How Mid-Sized Firms Can Stay Ahead in the AI Era

Buying for Lasting Advantage: Strategic investment in AI technology improves efficiency, demonstrates a commitment to innovation, and helps solidify client trust and satisfaction.

Big Law can choose to build, buy or both – but how do legal players with fewer resources stay ahead?

AI for legal documents and legal work has found a home at large firms with a wide network of attorneys. Firms with vast resources are exploring a range of strategies in the application of AI and law – including building internal tools, researching and trialing vendor-offered solutions, and combining both building and buying to address unique use cases across the firm.

But for Mid-sized firms with fewer resources, finding the right AI tools for lawyers to address specific use cases may be a challenge. Mid-sized firms may not have the option to invest in both sides of the build and buy conversation to improve their legal practices.

This leads to the question – How should Mid-sized and boutique law firms be thinking about legal AI technology and AI legal services?

Utilizing resources for maximum impact: Mid-sized firms need to buy specific

With an influx of legal AI companies in the market, it can be easy to lose sight of tangible goals for the sake of keeping up with legal AI adoption. Discovering high quality, value-producing solutions requires firms to stay grounded in a problem and solution format. To maximize the benefits of limited resources and the benefits of AI technology, firms need to search for solutions to existing problems.

Focus is key. To make the most of resources allocated towards AI innovation, firms or practitioners must understand what processes can be best improved by the capabilities of LLM’s. Attorneys need to consider which types of tasks AI can most reliably complete for time savings and reducing human error. In particular, finding ways to shift attorney focus from menial tasks to the work that requires critical thinking and specialized legal knowledge.

By delegating tasks to AI, attorneys can free up time for more complex and intellectually demanding work required in drafting legal documents. This ultimately leads to a more efficient and productive workflow.

A focused approach starts with identifying and defining a problem or opportunity within the firm. Some examples of a problem or opportunity statement look like:

• Reduce time spent on finding relevant clauses
• Better apply client preferences
• Reduce time spent in contract negotiation
• Improve consistency of definitions
  

Doing More With Less: The right legal AI tool gives every attorney the power of an entire legal team

One of the biggest advantages of AI is the ability to automate tedious information-finding tasks. For smaller firms, juggling client matters on top of administrative work, can come at the cost of billable time. Firms should assess a solution’s ability to mobilize existing data in real time to shift attorney time to value-creating work.

Strategic Data Application Offers Competitive Edge

To stay competitive with firms with more resources, Mid-sized firms need legal technology that makes better use of their contract data – instantaneously connecting them with relevant language from firm precedent.

Tools like AI contract drafting and AI contract review utilize data to enable businesses to streamline workflows. This technology helps attorneys better apply data by quickly finding relevant information from firm precedent or industry standards.

To compete with larger legal teams, Mid-sized firms need to reduce hours that go into needlessly surfacing, compiling, and circulating specific language examples within legal documents, so that they can better apply their expertise and invest in client relationships.

Attorneys who use legal AI tools, like DraftWise, report that drafting contracts with data insights directly in Microsoft word multiplies productivity and improves overall work product:

"It helped me produce a better work product - it was like having 2 or 3 associates on my team that could double-check my work and give me ideas for things I may have worked on. Because I'm competing with big firms, with lots of people reviewing each contract, I need a tool like this to stay relevant" - Attorney practicing at a small firm

Differentiate with Uniquely Hands-On Client Service

Clients are drawn to Mid-sized and boutique firms for the level of engagement with partners, direct attention to their concerns, and cost advantages.

Mid-sized and boutique firms in the legal field must be able to nimbly address client requests and solve unique client needs. But a heavy workload makes offering these advantages challenging. To best provide the unique value of hands-on client service, firms need legal ai software that can save time in repeatable processes.

Adopting AI technology sends a message to clients that your firm is at the forefront of innovation and efficiency. This builds client rapport and satisfaction in demonstrating an intention to increase deliverables achieved during billable time.

Attorneys who have purchased AI technology with a buy-specific approach unlock new ways to bring value to their clients:

“I’m using DraftWise to bring value to my client base – I’ve started a review of and update to their various standard form agreements." - Attorney practicing at a small firm

It’s crucial for mid-sized firms to carefully select AI solutions that align with their specific needs and unique use cases to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. By focusing on targeted, value-producing applications, firms can enhance productivity, free up attorney time, and deliver a distinguished level of personalized client service.

How Mid-sized firms can stay ahead in the AI wave:

Strategic investment in AI tools and AI assistance not only improves efficiency, but also demonstrates a commitment to innovation, and helps to solidify client trust and satisfaction. Talk to the DraftWise Team to learn more about our legal AI platform.

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