Working smarter
Innovation in the practice of law
No industry is immune from the
disruptive effects of technology, and
the legal profession has exploded
with products that are impacting
working practices. Tasks like large
scale document reviews have been
transformed as a result. Traditionally,
trainees would be sent to a physical
'data room' to manually review
boxes of paper contracts. Now
'virtual data rooms' have become the
norm and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
review platforms use pattern-finding
algorithms to interrogate documents
at the touch of a button. Advances
in legal tech are also extending
to drafting, proofreading, project
management, analytics, signing,
litigation, finance and compliance.
Where processes exist, there is
potential for automation to make
lawyers' jobs easier. Where data exists,
it is possible to extract patterns to
give lawyers deeper understanding,
quantify risk and plan strategy.
Our AI tool is called Luminance. We
believe that its level of sophistication,
both technically and in terms of the
legal expertise embedded within it,
makes it a market leader. This tool
is already deeply ingrained in our
practice, and every trainee is taught
to use it. Such is its effectiveness that
lawyers will have to explain why they
didn't use it, not why they did.
Technology is just one area in which
we can innovate. The skill set of an
effective lawyer is changing, itself
influenced by technology and process
improvement: this impacts our
training and recruitment. Resourcing
of legal projects is changing. It may be
more efficient to bring in experts such
as data analysts or project managers
than lawyers.
By being familiar with the disruption
our clients are experiencing, we are
able to ensure that we provide the
optimum service.
At Slaughter and May, progress is
underpinned by communication
and collaboration. Our Head of
Innovation, Jane Stewart, and partner
innovation lead, Rob Sumroy, run
an Innovation Network of over
200 people, with an online forum
for publishing thought and insight
pieces, and for engaging in debate.
We also engage our clients in specific
elements of brainstorming and
testing, and collaborate with clients,
industry experts and entrepreneurs
to help shape the development of
legal tech. We are also working with
Oxford University and various other
third parties in a government funded
initiative exploring how we train the
lawyers of the future.
Last, and most definitely not least,
we are innovating to make sure that
technology really does what it was
intended to do: make life better.
Great productivity involves downtime
and rest, and protecting that - even
from technology itself - is vital.
We believe innovation is at the heart of legal practice and this is reflected in the
way we approach every piece of work. Challenging the way we work through
open-mindedness, diversity and creativity can have an enormous impact on
results for our clients, our efficiency, and our wellbeing.
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