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54 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 To ensure they fully utilized App Builder's capabilities, Buchanan partnered with 3545 Consulting, a firm known for its expertise in legal technology, to bridge the gap between vision and execution. Together, the team set out to modernize workflows, reduce inefficiencies, and ultimately enhance client service—all while maintaining the highest data security standards. TIME SAVINGS AND CONSISTENT WORK PRODUCT Buchanan's journey started with a focus on small, high- impact initiatives. Collaborating with 3545 Consulting, they identified key use cases where AI and automation could deliver immediate value, utilizing NetDocuments' App Builder. One of the first successes was using the Summarize app, which automated the process of summarizing legal documents. This tool quickly became a favorite among the firm's attorneys, saving hours of manual work. Buchanan shifted from built-in apps to customizing a Litigation Master Caption File app that automates the creation of master caption files for litigation matters. The app leverages AI to extract caption data points from an initial court filing and automation to generate a master caption file with jurisdiction-specific formatting. The master caption file can then be used as the starting point for all court filings, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and proper formatting, all while streamlining the drafting process. Outcomes: • 1500+ practice assistant and paralegal hours saved annually (approx. $80,000 value) • Risk avoidance and reputational benefit via accurate, consistent automation • Improved consistency for 10,000+ court filings annually Buchanan also created a Durable Power of Attorney App to streamline the drafting process for durable powers of attorney. The app guides users through client-specific questions, such as selecting appointees, defining their powers, and determining whether the document should take effect immediately or upon incapacity. By automating this process, the app reduces drafting time from hours to minutes, enabling attorneys to focus on each case's unique complexities. Ensuring that measurements were in place to access each app's value was critical to Buchanan's approach. The firm worked with 3545 Consulting to develop a simple yet effective solution: by integrating a counter in each app's data table, the firm could track the app's usage. This tracking system allowed them to quantify the time savings and other benefits generated by each app. For example, one app saved the firm five hours of attorney time each time it ran. Its utilization increased productivity and improved the consistency and quality of the final documents. Other apps provide less tangible benefits, such as reducing errors and ensuring compliance with standard formats across all outputs. It is also easier for attorneys to adopt since the apps are built within the familiar NetDocuments platform. Attorneys' familiarity with the existing platform reduced the learning curve, making AI and automation feel less intimidating and encouraging greater adoption across the firm's practice areas.

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