The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/854572
37 WWW.ILTANET.ORG "They're already writing off up to $20 million a year because their aorneys are not invoicing correctly. The problem is that there is no fact-based evidence for the write-off. A lot of the time you'll have a client say 'I'm only going to pay 60 percent of that because I just don't agree with it.' There's no factual evidence behind 'I don't agree with it,' and then you end up with an argument. And who's going to win? The client. Now we're giving the corporations what they need for factual evidence, and it is unbiased." This level of unbiased factual evidence is oen in short supply because law firms struggle to put together profitable fixed fee or alternative fee arrangements (AFAs). Moran points out that when AFAs are structured properly, they can be beneficial to both firms and clients. "Corporate legal departments are trying to determine if there is a way they can have an arrangement that isn't hourly but is more predictable, and also profitable and of benefit to the law firm," he says. "But it all begins with the core element that the information being brought into the system needs to be detailed enough and explicit enough so you can go back and make an evaluation. If it's all summarized, it's very difficult for the law firms and the corporations to sit down and create an arrangement that is beneficial to both." Hoffman-Childress explains that she has had a lot of law firm managing partners come to IBM looking for help in this area. "They're desiring the same thing as their corporate clients: fact-based evidence. It's not that anyone wants to be doing anything underhanded. Everyone wants the truth; everyone wants transparency. Before Watson, you couldn't get through all the data. What you had was a bunch of analytics that gave you the 'what,' and you had to think through the 'why.' Watson provides the 'why.'" The Return on Investment Over the long term, AI's greatest impact on legal economics will not be a drop in revenue but an increase in value. Clients will use the technology to control their costs on legal services and on the effort needed to manage outside counsel. Firms can use the technology to ensure that they remain profitable, particularly as they transition to doing more work on a fixed-fee basis. Fixed fees make clients happy by making their costs more predictable. Instead of puing aorneys out of a job, AI might just enable them to do what they went to law school to do: practice law. P2P Forget About Robot Lawyers…This Is the First Way AI Will Affect Legal Practitioners FEATURES The global standard for legal technology Increased Productivity Increased Profitability 10 Core Competency Workflows Globally Recognized Certification ... for clients through technology efficiency ... for firms through technology efficiency ... covering security, document management, time and billing, etc. ... in industry-standard real-life workflows Learn more at ltc4.org or email us at info@ltc4.org A not-for-profit membership organization Certification in industry-standard legal core competency workflows created by law firms for law firms, legal departments, law schools and legal technology vendors. Setting the global standard for legal technology proficiency. Working for a future where all legal professionals use technology efficiently and can prove it.