Standard innovation theory tells us that we move from an early adoption phase to mainstream very quickly. This is in part true because our  behaviors are influenced by our peers, how widespread we think the use of a particular product is and how well known the provider of the product is to us. This is particularly the case where the product saves time, is easy to use and produces a better result. And all this is especially true in the legal profession.

If true, then Thomson Reuters’ new Westlaw products announced today may be the event that takes AI and data analytics into the mainstream for the legal profession.

One reason for the slowness of lawyers to adopt technology is that the technology  being offered is not intuitive and takes valuable (billable) time away from the lawyer to learn and use the technology

Some background: lawyers are notoriously slow to adopt new technologies. While books could be and have been written analyzing all the reasons for this-from the law firm structure and the billable hour model to lawyers’ personalities-one key component for this slowness is the fact that the technology being offered is not intuitive and takes valuable (billable) time away from the lawyer to learn and use it. Plus, lawyers aren’t technologists so when it comes to evaluating technology, they look, a) to whether it’s being offered by an entity with which they are familiar and b) who among their peers is using the product.

Westlaw is one of the most familiar names in the lawyer industry. For years, it has been the preeminent publisher of legal materials, case books and statutory digests. It developed the keynote model where important points of a case are summarized and grouped with similar points in other cases for research purposes. Lawyers have relied for years on the Westlaw for legal research. I dare say there are probably few, if any, lawyers in the U.S. who have not used and relied on the Westlaw keynotes in doing research. So, to paraphrase the old E.F. Hutton commercial: When Westlaw talks, lawyers listen.

To paraphrase the old E.F. Hutton commercial: When Westlaw talks, lawyers listen.

This plus the fact that Thomson Reuters/Westlaw has tons of data about cases, lawyers and the legal field from its collection over the years of cases and its keynote system. It has 100s of researchers and editors on staff to provide the muscle to harness the data it has.

Today, WestLaw announced Westlaw Edge. Westlaw Edge has two main components: an enhanced legal research prong which basically better harnesses machine learning and natural language processing-AI-to the legal research field.

AI legal research has been trumpeted for years by start ups and technolgy companies as a more efficient and better way to do research. But other than a few early adopters, AI has not caught on in the mainstream legal community.

 

AI legal research has been trumpeted for years by start ups and technolgy companies as a more efficient and better way to do research. But other than a few early adopters, AI has not caught on in the mainstream legal community.

 

Part of the problem with legal research is that different courts may use different terms to describe the same legal concept and terms can mean different things to different courts. This makes research time consuming and often inaccurate. ( A recent study found lawyers frequently miss cite cases or fail to cite cases that are on point). Westlaw Edge uses AI to not only address the issue the researcher has specifically asked it to address, but then to spot similar wording and issues in other cases. The researcher can then click through the cases that are discovered and get more detail. Westlaw Edge is trumpeted as having improved search capabilities providing not only simple term matching but a better understanding of text and context in which legal concepts are discussed and weeding out that’s which is non responsive. Westlaw Edge reportedly does this by using machine learning with the help of its with editors and researchers.

But its in the field of data analytics the Westlaw Edge really shines. Westlaw has been quietly compiling a database that houses all filings from federal dockets and many from state dockets. And using enhanced search capabilities, Westlaw Edge can harness this data to tell you many things that in the past, lawyers had used their experience and word of mouth to try to capture, often providing little more than the proverbial wild ass guess.

Things like how long it takes a particular judge to rule on various motions, how often a judge grants or denies certain motions (like, for example, summary judgment motions), who are the parties and lawyers that most often appear before that judge, how often a particular lawyer or law firm takes a case to verdict, how a judge deals with expert challenges, what’s the track record of the judge in dealing with discovery disputes, how often a particular lawyer or law firm has cases against another lawyer or law firm. And WestLaw Edge packages this data in easy to read and understand graphics.

In short, this product can provide invaluable information that will allow businesses to make key decisions about how to deal with litigation and even budgets. And it allows businesses to have realistic expectations about what will happen in a case and measure its attorney’s performance against those expectations.

Not only can Westlaw Edge improve quality and efficiencies, it could also revolutionize the way businesses hire lawyers. For years, I had to hire local counsel in cases. Like generally counsel, I certainly cared about price. But often the most important questions I had were such things as how well do you know the judge and how often have you appeared before him or her, how well do you know opposing counsel, how often have you handled cases like this and how often have you taken cases to verdict (i.e., are you a trial lawyer). In the past, we generally relied on what the candidate told us, what we learned from word of mouth and of course, our proverbial gut instinct. I have to say that I was right about my choice about half the time. With a tool like Westlaw Edge, the answers to these questions are pretty clear.

In the past, we generally relied on what an potential attorney  told us, what we learned from word of mouth and of course, our proverbial gut instinct. I have to say that I was right about my choice about half the time. With a tool like Westlaw Edge, the answers to these questions are pretty clear.

Ok, great. Legal tech has offered lots of opportunities for lawyers to save time, money and get a better result and the legal community has collectively yawned. What’s different about Westlaw Edge? Plenty.

First, Westlaw is a known commodity to lawyers. IT folks don’t have to do a lot of convincing to their managing partners to get an upgrade to a new Westlaw product. And lawyers will have less reluctance to use a product from a company they have known and relied on since being a first year law student. It’s a bit like Microsoft when it introduced Word: most businesses were already using and relying on Microsoft, so getting the next product was not a hard sell and WordPerfect was doomed. More recently, few business and law firms batted an eye at paying more for a new product like Office 365. Plus implementation is simple: push a button and its added. No wholesale changes, known quantity. Save, secure and easy choice.

Also, clients that might have been hesitant to demand its lawyers use a new software to be more efficient, particular one developed by an unknown and unproven provider will have much less trouble demanding and expecting a product like Westlaw Edge be used.

But the second reason Westlaw Edge could be a game changer is what powers it. Data. Tons and tons of date from years and years. And people to tame that data. AI is only as good as the data off which it runs; if data is the new oil, then Westlaw is the new Exxon. Few can match what Westlaw Edge brings.

 

Westlaw Edge could push AI for lawyers into the mainstream.

So expect to see legal departments, law firms and lawyers gravitate finally to a more data driven practice. Westlaw Edge could push AI for lawyers into the mainstream. And once the dam is breached, we could see more and more innovative technology flow into the profession.

Of course, all this presupposes that Westlaw Edge is what it’s claimed to be: a data driven intuitive product that performs. Certainly Westlaw Edge could turn into a disappointing bust if it doesn’t. As Bob Ambrogi, dean of law technology commenters rightfully observed when we were recently discussing this: “it’s easy for a provider to demo a product and make it look good. To really know whether it will do what they say you have to play with it and start pushing buttons.”

But even if Westlaw Edge is not as good as it’s cracked up to be (and time will tell), it’s still an entry in the AI marketplace by a well known, widely used provider. In that regard, it’s a stamp of approval on a technology that will over time be a game changer for what technology lawyers use and how they use it.

 

 

 

 

As one generally counsel observed: its “borderline malpractice not to have and use this tool”. That pretty much says it all