LexisNexis Legal & Professional has announced that Irwin Mitchell has adopted Lexis+ AI. LexisNexis+ AI was launched in the UK earlier this year. With the promise that it would give lawyers time back by automating tasks with the introduction of generative AI.
Irwin Mitchell is a full-service law firm offering legal and wealth management services from its 19 offices. It employs over 2,500 people. It has used Lexus+, Lexis PSL and Lexis Library for several years.
In a recent case study, Eleanor Windsor, Partner, Director of Knowledge Management at Irwin Mitchell, indicated that the law firm understands that change is essential. And that continuous improvement is required to remain competitive. She commented, “We are constantly tracking the market, constantly looking at different options to ensure our fee-earners have access to the content they need to best serve their clients in a cost-efficient, timely manner.”
Windsor saw LexisNexis+ AI as a differentiator for the firm and that it would help in several areas including legal research and drafting. Already familiar with other Lexus technologies, the firm felt that the new solution would enhance their legal tech stack and reach new levels of productivity and efficiency.
Windsor commented, “As we embark on our digital transformation journey, we wanted to partner with an organisation we knew and trusted. We wanted an AI solution that would allow our lawyers to add more value to our clients through an efficient and frictionless client experience. We selected Lexis+ AI as it is the most advanced, legally-trained AI solution on the market. It will enable us to maximise the value of the legal intelligence we already access from LexisNexis.”
How LexisNexis+ AI is changing Irwin Mitchell
LexisNexis+ AI offers four broad use cases that Irwin Mitchell is likely to adopt. It is, however, unclear from the information available which of these the law firm is seeing the most benefit from.
- Conversational search will enable lawyers to ask legal questions and receive answers with citations linked to the references. This will help free up time from colleagues, especially experts in the business.
- Case law summarisation will speed up the time often required to bring together information from cases. It can summarise historical cases the lawyer might be interested in, without them having to read through every piece of content.
- The document drafting facility will provide a first draft for lawyers for contract clauses and client communications. Where required, the lawyer can alter the tone of the communication to suit the context. This can save considerable time as they merely review and change rather than having to create documentation from scratch.
- As new cases come in, documents can be quickly uploaded to the systems and ingested onto the platform. Subsequently, lawyers can ask natural language questions about the information ingested. LexisNexis+ AI can analyse and then summarise the information and extract any key insights or anomalies from the documentation.
LexisNexis launched the AI-powered solution last year in the US. A survey of the existing user base there revealed that 74% of users believe they would save 7 hours a week on legal research. Whereas 80% estimate a saving of 6 hours a week on legal drafting. Irwin Mitchell is too early to determine what savings it will make, but Windsor is confident it will make a difference. Windsor added, “We want to be at the forefront of technology that delivers better client services … Lexis+ AI brings next-generation workflow management, speed, and efficiency into the core of our firm.”
Gerry Duffy, Managing Director, LexisNexis UK & Ireland, said, “We’re delighted to be supporting Irwin Mitchell’s innovation strategy. The firm offers a superb example of how merging cutting-edge technology with legal insight and human know-how can bring real value to both clients and their lawyers,” Duffy continued, “For all businesses, embracing new technology can be challenging. But doing so is essential, and AI opens up a wealth of potential. We are excited to partner with Irwin Mitchell and help them to deliver a world-class customer experience.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Irwin Mitchell is one of the largest law firms in the UK, and its endorsement of Lexis+ AI is significant. It should help LexisNexis obtain even more clients in the coming months. What will be interesting is to hear how the AI-powered solution is making a real difference for lawyers.
Generative AI holds incredible promise. If lawyers are satisfied and trust the new platform to deliver on their expectations, then most other businesses will likely follow. The question many clients will want to know is whether access to these systems reducing the time needed by the legal teams to fulfil their obligations, will also lead to a reduction in fees. As lawyers spend less time serving clients more efficiently. The advantage for law firms like Irwin Mitchell is that if it can increase the efficiency for clients. Will that mean more work from the client to fill in the shortfall. Or can they poach other clients based on that improvement?
