Colin Lachance

Principal Consultant PGYA Consulting

  • Ottawa, Canada Area ON

Whether you are changing the world or navigating the change, I'd like to help.

Contact

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Biography

Colin Lachance served as CEO of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) from 2011 to 2015 and in that capacity was profiled by the ABA Journal as a “Legal Rebel” (2014), by Canadian Lawyer Magazine as among the “Top 25 Most Influential” (2014), by the Canadian Bar Association as an innovator who is “Doing Law Differently”, and by Fastcase as a member of the 2013 Fastcase 50 class of legal innovators and visionaries.

Colin supports the development of legal information and technology projects through consulting and advisory services, he works with a variety of organizations seeking to navigate changes in the legal services market and he practices law in the are of telecommunications and internet policy.

Prior roles included senior positions in advocacy, marketing and lobbying with a national telecommunications company. He added a technology-focused LL.M. in 2013 to the degrees in business and law obtained in the bloom of youth.

Industry Expertise

Legal Services
Business Services
Internet
Corporate Leadership
Information Technology and Services
Library and Information Management
Management Consulting
Non-Profit/Charitable
Government Relations
Public Policy

Areas of Expertise

Strategic Planning
Market Development
Legal Technology
Legal Services
Public Policy and Advocacy
Management & Leadership
Public Speaking
Business Development

Accomplishments

Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada (2014)

2014-08-04

One of 5 award winners in the "changemaker" category

“Colin Lachance has made a lasting impact on the availability of legal information for the general public.”

"In the last year, Lachance has been integral in a number of activities to improve access to justice and legal information for both lawyers and the general public."

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/5220/The-Top-25-Most-Influential-2014/Page-2.html

Legal Rebel (2014) - American Bar Association Journal

2014-09-16

One of 9 awardees among an international class of innovators remaking the legal profession

"Canada’s Colin Lachance is blazing a ‘new frontier for free legal information’"

http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/colin_lachance_profile/

Fastcase 50 - class of 2013

2013-07-11

"The “Fastcase 50” award recognizes 50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law."

http://www.fastcase.com/fastcase50-winners-2013/

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Education

University of Ottawa

LL.M.

Law, with concentration in technology

2013

University of Alberta

LL.B.

Law

1997

University of Manitoba

B.Comm (hons.)

Business

1994

Affiliations

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Law Society of Upper Canada
  • Law Society of Alberta (inactive)
  • County of Carelton Law Association
  • LegalX at MaRS Development District

Testimonials

Chairman

http://blog.canlii.org/2015/02/09/president-and-ceo-of-canlii-to-step-down/

CanLII

“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank Colin for his extraordinary contributions to CanLII and to the advancement of free access to law since his appointment in 2011. During his tenure, CanLII usage grew by 46% to nearly 10 million annual visits, and its scope of services increased to include a free employment law e-text, support of third-party apps development, and the rapidly expanding CanLII Connects repository of expert legal case commentary (www.CanLIIConnects.org).“

Past President

http://blog.canlii.org/2015/02/09/president-and-ceo-of-canlii-to-step-down/

Federation of Law Societies of Canada

“Colin and the CanLII Board have excelled at both vision and execution in their stewardship and expansion of a resource that provides an unparalleled contribution to access to justice. The members of all Canadian law societies should be proud that their financial contributions support CanLII’s effort to make the law freely accessible to all Canadians.”

CEO

https://lexum.com/en/news/colin-lachance-step-down-president-and-ceo-canlii

Lexum

Under his leadership, CanLII became stronger and confirmed its status as a leading source for Canadian legal research. Colin is also the driving force behind CanLII*Connects a legal commentary website which complements and enriches CanLII. He also led the evolution of CanLII into a platform offering programming interfaces (API). His time at the helm leaves CanLII stronger and better positioned to play an even greater role in the world of legal information in Canada in the coming years.

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Event Appearances

Insuring the Sharing Economy

Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium  Toronto

2015-12-02

Future of Law

NALP Canada winter meeting  Toronto

2015-11-02

Courting Innovation

Ontario Judicial Executive Council  Toronto

2015-06-18

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Sample Talks

Courting Innovation

Beginning with an examination of culture, context and control, this session served as a facilitated discussion among 25 senior judges of the Ontario courts into innovative technology and process examples bringing positive change in courts and elsewhere, followed by an exploration of opportunities in Ontario.

Delivered at Osgoode Hall, home to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Toronto, ON) June 2015

It's about building a community

CanLII's experience in developing, launching and operating new type of secondary legal info resource.

Delivered to an American audience of law school technologists and academics, legal publishers and legal technology entrepreneurs at Harvard Law School (Boston, MA), June 2014

http://conference.cali.org/2014/

Building a Community of Contributors

Discussion on the challenges and opportunities associated with developing an award-winning crowd-sourced secondary law platform.

Delivered to an international audience of jurists, legal publishers and academics at University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa), September 2014

http://www.kenyalaw.org/LVI2014/Presentations.html

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Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Host/MC
  • Corporate Training

Fees

$2500 to $10000*Will consider certain engagements for no fee