professor of Law and Analytics, Georgia State University
Professor Daniel M. Katz, Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Professor Kevin Ashley, Professor of Law and Intelligent Systems, University of Pittsburgh
Additionally, papers presented at the conference will considered for publication in a Special Release of the MIT Computational Law Report dedicated to this conference, and will be reviewed following the Report’s standard processes.
Conference Theme
“Past, Present, and Future” invites scholars to introspect on where the field is now, and where we may (and should) be headed. We invite submissions of abstracts on all aspects of computational legal studies, including but not limited to and in no order of preference:
Legal outcome prediction
Legal text analytics, information extraction, summarization, etc
Legal network analytics
Legal complexity science
Legal data visualization
Causal inference in law
Empirical and statistical legal studies
Modelling legal rules and systems
Ethics, fairness, and legality concerns of computational legal studies
Position and review papers
Resources for computational legal studies, such as code libraries and notebooks
Software applications and demos
This theme is an inspirational prompt and not a strict requirement. Abstracts may describe either completed (including published) or ongoing work. We welcome submissions from scholars at all career stages.
Submissions
The deadline for the submission of abstracts (of no more than 500 words) is 17 Jan, 2022, at 2359 AoE.1Please submit your proposed abstracts via this form. When submitting your abstract, please indicate if you would like your work to be considered for publication in the Special Release.
Conference Arrangements
Scholars whose abstracts are accepted will be asked to submit a draft manuscript 2 weeks before the conference date. Scholars will have the option of presenting at the conference either remotely or, circumstances permitting, physically in Singapore. Presenters will not be required to pay a conference fee, but are expected to meet their own travel and accommodation costs, if any.
