March 10, 2026
We're proud to share that People's Law School has been named the 2026 winner of the Michael Mills InnovAction Award, presented by the College of Law Practice Management, an invitation-only US organization that honours individuals/organizations making significant contributions to improving how legal services are delivered and managed.
The award honours our work on Beagle+, a generative AI chatbot that provides free, anonymous, plain-language legal information to help people navigate the legal problems of everyday life. The College recognized Beagle+ for combining responsible AI development, lived-experience design, and jurisdiction-specific legal accuracy to make trusted legal information accessible to everyone.
The award is a meaningful vote of confidence in our mission and our team.
Executive Director Patricia Byrne intends to accept the award on behalf of People's Law School at the College's Futures Conference Honours Gala, once the event is rescheduled. (The original February 23 celebration in New York City was postponed due to a severe blizzard warning — so we're waiting a little longer to celebrate, but we'll get there 🎊)
The InnovAction Award is given each year to legal professionals and organizations that dare to think differently — and succeed by doing so. Entries are judged on originality, disruption, value, and effectiveness.
This win follows a year of growing recognition for People’s Law’s innovative work with generative AI, including presentations at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law at Northwestern University in Chicago, at Practising Law Institute's Artificial Intelligence in Law Practice program in New York City, and a more recent panel at the Public Legal Association of Canada’s annual conference in Ottawa.
We're grateful to the College of Law Practice Management for this honour — and to our funders, partners, and our staff of dedicated lawyers who've shaped Beagle+ along the way. Most of all, we're grateful to every person who's turned to Beagle+ when they needed a little help understanding their rights.
People's Law School is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing British Columbians with reliable legal information they can understand and use.