The International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) champions the profession all around the globe, supporting and encouraging the development of policy and promoting free access to legal information. LIM talked to its current President, Mark Engsberg, to find out more about the organisation; ask for his views on AI and other salient issues; and to discover how this one-time US Army lawyer went on to find his true vocation as a legal information professional.

This article by Alex Robinson explores the ever-expanding landscape of AI tools available to law firms and offers practical strategies for their successful adoption. It emphasises the importance of upskilling teams, identifying business-specific needs, and implementing structured frameworks to evaluate and integrate AI solutions effectively. Drawing on real-world examples and industry insights, the article provides a roadmap for navigating the AI market strategically, ensuring law firms invest in the right tools at the right time to deliver meaningful results.

In this entertaining and illuminating article, based on his very well received presentation at the BIALL Conference in Birmingham, Matthew Leopold explains the role of trust in magic, the law and AI. He goes on to assert that law librarians are the guardians of truth and accuracy, so we need to be at the forefront of checking and validating the output of AI, to encourage trust in these systems.

This article by Margaret Watson, recently retired Academic Services Librarian at the Bodleian Library, is based upon her talk at the 2025 BIALL Conference in Birmingham and concerns the ethics of using generative AI in an academic law environment. Here she asks whether this is actually desirable, while also considering whether it risks undermining the originality and quality of a student’s work. She also asks if students, who will ultimately seek employment off the back of their academic achievements, should be given the chance to develop a hands-on understanding of the strengths, weaknesses and practical applications of generative AI. Finally, this piece also considers whether it is possible to resolve the perceived tension between academia and professional practice when it comes to AI and, if so, how will this be done? Incidentally, ‘never in a rain of pigs pudding’ is a Birmingham expression meaning that something will never happen.

This article, written by Andrew Thatcher, explores Eversheds Sutherland’s approach to integrating generative AI knowledge tools, focusing on their evaluation, onboarding and the subscription management. Rather than debating the broader implications of AI in law, the paper provides a practical account of the firm’s experience, navigating the complexities of tool selection, compliance, data security and training. It highlights the pivotal role of the Knowledge team in coordinating cross-departmental trials, managing supplier relationships and ensuring responsible use of proprietary data. The firm’s adoption of Lexis+ AI serves as a case study in balancing innovation with regulatory diligence, demonstrating how qualitative feedback and usage metrics inform ROI assessments. The article also addresses challenges in negotiating content usage rights with suppliers and underscores the importance of continuous engagement and adaptability in a rapidly evolving AI landscape. Ultimately, the paper positions generative AI not as a replacement for traditional legal resources, but as a transformative complement that demands thoughtful integration and ongoing evaluation.

End-user engagement is a critical success factor for knowledge management (KM) initiatives in legal practice, yet it remains one of the most persistent challenges faced by knowledge professionals. Drawing on interviews with legal industry practitioners and observations from recent BIALL sessions, this article by Clare Bilobrk examines the barriers to effective engagement with KM tools and proposes practical strategies for overcoming them. The analysis combines theoretical frameworks, including organisational silos, with actionable recommendations. A concluding LEXICON distils key principles into a mnemonic model, offering legal information managers a framework for embedding KM tools into daily workflows, building trust and sustaining a culture of knowledge-sharing.

In this article, based on his presentation at the Birmingham Conference – hence the title – Greg Bennett runs through his analysis of job adverts for librarians over the six months preceding the Conference. The purpose of this was to gauge the proportion of those adverts where the criteria involved expertise that currently only law librarians can offer. He then considers the longevity of those very criteria; that is, whether those that currently require the expert knowledge of a law librarian could be replaceable by artificial intelligence (AI), or some other process or other people. Finally, he suggests areas of strength for the future for law librarians, encouraging those involved in the legal information profession to emphasise these strengths in their roles.

As law libraries evolve in response to digital transformation and emerging technologies, understanding the legal frameworks of copyright and licensing becomes increasingly critical. This article by Jas Breslin outlines the basic principles of copyright and licensing, and how these interact in the daily operations of legal information services. It also addresses the growing impact of generative AI on copyright and licensing, highlighting the emerging challenges. The article aims to equip law librarians with the basic knowledge needed to navigate this complex and rapidly changing landscape.

Serena Dederding at The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) explores how UK law firms can adopt generative AI to enhance productivity while managing associated copyright risks.

Language is a powerful tool in legal research, but its influence is often underestimated. From the diplomatic fallout of the Ems Dispatch, to the varied terminology used to describe a person bringing a claim, in this article Holly Mottram examines how subtle variations in terminology have significantly altered global events and have a day-to-day impact on legal research outcomes. Several practical strategies are proposed to enhance research accuracy– focused contextual questioning, taking time at the beginning of a research task for keyword planning, and careful usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist the process. Ultimately, this paper argues that legal information professionals must remain vigilant and intentional in their language use if they wish to meet the needs of the requestor, and that their practices should evolve and adapt to not only account for changes in language, but changes in technology. Words matter– not just in theory, but in every day legal research.

In this article Sam Lloyd, Executive Director of CRO Corporate Services Limited, outlines the evolution of corporate information service provision during his career, including significant events, personal achievements and the influences that have shaped the industry.

This research paper, written by Dr Nagalakshmi Tripuraneni, PhD Scholar, VIT-AP University, India and Dr Benarji Chakka, Dean and Professor of Law, VIT-AP University, India, looks at the laws that define and deal with ecocide in European Union law. It focuses on whether the current laws are enough to shield the environment from serious harm and ecological damage. By examining various types of data, including legal texts, case studies, and real examples of environmental harm in the EU, the study shows that there are notable weaknesses in the current legal rules that make it hard to protect the environment effectively. The results suggest that while some EU regulations do address environmental matters, they often do not have the strength needed to tackle the challenges of ecocide properly. This research highlights the need to see ecocide as its own legal concept in EU law, arguing that formally recognising it could improve responsibility for environmental damage. The implications of these findings go beyond just legal issues, indicating that a better understanding and enforcement of ecocide could result in improved health outcomes by reducing environmental damage, which is increasingly connected to public health problems. This research adds to the discussion on environmental justice and legal changes in the EU, calling for a fundamental change that prioritises ecological health, influencing both policy creation and healthcare practice in relation to environmental health.

In the latest in our series reviewing archived copies of Legal Information Management and The Law Librarian– as the journal was once known– LIM’s co-editors leaf through the issues from 30 years ago.