From ambition to adoption: Navigating the realities of AI
North American Legal AI Summit
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Keynote speaker Daniel Wigdor explored the evolution of interactive computing across successive technology waves, culminating in today’s AI-driven era. His address highlighted Canada’s unique positioning to lead in applied AI innovation and emphasized why immediate action is essential for maintaining leadership in this space.
Key takeaway:
Speaker:
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AI has the power to increase efficiency and allow businesses to thrive with automation and smart integration. As technology evolves rapidly, legal, regulatory, and ethical frameworks are working to keep pace with these advancements.
AI is revolutionizing M&A transactions by enhancing every phase of the deal lifecycle. This session discussed automating due diligence with AI-powered document review, speeding up auction timelines through smart data rooms, and reducing post-closing risks using predictive analytics for integration issues.
Key takeaway:
At Dentons’ North American Legal AI Summit, cross-border colleagues and industry leaders convened to explore the legal and strategic challenges and opportunities presented by AI. The discussions provided practical insights for business leaders to manage risk, protect rights, and unlock AI’s full potential.
At Dentons, innovation is not just about technology — it's about leadership and vision, igniting the curiosity to imagine what comes next and being bold enough to build it.”
From ambition to adoption: Navigating the realities of AI
Keynote: The future and promise of a post-AI world
M&A meets AI: Current state and emerging trends
Organizations should capitalize on Canada’s strong foundation in AI research and innovation to drive practical applications that address emerging global challenges.
Speakers:
Daniel Wigdor
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AXL
Andrea C. Johnson
Partner and Global Co-head of Private Equity, Dentons Canada
Tom Valis
Managing Partner, Celtic House Venture Partners
Brent Walker
Chief Executive Officer, Morrison Park Advisors
As regulatory landscapes develop slowly and unevenly around the world, organizations can manage legal risk in adopting AI by aligning with global standards. This session focused on the emerging ISO and NIST standards applicable to AI governance.
Setting the rules: AI standardization
Key takeaway:
Speakers:
Legal teams should prioritize the adoption of ethical principles and benchmark against emerging AI governance frameworks to establish robust compliance programs
Chantal Bernier
Counsel and Global Co-chair of Privacy and Cybersecurity, Dentons Canada
Peter Stockburger
Office Managing Partner, Dentons US
As AI technologies further permeate our lives, there are various IP issues that need to be considered. In the context of patents, these issues include deciding whether to file patent application on your AI inventions or keeping those inventions as trade secrets, selecting which AI technology to patent, and minimizing patent infringement claims. In the context of copyright, these issues include identifying uncertainties surrounding ownership, use rights and infringement liability for AI-generated expressive content. This session explored strategies for dealing with these issues.
Key takeaway:
Navigating intellectual property in the age of AI: Ownership and innovation
Speakers:
Bob Tarantino
Counsel, Dentons Canada
Roman Tsibulevskiy
Counsel and Registered Patent Attorney, Dentons US
Explore issues related to the lawful processing of personal information when training and deploying AI, with a particular focus on consent, data scraping, inferences, anonymization, and the importance of conducting privacy impact assessments.
Organizations should conduct regular PIAs to maintain compliance with evolving legal frameworks and mitigate risks associated with AI-driven data processing.
Key takeaway:
Privacy and AI: Unique considerations created by the collection and use of personal information
Speakers:
Jaime Cardy
Senior Associate, Dentons Canada
Kirsten Thompson
Partner and National Practice Lead of Privacy and Cybersecurity, Dentons Canada
As AI tools transition from pilot to production, legal agreements must evolve to address AI-specific risks such as data responsibilities and regulatory considerations. This session outlined a structured approach to identifying and assessing risks in AI contracting and factors to consider in mitigating such risks.
Legal teams should proactively identify and assess risks and update agreements to reflect AI-specific risk requirements, ensuring alignment with regulatory standards and company policies and mitigating potential liabilities.
Key takeaway:
Contracting and AI: New risks, new terms
Speakers:
Joel N. Bock
Partner, Dentons US
Matthew Wanford
Partner, Dentons Canada
The final session addressed the physical and energy infrastructure needed to support AI, alongside the regulatory demands associated with data centers and power grids. As AI deployment grows, integrating legal strategies into data center planning has become essential.
Organizations should incorporate legal and regulatory planning into AI infrastructure development to ensure compliance and optimize operational efficiency.
Key takeaway:
Data centers and energy: Housing AI at scale
Speakers:
Fred Robert
Managing Director, DigitalInfrastructure, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario
Emma F. Hand
Partner and Co-chair of the US Region Global Energy Sector, Dentons US
AI is transforming workforce management, raising critical questions around privacy, fairness, and workplace rights. This session examined the evolving employment law landscape in both Canada and the US, and how employers can deploy AI tools responsibly.
Employers should ensure AI tools developed and deployed in the workplace align respect the privacy of individuals and avoid discriminatory outcomes.
Key takeaway:
Employee's use of AI in the workplace: Rights, bias, and automation
Speakers:
Allison Buchanan
Counsel, Dentons Canada
Larysa Workewych
Senior Associate, Dentons Canada
Peter Stockburger
Office Managing Partner, Dentons US
Keynote: The future and promise of a post-AI world
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M&A meets AI: Current state and emerging trends
Setting the rules: AI standardization
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Navigating intellectual property in the age of AI: Ownership and innovation
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Privacy and AI: Unique considerations created by the collection and use of personal information
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Contracting and AI: New risks, new terms
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Employee's use of AI in the workplace: Rights, bias, and automation
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Data centers and energy: Housing AI at scale
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Buyers and targets should consider how adoption of AI impacts M&A valuation, how AI usage will be evaluated in due diligence, and how AI might speed up and transform the deal cycle.
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© 2025 Dentons. All rights reserved. Attorney Advertising. Dentons is a global legal practice providing client services worldwide through its member firms and affiliates. This website and its publications are not designed to provide legal or other advice and you should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on its content.
Topics
Employee's use of AI in the workplace: Rights, bias, and automation
Data centers and energy: Housing AI at scale
Contracting and AI: New risks, new terms
Privacy and AI: Unique considerations created by the collection and use of personal information
Navigating intellectual property in the age of AI: Ownership and innovation
Setting the rules: AI standardization
M&A meets AI: Current state and emerging trends
Keynote: The future and promise of a post-AI world
Tim Haney
CEO of Dentons Canada
Dentons and AXL announce strategic partnership to advance legal innovation with AI
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What you need to think about:
Are AI capabilities influencing your valuation strategies?
Do you understand how to test a target’s AI capabilities in product development and throughout their organization?
Do your due diligence processes cover AI use, IP rights, and data governance?
Are you considering financing options to support capital-intensive AI growth strategies (whether organic or by acquisition)?
Are you familiar with potential regulatory barriers to acquiring AI companies (CFIUS, Investment Canada Act)?
Are you ready for AI-powered deal processes like AI-driven due diligence and document creation?
What you need to think about:
Have you mapped out how your AI systems align with global standards such as ISO and NIST?
Are you prepared for cross-border regulatory differences and harmonization efforts?
Do you have policies in place that reflect core AI principles like fairness and transparency?
What you need to think about:
Have you evaluated your AI inventions for patenting versus keeping those as trade secrets?
Do you have an internal policy to minimize public disclosure of how your AI technologies operate?
Have you vetted the terms of use of any generative AI platforms / services that your employees are using to create content?
Have you reviewed the terms of any contracts with third parties who make use of your AI-generated content to ensure that your use of generative AI is compliant?
In the context of patents, companies should consider conducting appropriate patent diligence when receiving new AI invention disclosures and manage its public disclosures of how AI operates to minimize exposure to patent litigation. In the context of copyrights, companies should review the applicable terms of use and contracting practices for in-bound and out-bound AI-generated content.
What you need to think about:
Is your consent model legally valid in all jurisdictions where you operate?
Are you truly anonymizing data, or just de-identifying it?
Have you conducted PIAs for your AI tools?
What you need to think about:
Do your contracts clearly address liability for AI-generated decisions?
Have you defined who owns the outputs of your AI tools?
Are you protected if an AI tool fails or causes harm?
What you need to think about:
Audit hiring and performance management AI tools to ensure their contracts sufficiently protect against outputs that can lead to discriminatory outcomes.
Evaluate tools carefully to ensure their training data was diverse, and that the model deployers have good governance in place to track and mitigate unlawful outcomes.
Keep a human-in-the-loop! Don’t over-rely on AI tools to make employment decisions.
Ensure privacy disclosures are in place explaining the use of AI tools, their risk, and how your organization leverages their results.
What you need to think about:
Are your data center strategies aligned with your current and future AI needs?
Have you considered the energy, ESG, and regulatory impacts of scaling AI infrastructure?
Are your vendor agreements built to support high-demand AI systems?
Tim Haney
CEO of Dentons Canada
Peter Stockburger
Office Managing Partner, Dentons US
© 2025 Dentons. All rights reserved. Attorney Advertising. Dentons is a global legal practice providing client services worldwide through its member firms and affiliates. This website and its publications are not designed to provide legal or other advice and you should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on its content.