Much like the process of buying a designer handbag, it can take a lot of thought to buy legal AI. With many seemingly attractive options out there, it can be difficult to choose between them.
Should you go modern or classic? The big name or the up and comer? Generalist or specialised? In an increasingly crowded market, it can be difficult to see the trees through the shiny new sprouting start ups, and discern the meaning in the shouty marketing slogans. In his book “How to Buy Legal Technology That Works”, Nathan Cemenska compares today’s legal tech market to the dot-com bubble of 2000, where substantial investments led to both groundbreaking innovations and a flood of substandard technology. Cemenska warns his readers against buying venture capital-backed products that promise generative AI features without real substance or use cases; the challenge for buyers is to cut through the hype and find solutions that deliver true value.
And Wexler is here to help you face this challenge. Whether you are simply looking to learn more about the market or are on the verge of buying, have a read of this simple guide to procuring legal AI. TLDR - the trick is to first diagnose your organisation’s pain points, then look for a targeted, specialised solution that is easy to integrate and scale.
Define Your Problems
Before searching for a solution, you have to articulate very clearly the problem. There are legal AI solutions addressing pretty much every possible pain point that a law firm or in-house team may experience - from accuracy and efficiency in respect of contract analysis, drafting or document review. This process should be painstaking and data-driven, aiming to uncover the key bottlenecks in productivity that are currently costing your team. Once you have a clearer picture of the problem, you can take a narrower view on available options and the market will shrink to a more manageable size.
With law firms across the world falling over themselves to hire AI talent and build innovation teams, there is increasing pressure from both internal stakeholders and clients for the firms to rapidly kit themselves out in the blingiest new AI software. However, remember to think longterm and resist the lemming/magpie effect of hastily signing up to the newest, flashiest tech in town without properly considering your options. To avoid this, stay laser-focused on outcomes: what would effective addressing of the particular pain point you have diagnosed look like for your team? Would it be increased profitability or reduced time spent on repetitive manual tasks? Recall that technology is ultimately a means to an end, so avoid becoming too fixated on the tech itself and being drawn to companies leveraging the buzzwords of the moment. At the end of the day, your clients will thank you.
Broad Is Not Always Best
This is somewhat related to the first point, but is so essential that it deserves a section of its own. While it may be tempting to take a punt on an AI solution that promises to revolutionise every aspect of your legal practice, it’s often better to pick a targeted, purpose-built product that addresses the specific problem you will have identified. A high degree of specialisation is often an indicator that the company has invested significant time in truly understanding and analysing the need for which it is building - rather than hedging its bets by keeping a finger in every pain point pie.
Additionally, a targeted solution is usually preferred by users. This is highlighted in Thomson Reuter’s 2022 Legal Tech Report, which finds that 76% of legal professionals report higher satisfaction with AI tools that are purpose-built for specific legal functions, such as due diligence or legal research. These tools were often praised for their ease of use and ability to solve narrow, well-defined problems, compared to broader tools which users found more complex to navigate. Indeed, it increasingly seems as though the future of the industry will lie in specialisation - as predicted this year by Jack Newton, CEO of Clio, "next year and in the future, legal tech will witness a surge in hyper-personalised services, thanks to AI's evolving capabilities."
KYV (Know Your Vendors)
Before engaging with specific vendors in the market, there is one key thing to keep in mind - and it is a familiar concept to most lawyers. Do your due diligence. As we all know, the legal tech market is crowded and full of hype, and tech vendors are prone oversell their capabilities, particularly around AI-driven solutions. Any canny legal tech provider will have figured out by now that using jargon like “AI” and “automation” are likely to exponentially increase interest in their products as buyers flock toward the latest “hot” companies operating at the bleeding edge of tech development.
However, not every AI tool or platform is as effective as it claims, and that’s where KYV becomes crucial. This involves going beyond the surface-level marketing language and digging into the actual functionality and value proposition of the product.
Here are some practical steps for ensuring your vendor is the right fit:
- Ask for specific examples: Look for examples of where the product has been used in law firms or companies similar to yours, and ask probing questions about the outcomes. This both helps ensure that it has real world applicability and helps determine whether it is suitable for your team’s specific needs.
- Demand detailed demos: Insist on thorough product demonstrations that showcase the technology in action. Instead of relying on a slick sales pitch, ensure the demo addresses your specific pain points and shows how the product integrates into your existing systems. A demo can reveal whether the tool truly delivers on its promises in real world conditions.
- Seek user testimonials: Validating vendor claims through third-party testimonials or feedback from actual users is critical. This feedback provides insights into the product’s strengths and weaknesses, particularly in relation to ease of use, scalability, and return on investment.
On top of these strategies to cut through the marketing hype, it’s important to do due diligence on the company itself. Given many of those operating in the legal tech space currently are either start ups or scale ups with de facto more uncertain futures than long-established corporates, savvy buyers should assess factors such as financial stability, fundraising plans and the product roadmap. In addition, they should interrogate functions that are often deprioritised in early stage companies - such as customer support. Thorough KYV is key to ensure that your legal tech provider won’t be hampered by any existential issues in the future, and has the longevity to continue to succeed and innovate in an increasingly competitive space.
Cover Your Bases - Test, Train, Integrate
Once you identify a legal AI product that seems the perfect fit, the first thing to do is put it to the test. Make sure to run a carefully targeted pilot, including both willing early adopters and skeptics, and lawyers from a range of practice groups. Testing the tech on a broad range of users will help refine the implementation strategy for a wider rollout and identify any potential shortcomings early on.
Once you've piloted the tool and refined the selection, focus on training your teams: after all, even the best technology is useless without properly trained users. It's also important to ensure the tool integrates smoothly with your existing systems—whether it's your document management platform or billing software—to prevent operational disruptions.
The final, and often overlooked, step is to regularly assess how the tool is performing. Continual feedback loops are vital in understanding what’s working and what isn’t. Conduct periodic reviews to measure the AI's success in solving the initial problem and monitor its ease of use. Also, be ready to adapt to any new upgrades or features the AI company rolls out. Legal AI is evolving rapidly, so staying flexible and responsive will ensure your firm keeps getting value from the investment long after it’s implemented.
Ultimately, avoiding buyer’s remorse comes down to three things: knowing your needs, choosing a specialised solution, and being prepared to invest time and effort into testing, training, and integrating it into your existing workflows. Law firms and in-house teams that follow these steps are more likely to see real returns on their AI investments. In fact, according to the 2024 LexisNexis Legal Tech Report, firms that thoroughly vet and integrate AI tools reported a 25% improvement in efficiency within the first year. So, make sure you don’t just invest in the future of legal tech—invest wisely.