Canadian Lawyer

18 A P R I L 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m According to the survey, companies that prefer using smaller firms primarily do so because they believe they're more innovative. And two thirds of companies use smaller firms because they receive better customer service. Size doesn't matter, but rather a will- ingness to collaborate and partner with the legal technology community is the determining factor. Dan Mulholland, sen- ior partner at Horty Springer & Mattern LLP, a law firm in Pittsburgh that employs 17 lawyers, recently announced that it was in talks with LegalSifter. The firm focuses on the health-care industry in all 50 states. Mulholland said the first project for which he used LegalSifter's contract-scanning product was a cluster of contracts for a company in Wyoming. "It was nice because [the product] said 'it needs this clause or that clause' and we could then provide the legal advice," he said. Toronto is gaining recognition as a centre for the application of artificial intelligence to the legal industry. ROSS Intelligence, although it is located in California, has launched its AI R&D headquarters in Toronto, as it sees the AI world capital there. "Our goal is to continue to bring the power of artificial intelligence to the legal industry, allowing lawyers to enhance and scale their abilities and do more than ever before humanly possible," says Andrew Arruda, CEO of ROSS Intelligence. So let there be no doubt, there are firms already leveraging both inherent superior client service and legal apps not only to extend but to enhance their profitability. But this is the exception and not the rule. The use of legal technology by both cli- ents and law firms is only going to increase and law firms — even if they are too stub- born (aka short-sighted) to embrace this truth — need to be aware of what they are facing to survive. There is a popular belief that embra- cing new applications doesn't make sense because of the lost revenue from being more efficient. There is another perspective that embraces the idea that part of a loaf is better than none. In other words, someone will have the vision to embrace the technology, and when they do, it won't be a case of reduced but rath- er eliminated revenue. If you are motivated by growth in both the top and bottom lines, then think about the large legal market that is currently going untapped because law firms have priced it out of reach and so the potential source of fees goes unaddressed. This market is and will be accessible to law firms that leverage applications to perform the tasks efficiently and with less costly lawyer intervention. smabey@appliedstrategies.ca L E G A L I N N O VAT I O N N O W O P I N I O N came across a placard recently that I have started inserting in my PowerPoint presentations. It simply states: "I'm not always right, but I'm never in doubt." Let me make the case why I have no doubts about the opportunity that Can- adian law firms (small to mid-size) seem to be deliberating foregoing. My points are simple. There is a real market with a pent-up legal spend that is predisposed toward small and mid-size firms if they apply themselves. A recent survey in January entitled "Global Trends in Hiring Outside Counsel" found respondents were dissatisfied with larger law firms 19 per cent of the time. For smaller firms, the dissatisfaction rate was only six per cent. The small-firm advantage Lawyers at smaller firms are often better able to innovate than they think By Stephen Mabey I

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