Alistair Vigier

Alistair Vigier (born March 1990) is a Canadian-British entrepreneur in the legal technology industry. He was the CEO of Clearway Law and is the current CEO of Caseway AI.^[1]

Early Life and Education

Vigier was born in Toronto, Ontario, and later moved to Victoria, British Columbia. He attended the University of Victoria, focusing on psychology and statistics, and pursued legal studies at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.^[2]

Before embarking on his entrepreneurial ventures, he served in the Canadian Armed Forces for seven years, during which he sustained a gunshot injury and was subsequently medically discharged.^{[3] [4] [5]}

In 2013, Vigier was awarded the Victoria Police Civic Service Award for stopping a car theft.

Career

After his military service, Vigier entered the legal industry in 2015, initially working at a family law firm where he was the business development manager. He grew the law firm's revenue to $3.5 million.^{[6] [7]}

Several years after Vigier left the law firm, the managing partner was twice disbarred for events that happened in 2012, before Vigier joined it.^{[8] [9]}

In 2022, he founded Clearway Law, a lawyer rating website with 200,000 monthly visitors, designed to connect users with lawyers and provide legal information. The platform features profiles of lawyers across Canada and the United Kingdom, allowing the public to leave reviews and ratings.

Controversies

Clearway Law has faced criticism for creating online profiles of lawyers without their consent, leading to disputes over the accuracy of the information presented. Additionally, the company has been involved in debates over the legitimacy of its lawyer rating system given that users can remain anonymous.^{[10] [11]}

In 2024, Vigier co-founded Caseway AI, a SaaS company that processes court decisions to assist legal professionals and the self-represented in research and contract drafting. The platform utilizes artificial intelligence to answer legal questions by using court decisions as it's "AI database."^{[12] [13]}

However, in November 2024, the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) filed a lawsuit against Caseway AI, alleging unauthorized use of its database to build Caseway's system. Vigier has denied these allegations, asserting that Caseway AI uses only publicly available court records.^{[14] [15]}

Personal Life

Alistair Vigier divides his time between Ireland and Vancouver with his wife and child.

References

1. "A Saanich-born tech entrepreneur wants to revolutionize legal research". Victoria News. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
2. "Alistair Vigier - University of Victoria". UVic.ca. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
3. "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
4. "Local entrepreneurs rising to top of business world". Saanich News. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
5. "Last Post Fund member wins 30 under 30 award". Last Post Fund. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
6. "Local entrepreneurs rising to top of business world". Saanich News. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
7. "This military vet is helping to franchise legal practices". BC Business. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
8. "Two BC lawyers disbarred a second time as regulator seeks public's confidence in discipline process". www.canadianlawyermag.com. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
9. "B.C. lawyer twice disbarred after mentally ill client's fees fund Las Vegas junket". Vancouver Is Awesome. 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
10. Greaney, Helen (2022-09-20). "What is the Clearway Law controversy about? | LawNews.co.uk". Law News. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
11. "Stop Clearway Law: What's Happening With The Controversy – Advocate Daily". Retrieved 2024-11-25.
12. Journal, Vancouver Tech. "Exclusive: Caseway AI brings chatbot tech to Canadian legal system". Vancouver Tech Journal. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
13. "Caseway Launches AI Tool For Quick Court Decision Analysis". markets.businessinsider.com. 2024-10-07. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
14. "Online legal database CanLII sues Caseway AI for copyright infringement | BetaKit". 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
15. "CanLII sues AI legal assistant Caseway AI for copyright infringement". www.canadianlawyermag.com. Retrieved 2024-11-24.