Multinational law firm turns to Artificial intelligence to meet clients’ needs 

Artificial intelligence is being used by the global law firm to deliver fast, reliable advice to its clients in a number of practice groups, including in areas as sensitive as foreign investment.

This is part of a wave of innovation in the legal services industry that features in The Australian Legal Review, a magazine devoted to the legal sector, that is free with Friday’s edition of The Australian.

At King & Wood Mallesons specialist lawyers have developed a series of 90 questions and five decision-making trees drawn from 150 pages of FIRB legislation, to enable a computer to determine whether regulatory approval is needed.

KWM executive director of innovation Michelle Mahoney explains that this has allowed the firm to deliver answers more quickly to its clients and to make the most efficient use of its experts by enabling junior lawyers to take on more of the grunt work.

“It allows us to get that expertise scaled, it allows us to be consistent, it allows us to provide high quality advice, because you’re asking all the right questions,” she says.

“If you have a young lawyer or someone who hasn’t done this before … it makes sure all the right questions are asked.”

Ms Mahoney says senior partners can then be freed up for more complex tasks, such as navigating the FIRB approvals process for deals where that is required.

“You’re absolutely not making them redundant, in fact it means that we’re getting the right work to the right person,” she says.

The firm has partnered with technology firm Neota Logic to develop systems for performing this and other complex legal tasks, such as reviewing leases or change-of-control provisions in contracts that may be impacted by a merger or acquisition.

Julian Uebergang, Neota Logic’s Asia-Pacific managing director, predicts that technology such as AI will become an increasingly integral part of the business of law firms.

However, he believes the technology will always need to be managed by lawyers, especially to ensure it takes account of legislative changes.

“I don’t see the robots are going to take over the jobs of lawyers, as has been talked about,” he says.

“I think it’s more the case that lawyers will use technology to makes themselves more efficient. Those law firms that do that I think will prosper.”

At KWM, every lawyer will soon be offered training in computer coding.

Lawyers who sign up to the Coding for Lawyers course will be given four hours of training a week over six weeks in basic computer programming and will then have the option of signing up for further training at an intermediate level.

Source: The Australian

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