Law Tech Daily (May 25): Unleashing the Power of AI in the Legal Profession
Legal tech solutions and AI integration are improving security, productivity, and workflows for lawyers. Companies like Hogan Lovells, Burges Salmon, and Thomson Reuters are leading the way. Technology is reshaping the legal landscape, delivering better services.
Welcome to your daily briefing for May 25, 2023. Here's what happened in Legal Tech Yesterday.
TLDR; Listen instead:
Trends from yesterday
Overview
Hogan Lovells, a global law firm, has introduced a new brand called ELTEMATE. The offering will unify the law firm's legal technology solutions under a single global team. ELTEMATE will provide clients with a high-end digital solution to tackle challenges in all areas of law, including Legal Tech and AI solutions. The brand will also develop proprietary software, such as an AI tool streamlining review and processing of regulatory developments. The move comes as Generative AI, like ChatGPT, will become more useful in the future and the legal industry started adopting AI.
Trends
The ongoing integration of technology tools such as generative AI and natural language processing have caused major developments in the services that law firms are offering. ELTEMATE indicates the continued drive towards creating custom software instead of relying solely on third-party solutions. The proprietary AI tool developed by ELTEMATE showcases the potential of customized AI-based tools for law firms to streamline processes, such as regulatory review. In times when data holds immense utility, it is not surprising that a global law firm is taking steps to develop its digital solutions.
Analysis
ELTEMATE is a modern offer that brings forth a valuable solution for the legal profession. The service is built on the core AI technologies and is expected to overcome some of the challenges in the legal profession. The fact that Hogan Lovells plans on not only bundling third-party solutions but also developing its own proprietary software, gives them a competitive edge. This move could crown ELTEMATE's reputation and drive customer confidence through developing its solution from the ground up rather than relying on third-party solutions. By providing greater digital solutions, such as an AI tool, regulatory developments will become more accessible and allow the legal profession better tools to handle the abundance of legal data.
Thomson Reuters is investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), with plans to integrate new generative AI capabilities across its product suite, including Westlaw Precision, Practical Law, Checkpoint Edge, Legal Document Review and Summary, and Legal Drafting. The company is partnering with Microsoft to develop a contract drafting solution, powered by its legal products and content, and Copilot for Word. Thomson Reuters has also announced a new plugin with Microsoft 365 Copilot to bolster its efforts for redefined professional work, starting with legal research, drafting and client collaboration. The legal drafting solution, integrated with Copilot for Microsoft 365, will be available for legal professionals in beta alongside the Microsoft Copilot release schedule.
Key stories
Guest post: Believe neither the hype nor the backlash on ChatGPT
The article by Bill Bice, CEO of nQ Zebraworks, provides a thorough explanation of generative AI, specifically focusing on ChatGPT, and its potential in the legal industry. Bice notes that while there has been peak hype and severe backlash, understanding the utility and limitations of generative AI is crucial. The technology is essentially a sophisticated auto-complete which can create entire essays by predicting subsequent words and phrases. However, there are challenges to using generative AI in the legal industry. For instance, the inability to cite how the AI got to its answers presents a problem in a precedence-based profession. Additionally, the privacy concerns around proprietary information and the potential for generative AI to obscure precision are significant issues. Despite these challenges, Bice believes that generative AI will continue to improve with better data management, fact-checking, and improved governance and guidelines. He predicts that generative AI will become an ingredient in more complete solutions used by attorneys, with the hype surrounding the technology overplaying its impact today. Overall, the article provides a valuable overview of generative AI and its application in the legal industry, presenting both its potential and limitations.
Hogan Lovells launches own legal tech brand ELTEMATE
The launch of Hogan Lovells' new legal tech brand, ELTEMATE, shows the firm's commitment to addressing the needs of clients through digital solutions. The move to unify the firm's legal technology offerings under one core global team reflects their aim to provide high-end digital solutions to clients in all areas of law. This consolidation could lead to a more efficient and flexible service for clients, as the new entity will enable the development, management and marketing of legal tech products and consulting services in a more unified way. ELTEMATE's offerings include a range of Legal Tech and AI solutions, such as smart databases, e-discovery tools, deal rooms, apps, and legal tech consulting services. The company is set to bundle third-party solutions and develop proprietary software, such as the cutting-edge AI tool that streamlines the review and processing of regulatory updates. The team will work alongside legal teams and be home to AI experts and software engineers. Miguel Zaldivar, CEO of Hogan Lovells, expressed his excitement about the next level of legal technology offering, noting how the new entity will enable the company to service their clients better by being more flexible, efficient and faster to innovation. This move underscores Hogan Lovells' commitment to leveraging technology to improve their services and meet the changing needs of clients in a fast-paced technological landscape. It also shows the firm's proactivity in the legal tech market, which is becoming increasingly important due to the demand for cost-effective, efficient and innovative solutions in the delivery of legal services.
Thomson Reuters, a global content and technology company, has announced its vision to redefine the future of its professional customers through generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The company is committed to investing over $100 million annually in AI capabilities and has partnered with Microsoft to bolster efforts to redefine professional work. Thomson Reuters intends to incorporate new generative AI capabilities across its product suite, empowering customers to find answers to complex legal questions in seconds, provide smarter and faster access to expertise, provide reliable answers to complex tax and accounting questions, and read through hundreds or thousands of documents to spot key risks, execute tasks, and generate powerful work product. Additionally, the company has released a contract drafting solution, powered by its legal products and content, and Copilot for Word, providing users with a draft working document and access to trusted content right in Microsoft Word. Thomson Reuters strives to build, buy, and partner its way towards integrating generative AI into solutions and remains committed to augmenting professional knowledge and workflows with AI and building trustworthy, practical, and beneficial AI for its customers. Generative AI capabilities will be available in its native platforms in the second half of 2023, while Tax and Compliance, Risk and Fraud generative AI solutions will follow in 2024.
All stories
24 Hour Free Ticket Offer! – Legal Innovators California, June 7-8
Cosmonauts, the conference organizers, are offering a free ticket for Legal Innovators California, taking place on June 7-8 in San Francisco, for those working at a law firm or in an inhouse/legal ops role. The event will cover topics such as AI and contract management technology and will feature leaders from Meta, Salesforce, Orrick, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The free pass includes access to event sessions, roundtables and workshops, networking drinks, breakfast, and lunch. The event will cover themes such as sparking legal industry creativity, addressing access to justice crisis through tech, and streamlining processes with automation. This special offer is only available for 24 hours and is only applicable to those working within law firms and inhouse/legal ops roles.
8 Tips for Growing Your Family Law Practice While Keeping Your Sanity
The blog post discusses the importance of family law and the challenges that come with it. It provides eight tips for building a successful family law practice and handling the emotional toll of domestic drama. The tips include being scrupulous about conflict checks, conducting real consultations, and explaining the different roles and service levels offered in a family law practice. The post emphasizes the importance of these tips in building a successful and sustainable family law practice. The blog post provides tips for family law attorneys to improve their client relationships and practice. The tips include helping clients negotiate a settlement, advising and supporting them through mediation, negotiating on their behalf with opposing counsel, and litigating in court. The post also emphasizes the importance of responding to client emails within 24 hours, setting boundaries with clients, being clear about billing, using plain language in agreement templates, and getting trained in alternative dispute resolution methods.
Guest post: Believe neither the hype nor the backlash on ChatGPT
Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, is a valuable tool for certain tasks and will become more useful in the future. It is built on core AI technologies such as artificial neural networks and natural language processing, and is essentially an advanced auto-complete function that can write entire essays. However, there are unique challenges in the legal profession, such as the need for traceability and precision, and the potential for privacy concerns and inaccuracies.
Hogan Lovells launches own legal tech brand ELTEMATE
Hogan Lovells, a global law firm, has launched ELTEMATE, a new brand that will unify the firm's legal technology offerings under one global team. ELTEMATE will provide clients with high-end digital solutions to address challenges in all areas of law, including Legal Tech and AI solutions, smart databases, e-discovery tools, deal rooms, apps, and legal tech consulting services. The brand will not only bundle third-party solutions but also develop its own proprietary software, such as a new AI tool that streamlines the review and processing of regulatory developments. ELTEMATE will work closely with legal teams and be home to AI experts and software engineers.
Burges Salmon collaborates with Affinity Water to launch a Digital Compliance Tool
Burges Salmon's Innovation team has collaborated with Affinity Water to develop a Digital Compliance Tool that helps the water supplier demonstrate compliance in a verifiable way to the various regulators that control the water industry. The tool provides a centralised home for compliance obligations, automated task allocation, workflows, regular email reminders, data visualisations, and reporting capabilities that enable users to work collaboratively, action tasks, and assign sub-tasks. The easy-to-use tool is customisable and adaptable to suit any business. Emma Sorrell, Innovation Manager at Burges Salmon, is pleased to have developed this innovative tool with Affinity Water to provide a meaningful solution that supports its business objectives. Affinity Water has collaborated with Burges Salmon's Innovation team to develop a new solution that enables the water company to manage its compliance with data privacy regulations. The solution is scalable and can evolve with changing regulations, providing a long-term solution for Affinity. Simon Wooderson, Head of Ethics, Compliance & Data Privacy at Affinity Water, praised Burges Salmon's Innovation team for their intuitive understanding of Affinity's needs and their ability to provide solutions before they were even requested. Burges Salmon's Innovation team is a multi-disciplinary team that identifies pain points, creates innovative solutions, and improves client service delivery.
Thomson Reuters has revealed its vision to redefine the future of professionals through generative artificial intelligence (AI). The company is investing over $100m annually on AI capabilities and has announced a new plugin with Microsoft 365 Copilot to bolster efforts for redefined professional work, starting with legal research, drafting and client collaboration. Thomson Reuters has been a leader in leveraging new technologies, including AI and machine learning, for over 30 years to improve search and expand advanced analytics for its customers. Thomson Reuters has announced its plans to integrate new generative AI capabilities across its product suite, including Westlaw Precision, Practical Law, Checkpoint Edge, Legal Document Review and Summary, and Legal Drafting. With generative AI, customers can find answers to complex legal and tax questions in seconds, spot key risks, resolve questions, execute tasks, and generate powerful work product. Thomson Reuters has also collaborated with Microsoft to develop a contract drafting solution, powered by its legal products and content, and Copilot for Word, which delivers users with a draft working document and access to trusted content right where work happens. A demonstration of the integration between Thomson Reuters Legal Drafting and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Word will be shown during Microsoft Build event in Seattle. Thomson Reuters is partnering with Microsoft to integrate AI-powered experiences into its legal solutions, including Westlaw, Practical Law, and Drafting. The aim is to help legal professionals save time and drive value for clients and businesses. Thomson Reuters is investing more than $100m annually in integrating generative AI into its solutions, with a focus on building trustworthy, practical, and beneficial AI for customers. The legal drafting solution, integrated with Copilot for Microsoft 365, will be available for legal professionals in beta alongside the Microsoft Copilot release schedule. Tax and Compliance, Risk, and Fraud generative AI solutions will follow in 2024.
LawBase Announces Generative AI Capabilities in Its Leading Case and Matter Management Platform
LawBase, a case and matter management software system for the legal industry, has announced the addition of generative AI capabilities to its platform. The integration with ChatGPT enables users to employ AI to write queries that guide them to create reports and easily access data within the platform without compromising security. Users can now write the query for exactly what they need using the new voice-typing feature built into Windows. This latest integration provides users with faster access to information without the need to know exactly how to query for it.
Steno Secures $15M Series B Funding Led by Left Lane Capital to Expand National Presence
Legal support services provider Steno has raised $15m in a series B funding round led by Left Lane Capital, with participation from Clio Ventures. The firm has raised a total of $38.5m, including a series A round completed in 2020. Steno was founded in 2018 by Greg Hong, Dylan Ruga and Dan Anderson with the goal of overhauling the traditional court reporting agency model. Its flagship product, DelayPay, allows law firms to defer service costs until a case is resolved. Steno plans to use the funding to expand its national presence. Steno, a provider of remote deposition technology and legal support services, is set to launch an integration with Clio's legal practice management platform later this year. The integration will allow shared customers to access case activities in real-time, saving valuable time for clients. Steno has seen significant growth in the past year, expanding its offerings to a suite of products designed to enable law firms and court reporters to focus on essential work. The company's latest Series B funding will allow it to continue growing its footprint in new markets and expand its tech team to transform the way legal support services are consumed.
LiquidText Achieves ISO 27001 Certification, Ensuring Enhanced Information Security
LiquidText, the reading, note-taking, and document analysis platform, has announced that it has achieved ISO 27001 certification, which is a global standard for information security management systems. The certification process involved a thorough evaluation of LiquidText's security policies, practices, and infrastructure to ensure the implementation of comprehensive data protection measures across all aspects of the company's operations. The certification acknowledges LiquidText's dedication to upholding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information, enabling customers to collaborate and share documents with confidence. The achievement underscores LiquidText's commitment to providing the highest level of information security to its users and aligning with industry best practices. The blog post chunk highlights that the ISO 27001 certification demonstrates the company's commitment to maintaining excellent information security management practices and developing innovative solutions.
