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GAZETTE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1988
rules upon which it is based.
In this way it should be easier
to test the correctness of the
p r ecep ts used by
t he
designer. One may only
however test the reasoning of
t he s y s t em by wo r k i ng
through a very large number
of sample queries. In a tradi-
tional system one ceuld not
work out the basic rules ex-
cept in a very simple system,
(iii) An expert system may, in-
deed should, come up wi th
novel answers to problems
(i.e. answers which were not
anticipated by the designer)
by the use of the system's
own logic. A t r ad i t i onal
system can only give an
answer which has been pre-
programmed as a response to
a particular combination of
factors by the designer.
The Speakers
1.
Ms. Delia Venables of the
English Law Society. Ms
Venables advises English
Solicitors f i rms upon all
aspects of technology and
computers.
2.
Bryan Niblett, Barrister and
Compu t er Sc i en t i s t. Mr.
Niblett is Chairman of the Law
Specialist Group and is a
Fellow
of
t he
British
Computer Society. He is a
former holder of the Chair of
Computer Science in the
University of Wales.
3.
Nicolas Bellord, Solicitor. Mr.
Bellord was Secretary of the
Society for Computers in Law
from 1975 to 1984 and is a
partner wi th Messrs. Witham
Weld, Solicitors in London. He
is the author of 'Computers
for Lawyers' (Cambridge
University Press, 1980) and
co - au t hor of ' Compu t er
Sc i ence and Law' and
'Intelligence in Legal Infor-
mation Systems'. Both Mr.
Bellord and Mr. Niblett have
been UK representatives on
the Committee of Experts on
legal data processing of the
Council of Europe.
4.
Nicolas Morris, Chartered
Accountant. Mr. Morris is a
member of the Technology
Comm i t t ee of t he Law
Society. Until recently he
advised professional practices,
largely
solicitors,
on
compu t e r i sa t i on.
He is
engaged in developing an
expe rt sys t em to assist
companies in complying with
the reporting requirements
contained in the Companies
(Amendment) Act, 1986 and
has recently resigned from
professional practice as an
accountant in order to further
his interest in expert systems.
5.
Ms. Sharon Walsh. Ms. Walsh
is Systems Administrator with
A. & L. Goodbody, Solicitors
in Dublin.
6.
Patrick
Fitzgibbon.
Mr.
Fitzgibbon is a Solicitor and
Partner in Pierce Fitzgibbon &
Company,
So l i c i t o rs
of
Listowel. Mr. Fitzgibbon has
been involved in the develop-
ment of an automated con-
veyancing package but has
ceased development of the
system.
7.
Rory O'Donnell, Solicitor. Mr.
O'Donnell has been involved
in the development and imple-
mentation of automated con-
veyancing systems.
The debate on expert systems
The debate on expert systems
commenced on Saturday morning
with a review by Ms Delia Venables
of the English Law Society of the
origins of expert systems and how
they have developed from support
and document production systems.
Ms Venables dealt with some of the
jargon particularly associated with
expert systems including the
terrifying 'knowledge cliff'! Bryan
Niblett then proceeded to examine
the present state of play in the de-
velopment of expert systems and
to give an insight into where he
believes that the future lies. He
foresees expert systems being
developed on a co-operative basis
by all of the interested parties and
using as their base of knowledge
one of the legal databases (e.g.
Lexis). Mr. Niblett made the point
that expert systems can only be as
good as the experts who devise
them and consequently if a number
of experts participate then the
system should end up wi th more
expertise than each individual
expert. With an evolving system
over a period of time wi th new
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