Valerie McConnell Archives - ��VR��Ƶ Institute

How Generative AI Is Shaping the Future of Law: Challenges and Trends in the Legal Profession

carrie.brooker@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 09:02:08 +0000

Helping our customers achieve their desired outcomes while using ��VR��Ƶ products, solutions and services is at the core of what we do. We continually talk with our customers to learn firsthand about their experiences and how ��VR��Ƶ can apply cutting-edge technology to solve their biggest pain points.��

These conversations are more important than ever as generative AI becomes more widely implemented across the legal industry. As our customers’ – and their clients’ – expectations change, it’s crucial that we’re closely aligned with their collective needs.��

With this mind, ��VR��Ƶ and Lexpert hosted a featuring law firm leaders and industry experts discussing the challenges and trends around the use of generative AI in the legal profession. Below are insights from an engaging and informative discussion.��

Lawyers are excited to implement generative AI solutions��

Law firms may not have a reputation as early adopters of technology, yet many firms are already using generative AI solutions. David Cohen, senior director, client service delivery, McCarthy Tétrault, noted his firm’s response when it rolled out CoCounsel, the professional-grade GenAI assistant, a year ago.  ��

“We put a call out for people to sign up and get a license, and the 175 seats were immediately filled,” Cohen said. “There was a wait list where people were pleading to get access to the tool – there’s certainly a lot of interest and excitement at our firm.” ��

Panelists noted how firms are increasingly implementing AI for drafting legal documents as well as for predictive analytics and other complex tasks.��

Cohen said McCarthy Tétrault is using AI for higher-value work, including in litigation matters to scan data troves and identify where the firm has been successful in the past.  ��

“We’re very interested in how we get a strategic advantage,” Cohen said. “What arguments were used, what makes for a successful pleading – that’s something we can leverage.”  ��

Rikin Morzaria, principal at Kinara Law, said he’s “experimenting with and finding solutions that work long term,” including using AI for advanced tasks such as drafting memos or reviewing his own work to identify potential areas for improvement.��

“I treat it as something that would be submitted by a student or an intern, that needs to be reviewed again,” Morzaria said. “It ultimately produces a better product for me in the end.”��

Unfounded concerns about robot lawyers��

Panelists shared their perspectives on generative AI solutions augmenting, not replacing, humans.��

“AI doesn’t have human insight or instincts, it doesn’t know the client, it can’t read a room,” said Valerie McConnell, senior director of CoCounsel Customer Success at ��VR��Ƶ. “How lawyers allocate their time will shift: the hope and expectation is when we clear their plates, they’ll have the space to think about strategic angles.”��

This brought up how firms’ use of AI is changing talent management. Cohen noted that McCarthy Tétrault revamped its training program to incorporate the integration of AI into its workflows and processes.��

“Having best-in-class prompts that are shared and available to our lawyers is something we certainly weren’t discussing a couple years ago,” Cohen said.  ��

Changing billing practices and elevating services��

Panelists noted that generative AI is changing how lawyers bill their clients. They discussed an example of litigators relying more on flat-fee billing because they know they can handle certain aspects of a matter more quickly.  ��

“Your time in a discovery, trial, or mediation won’t change, but a lot of that time leading up to it will,” Morzaria said. “That allows you to work more efficiently and take on work that may not have been feasible before.”  ��

Panelists also shared how generative AI is helping firms elevate their services. They called out how firms in the litigation space are using it to surface key evidence, while firms on the transactional side are using it for contract review.��

Managing and mitigating risks��

Panelists discussed how firms are addressing concerns around emerging technologies including accuracy and privacy. Cohen noted firms are focusing on “achieving the right balance where we’re generating benefits for our clients but also managing and mitigating the risks.”��

McConnell emphasized that AI is not a replacement for a lawyer’s oversight. She recommended that firms create an AI policy, use a secure software platform that allows lawyers to easily verify output and doesn’t train on firm data, and provide employee training on responsible AI use.  ��

Generative AI is shaping the future of law, and its impact on the legal profession will be even greater in 2025 and beyond. As the market matures, legal professionals will not just desire but require AI capabilities for their workflows. Innovative firms at the forefront, including Kinara Law and McCarthy Tétrault, are best positioned to capitalize on the potential of this transformative technology to better serve their clients.��

Check out highlights of the panelists’ conversation and listen to their full discussion .��

This is a guest post from Raghu Ramanathan, president, Legal Professionals, ��VR��Ƶ.��

2024 Reflections: Top Innovation Highlights From ��VR��Ƶ

carrie.brooker@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 10:59:55 +0000

��VR��Ƶ closed out 2024 with thousands of corporate, legal, tax, audit and accounting customers focusing on the year’s theme: generative AI and innovation. They convened at SYNERGY 2024, the premier annual technology conference for professionals, for eight days of product and innovation announcements, thought-leadership insights and networking opportunities. Below are 2024 product and innovation highlights plus a sneak peek of what’s to come in 2025.��

��VR��Ƶ President and CEO Steve Hasker shared a state of the industry outlook, noting generative AI is as disruptive and transformative as previous technology shifts yet is happening even faster. He emphasized what differentiates ��VR��Ƶ, including investments the company is making in generative AI to enable professionals to accelerate and streamline entire workflows and deliver more value for clients. ��

Hasker said ��VR��Ƶ has invested more than $200M in AI in the last year. He discussed the company’s vision to provide each professional it serves with an AI assistant; the launch of CoCounsel 2.0, which generates answers three times faster than the previous version; and new work with Microsoft on autonomous agents to increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale impact for customers. ��

Tax, Audit & Accounting����

“AI is not just changing the landscape of accounting, it’s reshaping it.” That was the message from Elizabeth Beastrom, president of Tax & Accounting at ��VR��Ƶ. ��

While the profession sees AI as a game-changer to help them work differently, tax and accounting professionals also continue to wrestle with the perennial challenge of a talent shortage. This, combined with escalating complexity and more tax regulations, as well as changing client expectations, leaves tax professionals in need of a critical solution.��

��VR��Ƶ sees the potential of AI to help alleviate these challenges by augmenting human capabilities. Automating mundane, time-consuming tasks will enhance efficiency for tax professionals, helping them reclaim time to channel into higher value tasks. ��VR��Ƶ is working to bring the power of generative AI, machine learning and automation into its solutions in the following ways:

Saving time in tax preparation:

Coming in beta during the upcoming busy season, ��VR��Ƶ will launch an AI-assisted tax preparation experience to increase firm efficiency. The solution combines the power of CoCounsel, ��VR��Ƶ professional-grade generative AI assistant, with workflow automation and software integrations. It supports the delegation of data gathering to simplify mundane tasks and automate tax preparation. ��VR��Ƶ research shows that customers using this solution will save at least two hours per 1040 tax return on average.��

2. Supporting firms’ growth with advisory: ��

As client expectations continue to evolve, they’re increasingly looking to their accountants as trusted advisors. Firms of all sizes are focusing on growing their advisory practices to help bring their clients additional value, as well as supporting their growth. In 2025, the ��VR��Ƶ Advisory Solution will combine the power of CoCounsel and Checkpoint content to identify advisory opportunities. Advisory services are integrated directly into a firm’s practice, with technology empowering junior staff to take on higher-value advisory work and seasoned professionals to move beyond technical expertise to value-added synthesis. ��

“It helps firms build their advisory practice with confidence to deliver unprecedented value to meet clients’ evolving needs,” said Nancy Hawkins, vice president of Product Management, Research.��

3. Transforming audit efficiency:��

Halving sample sizes, boosting efficiency and sharpening the focus on high-risk areas are all at the heart of ��VR��Ƶ Audit Intelligence Analyze solution, which launched in October. Further functionality will be coming in 2025 as it expands the Audit Intelligence suite capabilities. ‘Test’ will support with automating substantive testing with dynamic transaction tracing, while ‘Plan’ will harness full data populations with cutting-edge analytics for superior risk assessment. Both will launch with beta programs next year, along with the addition of CoCounsel to the Audit Intelligence suite.��

All three solutions – Review Ready, ��VR��Ƶ Advisory Solution and the Audit Intelligence suite – will be further enhanced with �Ѳ��ٱ��’s generative and agentic AI capabilities.��

Corporates��

Laura Clayton McDonnell, president of the Corporates segment, shared how enterprise technology, including AI and generative AI, is revolutionizing the profession with innovative and emerging solutions. She emphasized that companies are taking a streamlined and proactive approach to addressing risk and compliance across the enterprise, while driving towards their business goals, will maintain their competitive advantage. Clayton McDonnell also shared how organizations are using solutions including ONESOURCE Pagero, CoCounsel Core, Legal Tracker, Checkpoint Edge with CoCounsel and CLEAR to solve challenges and realize value for their business.��

In addition, Ray Grove, head of Corporate Tax and Trade, ��VR��Ƶ, highlighted the company’s efforts to build a seamless, integrated compliance network, and Kevin Appold, vice president of US Public Records, ��VR��Ƶ, shared how the company’s risk and fraud solutions play a critical role in the convergence of compliance and commerce. Also, Valerie McConnell, senior director of CoCounsel Customer Success, discussed how CoCounsel is transforming the general counsel’s office.��

Legal��

A highlight from the Legal Professionals segment included an in-depth look at the ��VR��Ƶ 2025 AI product roadmap from David Wong, chief product officer; Mike Dahn, head of Westlaw Product; and Valerie McConnell, senior director of CoCounsel Customer Success. They outlined upcoming generative AI features and innovations to support legal professionals, including deeper integration of CoCounsel 2.0 in Westlaw and Practical Law plus generative AI research features including Claims Explorer, Mischaracterization Identification in Quick Check and AI Jurisdictional Surveys.��

Legal SYNERGY attendees also participated in interactive sessions and CLE courses on advanced prompting techniques, the science behind large language models, and optimizing generative AI for tasks like drafting and legal research. Sessions offered attendees a comprehensive view of the future of AI in law. ��

SYNERGY 2024 also included several customer panels and executive briefing sessions. Watch the Innovation Blog for highlights from these sessions and for 2025 product and innovation highlights.��

AI and the Courts Webinar Series: Guiding Judges and Legal Professionals in All Things AI

carrie.brooker@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:10:07 +0000

I’ve had the privilege of being among the first presenters in the AI and the Courts , which is part of the strategic AI partnership known as the . The educational webinars have prompted candid discussions among attendees and , an engaged group eager to address policy developments and shape the future of the justice ecosystem.

Below are brief recaps of our presentations and an early look at tomorrow’s webinar.

Ethics of Generative AI

I co-presented with David Sachar, director of NCSC’s Center for Judicial Ethics. We covered the ethical considerations surrounding generative AI technologies.

Our session explored the core issues judges and legal professionals should consider when navigating the intersection of law and technology. We examined legal frameworks and standards related to AI and generative AI and discussed what new guidelines may be necessary. We also shared practical tools and resources for managing generative AI-related issues.

Our goal was to guide attendees as they confront the ethical complexities of generative AI. There was great engagement and feedback from our session. For example, an attendee said, “This session helped me feel a little less fearful about AI!”

Ethics of Navigating AI in Court Systems

David and I also hosted a follow-up webinar, . We discussed how the integration of AI in court systems promises enhanced efficiency and decision-making capabilities yet raises significant ethical and legal challenges that must be addressed to maintain public trust and uphold the principles of justice.

Our aim was to assist attendees in developing an AI infrastructure to ensure that technologies are used responsibly and ethically. We emphasized guiding principles, standards, and protocols to help courts prevent misuse, bias, and potential harm. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback. An attendee said: “I would not change a thing. Thank you for putting together this amazing and necessary series on AI.”

How to Use Prompt Engineering

I’m happy to share the next presentation will be led by my colleague Valerie McConnell, senior director, CoCounsel, ��VR��Ƶ, and Catherine Sanders Reach of the North Carolina Bar Association. On Nov. 6, they’ll present .

They’ll highlight the basics of prompt engineering, share best practices for writing effective prompts, discuss the common challenges and solutions in legal AI prompting, and explain how to apply AI prompting techniques to legal and court-specific cases.

I recommend (or the recording) to explore prompt engineering in the legal space.

It’s been an honor to be part of the AI Policy Consortium for Law and Courts. I hope you’ll join our group of top judicial officers, leading AI experts, and legal professionals as we examine how AI in general – and generative AI in particular – is shaping state, federal and international court systems.

This is a guest post from Carter Cousineau, head of Data and Analytics (interim)/vice president of Responsible AI and Data, ��VR��Ƶ.

ILTACON Highlights: How Today’s Lawyers Are Enhancing Their Practice with AI

carrie.brooker@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 10:23:30 +0000

Valerie McConnell, senior director, CoCounsel, ��VR��Ƶ, was a panelist at the session, “How Today’s Lawyers Are Enhancing Their Practice with AI.”��Below, she shares her takeaways from the panel and the conference.

A shift in the legal industry’s approach to technology

What stood out to me at ILTACON was the momentum behind the adoption of generative AI across the legal industry. It was striking to see how many law firms, regardless of size, have already integrated generative AI into their practices.

My personal highlight at ILTACON was participating in a panel discussion on the application of generative AI in legal practice. We received thoughtful and insightful questions from the audience, reflecting a deep interest in maximizing the potential of generative AI.

During the panel, we conducted a quick audience survey, and nearly every attendee indicated that their firm was already using generative AI. This widespread adoption reflects a significant shift in the legal industry’s approach to technology, signaling that generative AI is already playing a pivotal role in shaping legal practice.

The primary focus of interest in my panel was on the practicalities of implementing generative AI solutions within law firms. Attendees seemed particularly interested to learn about best practices for conducting a successful proof-of-concept, including strategies for testing the accuracy and reliability of generative AI software.

Attendees also seemed interested in understanding how to effectively measure ROI from adopting generative AI. The focus was not on whether law firms should adopt generative AI, but rather how to adopt this technology and derive the most value.

From skepticism to enthusiasm

One of the most surprising and encouraging moments at ILTACON was seeing the shift in attitudes toward generative AI. Where there was once skepticism and anxiety, I now see a growing acceptance and even enthusiasm.

The concerns that previously dominated discussions – like the potential impact on the billable hour – seem to have softened. Instead, there’s a growing recognition that generative AI is not just a disruptive force but a transformative tool that can enhance legal practice.

Many attendees expressed optimism that generative AI will ultimately expand the reach of legal services, enabling more people to engage with the legal system, pursue legal claims, and explore innovative legal strategies.

This is a guest post from Valerie McConnell, senior director, CoCounsel, ��VR��Ƶ. Check out other ��VR��Ƶ highlights from ILTACON, including the launch of CoCounsel 2.0.

��VR��Ƶ Takeaways from AALL: “A significant focus on the practical application and optimization of generative AI”

carrie.brooker@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:27:28 +0000

��VR��Ƶ employees who at the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) in Chicago are sharing their takeaways from the event.

“There was a significant focus on the practical application and optimization of generative AI,” said Valerie McConnell, senior director, CoCounsel, ��VR��Ƶ. “AALL attendees wanted to learn how to use AI tools in the most effective ways possible. They were looking for strategies to integrate generative AI seamlessly into their workflows. This shift in dialogue reflects a growing maturity in the adoption of AI, highlighting a readiness to leverage these technologies to their fullest potential.”

Rachel Beithon, senior product manager, Westlaw AI & Analytics, ��VR��Ƶ, also noticed attendees’ heightened interest in AI tools.

“I was a little concerned that after the last 18 months of near-constant AI discussion in the legal industry that there might be some fatigue setting in,” Beithon said. “But people were so eager to talk more about generative AI solutions.”

Claims Explorer, the new generative AI skill in that launched during AALL, was among the solutions sparking conversations with attendees.

“They were absolutely thrilled with Claims Explorer and its use cases,” Beithon said. “It was obvious how much time this would save when doing the often-arduous task of exploring potential claims.”

CoCounsel was also generating buzz.

“One of the most frequent topics of discussion during our CoCounsel sessions concerned our integrations with Microsoft products and document management systems,” McConnell said. “There seems to be a strong interest in using generative AI seamlessly across multiple platforms and systems. Attendees recognized the potential efficiency and productivity gains from having CoCounsel work with the tools they already use daily.”

Generative AI enabling small-scale innovation

The law librarian community’s readiness to implement generative AI stood out to Zach Warren, manager, Enterprise Content, ��VR��Ƶ Institute.

“I’m intrigued by how much courts and government legal departments will play into this tech-enabled future,” Warren said. “I saw one presentation given by Judge Keven O’Grady of Kansas where he explained how his court built a ‘triage’ tool, helping categorize his family law docket into different pathways based on how much attention different litigants need. It’s this sort of small investment that can pay huge dividends, and particularly with GenAI allowing for more small-scale innovation, I’m excited to see what courts and government come up with to do more with less in the coming years.”

Empowering the next generation of legal professionals

Beithon and McConnell were pleased with the feedback on their Day 2 session, “Summoning the Magic Words: Crafting Prompts to be an AI Wizard.”

“We both heard over and over throughout the conference how valuable that session was and how much more excited attendees were to try out prompting techniques in the Westlaw and CoCounsel Core AI skills, and to teach those to other users at their organization,” Beithon said.

“Attendees were not just interested in refining their own skills but were also focused on how to empower the next generation of legal professionals,” McConnell added. “There was a strong emphasis on teaching law students, associates, and new lawyers the art of prompting. This proactive approach to education and training recognizes the importance of ensuring that everyone in the legal field can harness the full capabilities of generative AI.”

Warren agreed, noting AALL’s optimistic tone.

“This year’s conference was shaped with optimism about the role law librarians can play as shepherds of this new paradigm rather than simply impacted by it,” Warren said. “This change comes as no surprise to me, as the ��VR��Ƶ Institute has noted that librarian and research positions are beginning to increase at law firms, reversing a long-standing trend. The crucial role law librarians play has been noted, both anecdotally and in dollars and cents, and law librarians know that now is the time to make their influence felt.”

Valerie McConnell Archives - ����VR��Ƶ Institute