Welcome to the June 2025 edition of the Dye & Durham Docket. This month’s highlights include a timely feature on lawyer mental health in an AI-driven world, along with the latest on AI’s impact on the global legal profession. Plus, this month’s burning question: are emojis legally binding? Irish lawyers weigh in.
Discover Google’s cutting-edge speech translation tool in the Innovation Toolbox and enjoy a laugh at some of the oddest will-writing requests in the Lighter Note section.
Featured articles
In the legal industry, mental health is often treated as a personal matter—managed individually through quick fixes. But what if we took a step back to examine the systems shaping lawyer well-being? This month’s featured article reimagines the future of mental health in the legal profession, exploring how AI, hybrid work, and cultural expectations are transforming what it means to thrive. Discover how these forces might shape the next chapter of legal practice, and what it could look like in 2040.
As artificial intelligence evolves, so do the policies and regulations that govern its use. A global law firm has released a comprehensive tool mapping out global AI laws and policies—powered by AI, no less. An essential resource for any firm grappling with emerging regulatory frameworks.
Dentons has become the first major law firm in Australia to report a zero-percent gender pay gap. See how they achieved it.
What's up in Canada?
The Law Commission of Ontario has released a series of five issue papers examining the integration of AI across Canada’s criminal justice system. These papers follow a criminal file lifecycle— from law enforcement to sentencing —raising important questions about bias, reliability, and transparency.
Are emojis legally binding? A fascinating analysis by an Irish law firm explores whether contracts formed through WhatsApp—complete with emojis—can hold up in court.
Ireland is among the first signatories to a first-ever international treaty safeguarding lawyers’ rights and independence. The Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer covers everything from entitlement to practice to freedom of expression, and specific protective measures for lawyers and professional associations.
The scene in South Africa
The BBC spoke with South African legal experts to unpack the Expropriation Act, the country’s new land law at the center of heated political debate.
Read about the world’s first purely AI-powered law firm, recently approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to provide regulated legal services in England and Wales.
Following extensive consultations, the Law Society has released new guidelines to help solicitors navigate climate change considerations in property transactions.
Dye & Durham in the news
Following a comprehensive search process, we recently welcomed our new CEO, George Tsivin.
George brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge that will be instrumental as we continue on our path to becoming a truly customer-centric organisation.
He is joined by Avjit Kamboj, who rejoins the company as Chief Financial Officer and Nikesh Patel, our new Chief Product Officer.
We had a fantastic time celebrating the outstanding achievements of legal professionals nationwide at the 2025 Canadian Law Awards.
Congratulations again to all the nominees and winners!
Innovation Toolbox
Google’s new real-time speech translation feature translates spoken conversations in real time, capturing the speaker’s voice, tone, and even expressions. It is currently in beta and supports English-to-Spanish translation, with more languages on the way.
What we like: It does not just translate words, it replicates the speaker’s natural delivery, making conversations feel more authentic.
What could be better: Currently, it only works on computers and can only be enabled by Google AI Pro subscribers (once it is enabled, everyone in the meeting can use it).
Potential uses for legal professionals: This tool could transform cross-border client meetings and team collaborations where language differences can complicate communication.
If you do not want to receive this newsletter, manage your preferences using the link above. If you unsubscribe, you will no longer receive marketing emails from us, including updates to the solutions you use.
.png?upscale=true&width=1120&upscale=true&name=Mental%20Health%20in%20the%20Age%20of%20AI%20-%20SGDI%20(1).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=520&upscale=true&name=George%20CEO%20announcement%20(1).png)
