Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities

Stuart Weinstein

Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities

Stuart Weinstein

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference output › Conference publication

Abstract

This paper examines the development of the Online Legal Risk Advisory
System (OLRAS), a rule-based expert system designed to support legal risk
management for micro-entities (small businesses meeting at least two of the following criteria: turnover of £1,000,000 or less, a balance sheet total of £500,000 or less, and ten or fewer employees). OLRAS provides free, accessible guidanceto help users identify and reflect on contractual risks, addressing both economic and technical barriers to legal support. The paper situates OLRAS within the broader context of open-access legal technology and examines the challenges of encoding legal expertise in forms usable by non-specialists. It highlights the scalability of such systems and reflects on key design constraints, including usability, regulatory boundaries, and the representation of legal knowledge. The paper concludes by outlining the limitations of the approach and identifying directions for future research.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Local Proceedings of the 20th International Workshop on Juris-Informatics (JURISIN 2026)
Subtitle of host publication	in association with the 18th JSAI International Symposia on AI (JSAI-isAI 2026)
Editors	Ken Satoh, Yoshinobu Kano
Pages	44-51
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Electronic)	9784915905988
Publication status	Published - 7 Jun 2026

Funding

Funding to present this research at JURISIN 2026, Takasaki, Japan, provided by Aston University School of Law and Social Sciences Research Fund

Keywords

Expert System
Juris-Informatics
Micro-Entities
OLRAS
Open Access to Law
Legal Tech

Access to Document

https://jurisinformaticscenter.github.io/jurisin2026/Licence: Unspecified

1 Chapter (peer-reviewed)

OLRAS: Closing the E-Justice Gap Faced by “Lawyer-less” Micro-Entities When They Are Negotiating Commercial Contracts Against Larger “Lawyered-Up” Parties
Weinstein, S., 6 May 2025, Liquid Legal – Sustaining the Rule of Law : Artificial Intelligence, E-Justice, and the Cloud. Jacob, K., Schindler, D., Strathausen, R. & Waltl, B. (eds.). 1 ed. Springer, Cham, p. 63-93 978-3-031-78596-2. (Law for Professionals).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference output › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Cite this

Weinstein, S. (2026). Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities. In K. Satoh, & Y. Kano (Eds.), Local Proceedings of the 20th International Workshop on Juris-Informatics (JURISIN 2026) : in association with the 18th JSAI International Symposia on AI (JSAI-isAI 2026) (pp. 44-51) https://jurisinformaticscenter.github.io/jurisin2026/

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title = "Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities",

abstract = "This paper examines the development of the Online Legal Risk Advisory System (OLRAS), a rule-based expert system designed to support legal risk management for micro-entities (small businesses meeting at least two of the following criteria: turnover of £1,000,000 or less, a balance sheet total of £500,000 or less, and ten or fewer employees). OLRAS provides free, accessible guidanceto help users identify and reflect on contractual risks, addressing both economic and technical barriers to legal support. The paper situates OLRAS within the broader context of open-access legal technology and examines the challenges of encoding legal expertise in forms usable by non-specialists. It highlights the scalability of such systems and reflects on key design constraints, including usability, regulatory boundaries, and the representation of legal knowledge. The paper concludes by outlining the limitations of the approach and identifying directions for future research.",

keywords = "Expert System, Juris-Informatics, Micro-Entities, OLRAS, Open Access to Law, Legal Tech",

author = "Stuart Weinstein",

year = "2026",

month = jun,

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language = "English",

pages = "44--51",

editor = "Ken Satoh and Yoshinobu Kano",

booktitle = "Local Proceedings of the 20th International Workshop on Juris-Informatics (JURISIN 2026)",

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Weinstein, S 2026, Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities. in K Satoh & Y Kano (eds), Local Proceedings of the 20th International Workshop on Juris-Informatics (JURISIN 2026) : in association with the 18th JSAI International Symposia on AI (JSAI-isAI 2026). pp. 44-51. <https://jurisinformaticscenter.github.io/jurisin2026/>

Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities. / Weinstein, Stuart.
Local Proceedings of the 20th International Workshop on Juris-Informatics (JURISIN 2026) : in association with the 18th JSAI International Symposia on AI (JSAI-isAI 2026). ed. / Ken Satoh; Yoshinobu Kano. 2026. p. 44-51.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference output › Conference publication

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AB - This paper examines the development of the Online Legal Risk Advisory System (OLRAS), a rule-based expert system designed to support legal risk management for micro-entities (small businesses meeting at least two of the following criteria: turnover of £1,000,000 or less, a balance sheet total of £500,000 or less, and ten or fewer employees). OLRAS provides free, accessible guidanceto help users identify and reflect on contractual risks, addressing both economic and technical barriers to legal support. The paper situates OLRAS within the broader context of open-access legal technology and examines the challenges of encoding legal expertise in forms usable by non-specialists. It highlights the scalability of such systems and reflects on key design constraints, including usability, regulatory boundaries, and the representation of legal knowledge. The paper concludes by outlining the limitations of the approach and identifying directions for future research.

KW - Expert System

KW - Juris-Informatics

KW - Micro-Entities

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KW - Open Access to Law

KW - Legal Tech

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Providing Open Access Legal Risk Advice: Reflections on Building an Expert System for Micro-Entities

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Research output

OLRAS: Closing the E-Justice Gap Faced by “Lawyer-less” Micro-Entities When They Are Negotiating Commercial Contracts Against Larger “Lawyered-Up” Parties

Cite this