On this episode of The Geek in Review, hosts Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert interview Thomas Suh, Founder and CEO, and Ken Block, Senior Account Executive of LegalMation. The company provides AI-powered tools to help litigators automate repetitive tasks and work more efficiently. The conversation focuses on LegalMation's products, overcoming resistance to adopting new legal tech, and predictions for the future evolution of legal service delivery.
Suh provides background on founding LegalMation about seven years ago to help streamline the "scut work" litigation associates spend time on. The flagship product automates drafting responses to lawsuits, discovery requests, demand letters, and more by leveraging a firm's historical data. LegalMation initially built an automation tool internally at a law firm before deciding to spin it off into a standalone legal tech company. The product found an early champion in the form of a corporate legal department interested in licensing it. Today, LegalMation serves large corporate legal departments, law firms, and insurance companies.
Suh and Block discuss common roadblocks to adopting new legal technology like lack of trust and skepticism. Suh notes the importance of identifying the right use cases where efficiency gains matter most. For high-stakes litigation, efficiency may be less of a concern than for high-volume routine matters. Corporate legal departments are often early adopters because they are focused on efficiency and supplementing personnel. Law firms still incentivized by billable hours may be warier of efficiency gains.
For the YouTube Viewers, Block demonstrates LegalMation's Response Creator tool for automating drafting of responses to complaints and discovery requests. The AI leverages a firm's historical data to maintain proper tone and style while speeding up document preparation significantly. Lawyers can still review and edit the AI-generated drafts before finalizing. Suh explains that because the AI relies solely on a firm's data, it maintains consistency rather than attempting to generate random creative language.
Looking ahead, Suh predicts that the litigation process will become more modular, with different firms or providers specializing in discrete phases rather than handling a case end-to-end. Block emphasizes that younger lawyers expect to leverage more technology and are unwilling to slog through repetitive manual tasks, which will force law firms to adapt. Technology stacks and automation will become selling points for recruiting top young talent.
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Transcript
The Georgia Copyright Trilogy… The Final Chapter
The Do's and Don't's of Virtual Conferences - Litera's Haley Altman and Alma Asay
Launching the Legal Value Network - Kristina Lambright and Purvi Sanghvi
Why Retention of Legal Talent Can't Be The Equivalent of a Coin Flip - Bryan Parker of Legal Innovators
Heidi Gardner and Brian Stearns: Remote Collaboration from Tools to Psychology
Let's Talk About Our Side Projects
Charlie Uniman - Failure is not the Ugly F-Word Lawyers Think It Is
A Chat About Chatbots and The Law With Katherine Lowry and Diego Alcala
What Should Law Firms Do To Prepare for a Possible COVID-19 Epidemic? With the ALA's April Campbell
The Innovative Concept of Legal Writing in Plain English
Nick Pryor and BCLP³'s Global Innovation Mission
Professor Steve Black on Cybersecurity in the Legal Market
Matt Sunbulli on Fishbowl's Entry into the Legal Industry Social Media Space
The Leadership Journey with Laura Toledo and Kevin Iredell
Ellyssa Valenti Kroski on Law Librarians in the Age of AI, and a Hamilton Escape Room
Professor Ben Barton on Fixing Law Schools
Deep Dive on State Copyright Issues with Kyle Courtney and Ed Walters
The AALL Animal Law Caucus: Acknowledging and Researching Animal Rights in a People-Centric World
Alyson Carrel and Cat Moon on The Delta Model
Hotshot's Ian Nelson on Modernizing Attorney Professional Development
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