Business of law: case studies

Read the other FT Innovative Lawyers North America ‘Best practice case studies’, which showcase the standout innovations made for and by people working in the legal sector:

Practice of law
In-house

Standout

Goodwin: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 9; Impact: 8; Total: 25
Last year, the firm set up a nine-week training scheme for first-year associates before they started on client work. It covered legal knowledge, professional skills, customer relationships, and technology. Participants were introduced to complex legal scenarios they are likely to face later in their careers, in order to build on their experience of the simple, repetitive work traditionally given to newly qualified lawyers. The second cohort began its training in October 2024, this time with added emphasis on how lawyers can use insights gleaned from data.

Orrick
O: 7; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 24
The firm is training its staff and clients in generative AI. Working with technology providers, it has helped to design interactive training labs aimed at clients in more than 35 companies. Training on “prompt engineering” has been offered to all lawyers and other staff at the firm, to help improve the quality of instructions and questions they use in chatbots and related tools. Use of the firm’s internal chatbot went from 350 individual users in the month of February to nearly 1,000 in September.

Highly commended

K&L Gates
O: 7; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 23
Approximately 400 lawyers at the firm participated in a “prompt engineering” course aimed at enhancing the adoption of AI tools in their legal work. The course included workshops, simulation exercises, and other training conducted by outside experts.

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders
O: 6; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 22
The firm launched a nine-month intensive programme in 2023 to help build partners’ skills in executive leadership, client development, and generative AI, which it says has led to a measurable increase in billable work.

Commended

DLA Piper
O: 7; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 21
The firm worked with the US International Trade Commission agency to set up a mock hearing scheme, in order to train lawyers in the regulator’s particular procedures.

Morrison Foerster
O: 7; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 21
This year, the firm gave more than 300 parents and caregivers on its staff access to a 12-week course, with time taken covered by billable hours targets. It teaches strategies to help balance work and family life.

Foley Hoag
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm launched a compulsory programme in January to teach business development skills to associates in seven areas, to help them improve client relationship building early in their careers.

Husch Blackwell
O: 8; L: 7; I: 5; Total: 20
A new four-month training programme provides the firm’s lawyers with skills that would be required if they were to move to corporate counsel roles.

Kirkland & Ellis
O: 7; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm combined training about discrete practice areas into a single, mandatory, two-year curriculum in order to broaden young associates’ understanding of the legal market.

Standout

Davis Wright Tremaine: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8; Total: 24
DWT Prose, a program driven by artificial intelligence, was set up to help young lawyers write more effectively and persuasively. The tool analyses the written style of associates’ briefs, declarations, and other documents to suggest edits. These are based on the firm’s style guide and advice from partners recognised as the best writers. Hundreds of associates use the tool daily.

Highly commended

Baker McKenzie
O: 8; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 22
The firm has developed a notification system powered by generative AI to help clients respond to cyber attacks and to quickly identify and summarise reporting obligations by jurisdiction so they can take speedy action.

Frost Brown Todd
O: 6; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 22
The firm created a system to analyse external databases containing historic lawsuit depositions and testimonies. It automatically searches for inconsistencies and trends in expert witnesses’ past statements, which can be used by lawyers deposing them.

Hogan Lovells
O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22
The firm has incorporated generative AI into its InfoGov tool, which was initially launched in North America in 2022. InfoGov manages information for global businesses and removes data that is no longer required according to regulatory and compliance standards. This reduces their exposure to cyber attacks and privacy violations.

Commended

White & Case
O: 6; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 21
The firm created a management platform for its debt finance practice to organise and schedule the administrative tasks required at the end of a transaction, such as security filings. Commended individual: Elizabeth Kirk

BakerHostetler
O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20
The firm assisted a leading US carmaker with a high volume of consumer warranty litigation. It is using generative AI to extract data such as car model, make and vehicle identification number from emails, and speed up recommendations on how to proceed with the complaints.

Thompson Hine
O: 7; L: 6; I: 7; Total: 20
The firm used third-party tech systems to cut the time needed to form, manage, and close employee stock ownership plans, as the market for this type of legal work expands.

McInnes Cooper
O: 6; L: 8; I: 5; Total: 19
The Canadian firm launched its MC+ division this year in order to offer strategic advice on topics that include digital transformation, training, and human resources.

Morgan Lewis
O: 7; L: 6; I: 6; Total: 19
The firm launched a tool in 2023 that largely replaces the manual checking of ediscovery search terms for errors, in order to help speed up the process of negotiating and agreeing deals with counterparties.

Norton Rose Fulbright
O: 7; L: 6; I: 6; Total: 19
This year, the firm launched a global platform for cross-border litigation to help it use consistent processes and communicate better between teams in different jurisdictions.

Standout

King & Spalding: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 9; Impact: 9; Total: 26
The firm used artificial intelligence systems to enhance cyber security risk assessments for its clients. By analysing clients’ data security policies, federal and state regulations, and internal procedures, the lawyers were able to create a model that better identifies potential risks. This approach leverages the latest AI technology to improve manual review processes. Last year, the firm’s privacy and cyber security group conducted 200 of these risk assessments. Commended individual: Robert Hudock

Seyfarth Shaw
O: 8; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 24
The firm and its tech subsidiary developed a questionnaire-based management system for staff at brand owner clients who are working on trademarks but have little formal legal expertise. Users enter information to generate a report on the trademark clearance process across different jurisdictions, and the software flags issues that need deeper analysis by the in-house legal team and the law firm.

Highly commended

Gunderson Dettmer
O: 8; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 23
The firm created a portal that gives start-ups with limited budgets access to case records, its own chatbot, and a service that generates state-specific contracts. The portal has been used more than 16,000 times since its launch in early 2023.

Ogletree Deakins
O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22
Last year, the firm launched a platform — now accessed by 6,000 users at big businesses — that provides updates on labour regulations, with summaries of state-specific legislation.

Reed Smith
O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22
The firm commercialised its own internal systems for checking on client conflicts into a product that enables real estate investor Brookfield Properties to conduct its own due diligence.

Commended

Kirkland & Ellis
O: 5; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 21
The firm standardised its “non-reliance letters”, which limit liability for due diligence in transactions, and created a tool that has generated more than 1,000 such clauses for hundreds of counterparties.

McInnes Cooper
O: 6; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 19
A tool to review and summarise evidence uploaded in the employee injury compensation process was created to improve accuracy and speed of decisions.

Hogan Lovells
O: 4; L: 6; I: 8; Total: 18
A report based on responses from 1,500 senior business leaders and general counsel aims to help organisations assess their readiness for risks posed by technological advances.

Standout

Latham & Watkins: Winner
Originality: 8; Leadership: 9; Impact: 8; Total: 25
The firm has created a database that consolidates the agreed terms of completed deals in the leveraged loan and capital markets. Previously, deal terms were tracked using separate spreadsheets and depended on the recollections of lawyers. Now, lawyers involved in these transactions can easily aggregate and filter terms to obtain a comprehensive overview of the market and quickly search for relevant information. This database has improved the certainty and quality of the advice provided to clients. Commended individual: Joshua Tinkelman

Irell & Manella
O: 7; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 24
The firm used data from the US Patent and Trademark Office to compile comprehensive copies of every US patent. As a result, it has developed a system that lets lawyers ask questions about the data and respond quickly to claims made in patent litigation trials, or conduct due diligence on extensive patent portfolios. The platform is hosted on computers within the firm’s firewall. It is used for most of its patent-related matters. Commended individual: Thomas Barr

Highly commended

Akin
O: 6; L: 8; I: 8; Total: 22
The firm created a tool that analyses traffic to its website from companies, allowing it to identify trends and improve how it offers targeted legal services to clients.

Commended

McDermott Will & Emery
O: 6; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 21
Analysis of data on more than 750 mid-market private equity health and life sciences deals produced searchable information on the market that helps inform negotiations.

Ropes & Gray
O: 6; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 20
The firm developed a public website that tracks the rules that judges set for using artificial intelligence in their courts, and which can be used by lawyers across the US.

Reed Smith
O: 7; L: 7; I: 5; Total: 19
The firm gained new customers for a tool launched in 2022 that helps clients manage and record their personal data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations and preparedness for potential litigation.

Standout

White & Case: Winner
Originality: 9; Leadership: 10; Impact: 7; Total: 26
The firm developed its own private large language model, hosted on its own virtual cloud. The information is ringfenced within W&C’s network preventing and mixing in of client data. The system is trained on US legal codes and regulations and has been used for the initial review of non-disclosure agreements for private equity clients, achieving a similar accuracy level as a junior associate.

Dechert
O: 8; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 25
The firm chose to develop its own AI tools and was among the first to launch a proprietary generative AI chatbot. The innovation team independently determines its projects without going through a committee, focusing directly on developing services that meet the firm’s needs. As a result, there has been significant adoption of this technology, with at least half the staff using generative AI in some capacity.

Highly commended

Crowell & Moring
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
The firm introduced compulsory training on responsible use of the firm’s proprietary generative AI platform, CrowellAI. So far, about 45 per cent of the firm has been trained to use the tool. The platform’s search systems are designed to support any lawyers unfamiliar with making “prompt” requests in chatbots.

Reed Smith
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
The firm served as an early “alpha” tester for Harvey, the legal generative AI service, which was recently introduced to lawyers for client work. The initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance business systems, based on work with its legal tech subsidiary, Gravity Stack.

Seyfarth Shaw
O: 7; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 22
In March, the firm launched its AI portal, which provides staff with access to various tools for tasks such as document analysis, an internal chatbot, and training in the technology.

Commended

Latham & Watkins
O: 6; L: 6; I: 8; Total: 20
A specialist team at the firm has continued to develop new services — such as Latham Compare, a tool that reviews documents, and LathamAssist, a customised tool based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology that has received more than 600,000 prompts, or information requests.

Husch Blackwell
O: 5; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 19
An AI practice group launched in February includes lawyers from different practice areas and data scientists who develop tools and tailor third-party products to the firm’s needs.

Standout

DLA Piper: Winner
Originality: 10; Leadership: 9; Impact: 7; Total: 26
The firm launched a proactive service to test whether clients’ activities powered by generative artificial intelligence are safe and trustworthy. Lawyers at the firm act as a “legal red team” — in effect, seeking out weaknesses in clients’ systems by simulating unintended or malicious threats. Their aim is to advise on the best guardrails to ensure any AI-generated output is legally compliant. The team also piloted a compliance tool that examines staff messaging to guard against potential breaches of anti-bribery or other regulations.

Debevoise & Plimpton
O: 8; L: 9; I: 8; Total: 25
To improve its services, the firm’s data strategy and security group split into separate partner-led squads, with a different team on call each week to respond to urgent client requests, such as cyber defence or briefings on new AI developments. This left other lawyers with time to conduct related research, and work on less time-sensitive matters. The reorganisation allows the firm to offer deeper research and more expertise in anticipating risks for clients involved in AI-related technologies, such as deepfakes, text-to-video generators, and chatbots.

Highly commended

Seyfarth Shaw
O: 8; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 23
A “cultural flashpoints task force” started last year with a brief to intervene in workplace conflicts, help clients provide practical solutions to disputes, and reduce litigation and reputational risk.

Husch Blackwell
O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22
To help 12 large companies deal with long-running litigation over claims for asbestos exposure, the firm revamped its class action practice to improve its data analytics, allowing faster triaging of new cases on a fixed-fee basis.

Commended

Orrick
O: 7; L: 6; I: 8; Total: 21
The firm organised a forum, webinars and other resources to support companies’ chief information security officers, who face increased attempts by regulators to find them individually liable for cyber attacks and data breaches.

Seyfarth Shaw
O: 6; L: 7; I: 6; Total: 19
The firm developed a bot to automate part of the process for clients creating employee affirmative action plans, which promote equal opportunities for under-represented groups.