ILTA Awards

Finalist / T R A I L B L A Z E R O F T H E Y E A R P olsinelli partnered with Project Fortress to expand the Fortress legal operations platform into several highly specialized practice areas, transforming how attorneys manage workflows, data, and AI-powered matter analysis. Building on Fortress's successful deployment within Polsinelli's Corporate and Litigation groups, the initiative extended the Salesforce-powered platform into Intellectual Property, Patents, Emerging Companies & Venture Capital, Energy, and select litigation subgroups. The expansion represented entirely new product territory for Fortress. Each practice area required customized matter structures, tailored milestone tracking, practice-specific dashboards, and AI-driven workflows capable of handling u n i q u e d o c u m e nt t y p e s , re g u l ato r y re q u i re m e nt s , a n d operational processes. Rather than implementing a one-size- fits-all solution, the teams collaborated closely through rapid prototyping and iterative design sessions to build workflows aligned to how each practice group actually operates. A key factor in the project's success was Fortress's platform- first architecture, which provided enterprise-grade security and configurability through Salesforce while allowing Polsinelli to innovate aggressively without compromising governance or compliance standards. The teams focused on making AI practical and immediately relevant to attorneys' daily work. Instead of positioning AI as a broad concept, they embedded i t d i re ct l y i nto m at te r l i fe cyc l e s t h ro u g h to o l s s u c h a s automated document extraction, customized dashboards, and AI-powered analytics. One standout innovation included an AI tool developed for the Energy practice that monitors public sentiment surrounding development projects. Another integrated Polsinelli's API Polsinelli + Project Fortress connection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to automate live application tracking, replacing previously manual monitoring processes. To accelerate adoption, Fortress migrated active matters into the platform before rollout so attorneys entered the system with real work already structured and accessible. This eliminated friction, reduced duplication, and created immediate value through live dashboards and AI-enabled workflows from day one. The strategy quickly delivered measurable results, including more than 80% faster redline analysis and a 30% reduction in time spent on labor-intensive litigation drafting and research. The project also demonstrated Fortress's hands-on customer support model. In one high-impact example, Fortress assisted Polsinelli's Restrictive Covenants group during a discovery effort involving more than 6,000 emails, using AI-enabled workflows to identify relevant correspondence within a single afternoon. Risk management remained central throughout the phased r o l l o u t . P r a c t i c e - l e ve l c h a m p i o n s , r e c u r r i n g fe e d b a c k cycles, and MVP-driven development allowed the teams to refine workflows without disrupting client work. By focusing on structured matter design, real-time collaboration, and immediate operational impact, Polsinelli and Fortress created a s c a l a b l e f r a m ewo r k fo r ex p a n d i n g A I - p owe re d l e ga l operations across highly specialized legal disciplines. PROJECT Expanding AI- Powered Legal Operations Polsinelli needed a scalable, AI-enabled platform to streamline specialized legal workflows, improve efficiency, and support growing operational demands across diverse practice areas. ILTA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2026 5 7

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