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
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Josh Kubicki and the Brainyacts Newsletter - Helping You Keep Up with the Advancements of Generative AI in the Legal Industry (TGIR Ep. 198)
The Future of AI within LexisNexis and the Legal Industry with Lexis CTO Jeff Reihl - TGIR Ep. 197
From Pain to Creativity: How AI Helped Kristina Kashtanova Illustrate Her "Zarya of the Dawn" Story - featuring Richmond Law's Ashley Dobbs and Roger Skalbeck (TGIR Ep. 196)
Revolutionizing Legal Technology Design with T&P Studios' Nicole Bradick (TGIR Ep. 195)
The Future of Fashion and the Law (TGIR Ep. 194)
The Legal Singularity and the Future of Legal Research - Benjamin Alarie and Abdi Aidid (TGIR Ep. 193)
Breaking Barriers: The Portia Project's MC Sungaila on the Unique Paths to Success for Women Lawyers and Judges (TGIR Ep. 192)
Johannes Scholtes: AI Is Finally Here. Now the Hard Work Begins for the Legal Industry (TGIR Ep. 191)
Colin Lachance on Jurisage's MyJr and How He's Looking at AI to Assist in the Synthesis and Reading of Legal Cases (TGIR Ep. 190)
The Bullshitter, The Searcher, and The Researcher - Damien Riehl on the Dynamic Shift in How the Legal Profession Will Leverage Standards and Artificial Intelligence
Successful Brand Awareness for Legal Professionals - Tips from Stefanie Marrone (TGIR Ep. 188)
The Secret Weapon: Leveraging Patent Agents to Gain a Competitive Edge - Shayne Phillips (TGIR Ep. 186)
The (ALMOST) Completely AI Generated Podcast (TGIR Ep. 186)
ChatGPT - If It Sounds Too Good To Be True... - Tony Thai and Ashley Carlisle (TGIR Ep. 185)
Redgrave Data's Mollie Nichols on the De-Commoditizing of Data in the Legal Industry (TGIR Ep. 184)
APIs are the LEGO Building Blocks of Data - API Panel Discussion with Emily Rushing, Pam Noyd, Chris O'Connor, Keli Whitnell, and Erik Adams (TGIR Ep. 183)
Creating Actual Transparency Between Law Firms and Clients - Litify's Ari Treuhaft and Pam Wickersham
Nearly Two-Thirds of Legal Contracts are Gender-Biased and Why That Matters - Alex Denne and Caroline Hill (TGIR Ep. 181)
LinkSquares' Tim Parilla and Juliette Kopecky: These Aren't Legal Problems or Tech Problems, These Are Business Problems
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