AN INTUITIVE OUTLOOK
Global law firm Baker McKenzie began piloting the use of large machine language models in early 2022, including ChatGPT-related functionality, according to Danielle Benecke, Founder and Director of the firm’s machine learning group, BakerML.
The firm initially formed a task force in 2017, Benecke says, to examine what effect emerging technologies might have.
“The firm saw the increasing impact of machine learning and other advanced AI in legal and in other industries,” she says. “The conclusion the firm came to back then was that the technology was not likely to immediately disrupt our core business, but we expected a much more fundamental shift to begin by 2022, 2023. Back in 2017, we had said Baker McKenzie needs to prepare for a future in which the high-value service we provide will be machine learning-enabled legal judgment.”
Today, the firm utilizes commercially available software suites like Microsoft 365, which feature AI functionality, and also works with smaller legal tech start-ups to round out its stable of discovery, contract analytics and other applications.
“If you have data that your competitors do not have, that’s something — even if your competitors were willing to spend all the money in the world — they can’t recreate, most likely. If you have a lot of data from that relationship, can you differentiate yourself, [by] creating your own tool, with your own fine-tuned large language model, in that space?”
As more commercial and open-source models have become available, Benecke says the firm has been performance testing some of the major options for various legal use cases through internal and client-facing pilots.
“The reason we are taking that approach, rather than just going ahead and deploying this thing to everyone, is there’s just so much that is unknown about the value — what kind, if any, do these models add to the work that we do?” she says. “What are the ways in which they might be used to optimize work? Is it speed, is it efficiency? Is it improving the quality of work?”
The firm, for example, is working with practice groups within a large global technology company to test the use of generative AI — which has been referred to as the next generation of AI functionality. The pilot involves using previous knowledge the firm has generated throughout the years it has worked with the client to help create draft responses for routine queries, Benecke says.
“That technically is taking the best-performing foundation models that we identify for this particular set of needs — and then we combine that with some retrieval techniques, where we’re basically pointing the model at relevant previous advice playbooks and other firm and client know-how to create draft responses that our lawyers can review and validate,” she says. “The key value we’re looking for there is obviously to optimize the way in which we’re doing that work to make it faster, and also to improve the quality and consistency of that work, too.”
EXPANDING SERVICE DELIVERY
At some firms, tech initiatives have been spun off into entirely new businesses — such as Gravity Stack, which Reed Smith, a law firm with 31 offices throughout the world, established as a separate entity in 2018.
Its creation, according to Managing Director Bryon Bratcher, stemmed from the firm’s realization that certain services require deep technical expertise and don’t necessarily fit into the traditional law firm model.
“Gravity Stack addresses a critical market need for specialized legal tech services and business operations consulting,” Bratcher says. “While legal experience remains essential, the complexities of today’s data-rich environment require exceptional technical capabilities for effective data management, analytics and cybersecurity. We provide a one-stop solution for clients who previously had to coordinate between multiple service providers.”
The service delivery-enhancing technology the company has created include a contract review platform, which Bratcher says has significantly cut down the time needed for mergers and acquisitions due diligence, and proprietary data analytics tools, designed to assist legal departments with making make data-driven decisions — which automate the collection and interpretation of massive datasets to help inform litigation strategy or contract negotiation.
While Gravity Stack operates outside of the firm, Bratcher says Reed Smith ultimately benefits from its operation.
“The key value we’re looking for there is obviously to optimize the way in which we’re doing that work to make it faster, and also to improve the quality and consistency of that work, too.”
“Being a separate, but affiliated, entity has allowed Reed Smith to extend its service offerings and brand itself as an innovative, full-service provider,” he says. “This has been instrumental in both attracting new clients and retaining existing ones that are seeking comprehensive solutions.”
Whether law firms are looking to create an external consulting group, like Gravity Stack, or strengthen their internal tech creation capabilities to introduce new, efficiency-producing proficiencies, Linna feels the ability to identify areas where emerging technology could have an impact on operations likely won’t flow from the top down.
“It’s going to come from creating an environment where everyone's encouraged to innovate [and] produce greater value for clients — and people have responsible ways they can experiment with how to use those tools,” he says. “The firms that learn how to get this tool into the hands of the people who are closest to the work are going to be the ones that really innovate and make a lot of progress in both the short and the long term. They’re going to find tremendous ways to add value for the client; become more efficient; do their jobs more effectively — in a broad range of areas, from administrative tasks to complex legal tasks.”
