[Air-L] PostDoc in Copenhagen: Natural language processing of legal texts and bias

Fri Oct 23 11:42:43 PDT 2020

Dear Air-L community,

I am looking for a Postdoc to join me at the Centre for Information and Innovation Law (University of Copenhagen) on a project on natural language processing of legal texts and questions on bias etc.

The deadline is really tight (6 November), but I would highly appreciate if you could disseminate this to relevant candidates or ping me if you have someone in mind who I should reach out to ☺.

The job ad (excerpt below) can be found here: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/?show=152568

Thank you and best regards,
Sebastian

====

*LegalTech PostDoc at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen*
A 2-year (with possible extension of one year) full-time PostDoc position is available at the Centre for Information and Innovation Law (CIIR) of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen. The position is part of the GrandSolutions project “LEGALESE – Danish language Processing for Legal Texts” and financed by the Innovation Fund Denmark.

The position is available from 1 December 2020 or later and for the duration of 2 years (with possible extension of one year).

Job description
We are seeking an enthusiastic and outstanding post-doctoral candidate with a strong interest on the intersection of law and computer science.
LEGALESE is a joint venture by the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Law and Department of Computer Science, the private company Schultz, and Ankestyrelsen. The aim of LEGALESE is to research and develop a product that facilitates efficient legal information retrieval and automated recommendation using cutting-edge natural language processing (NLP).
Bias detection and removal (debiasing) are essential for the trustworthiness and legality of such NLP system. The PostDoc will work on the related cutting-edge legal issues with a view to establishing a standard for NLP implementations in terms of both privacy and bias and shall focus research on how debiasing may be implemented in operational NLP systems. The research will be conducted in ongoing collaboration with the Department of Computer Science as well as the involved practice partners, Schulz and Ankestyrelsen.
Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the faculty's research areas and education programmes by visiting the Faculty’s website: www.jura.ku.dk<https://www.jura.ku.dk/>.
The Faculty actively supports the effort to learn Danish.

Questions
For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Sebastian Felix Schwemer, sebastian.felix.schwemer at jur.ku.dk. For further information on the employment procedure, please contact HR South and City e-mail: hrsc at hrsc.ku.dk<mailto:hrsc at hrsc.ku.dk>.

Qualifications

  *   Candidates must have obtained a PhD degree in law (or closely related areas) and a demonstrated interest in relevant areas such as at the digitalization of law or administration, legal informatics, LegalTech, bias in automated decision making, or legal/ethical challenges in relation to automation of legal services and the use of AI.
  *   Excellent English communication skills, both oral and written, are prerequisite for the successful candidate. Danish or another Scandinavian language is not a requirement but advantageous.
  *   The successful candidate will have the ambition to produce high quality research and a keen interest in interdisciplinary work bridging research and practice.
  *   The successful candidate will have a solution-oriented, organizational and positive mindset. The ability to work in a collaborative environment both independently and as part of the team is essential.

Application
The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.
The application (in English or a Scandinavian language), must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.
The application must include:

  *   Motivation letter;
  *   Research plan (maximum 5 pages; it should describe your research ideas and goals in relation to the LEGALESE project as well your long-term research vision);
  *   Curriculum vitae;
  *   List of publications;
  *   Copy of diplomas/degree certificate(s) (foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their university's grading system); and
  *   Three references (incl. e-mail and phone number).

The recruitment process
Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here:  https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

Terms of Employment

  *   Further information on qualification requirements as postdoc can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2019 here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/dokumenter/Ministerial_Order_no._1443_of_11_December_2019_on_Job_Structure_for_Academic_Staff_at_Universities.pdf
  *   Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
  *   The salary range starts at DKK 34,655 per month + a 17.1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

An Equal Opportunity Workplace
The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Researrch, see https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/

International applicant?
The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/<https://ism.ku.dk/%20>

The closing date for applications is 23:59 CET, 6 November 2020.
Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered.

@schwemer<https://twitter.com/schwemer>
+45 35 33 10 16