Is AI The Great Equalizer For Small Law?

One of the most common misconceptions about the application of artificial intelligence technologies to the legal profession is that it is only for the big firms. Given all the ink that’s spilled by the press and the companies behind these technologies (including my own, Casetext), it wouldn’t be surprising if you thought that this technological revolution is only for the 15 percent or so of lawyers (according to the ABA 2016 survey of lawyer demographics) who practice at the largest law firms.

Quietly, however, the 85 percent of lawyers at smaller law firms have been adopting, using, and thriving on artificial intelligence technologies. And they have been using AI to level the playing field, diminishing or eliminating what were once the resource and staffing advantages at the bigger law firms.

In this installment of our “Artificial Confusion” column, I hope to clear up perhaps the biggest myth — that AI is only for Biglaw.

In fact, we have been noticing the opposite trend. Smaller law firms have been investigating AI-based technologies, as Nicole Black has pointed out on ATL, to run their businesses better. They are using technologies like LawGeex to review contracts, Veritone to review video and audio content for compliance purposes, Everlaw to review documents, and Gavelytics for judicial analytics, among other technologies. (Incidentally, Nicole Black has another great ATL article on AI from earlier this year here.)  

We at Casetext are noticing the same thing. While our customer roster includes many large and distinguished firms, including Quinn Emanuel, O’Melveny & Myers, DLA Piper, Baker Donelson, Squire Patton Boggs, and Ogletree Deakins, to name a few (there are many we can’t name) — hundreds of small law firms use our AI legal research solution daily.

There are at least a few reasons why artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by solo and small firm attorneys.

First, AI diminishes the importance of having a huge staff, especially in litigation. If you practice at a small law firm or as a solo attorney, and you have to litigate against a firm that can assign five associates and seemingly infinite resources to research and write even a single motion, how do you keep up and win? The traditional answer, for decades, has been through grit and hard work — outdoing heavier-staffed, better-resourced opposing counsel by yourself.

Of course, smaller firms can and do win through sheer grit. Davids beat Goliaths in courts across America every day. But smaller law firms in that position have traditionally played at a handicap because the practice of law — and especially litigation — is very human-process driven (researching, writing, reviewing).

That is, until now. The defining characteristic of artificial intelligence is automating (partially or fully) tasks once thought to require human intelligence. Core aspects of litigation — researching, writing, strategizing, and reviewing documents — are not being replaced in full by artificial intelligence, and may never be. There’s always an element of wisdom and judgment involved, but they are being sped up tremendously.

As a consequence, smaller law firms are leveraging technology “to do the work of many attorneys, leveling the playing field against more established attorneys and law firms and putting my clients in a position to win,” explains Bill Porta, a solo practitioner in upstate New York.

Second, it’s not just that artificial intelligence can help smaller firm attorneys do the work of many. It’s also that once expensive resources are becoming increasingly affordable, thanks to AI.

For example, access to high-quality legal research was once thought to be extremely expensive (for many, it still is). That’s changing now, with many high-quality options being provided at extremely affordable prices.

How? Artificial intelligence is not only being applied to what a technology can do, but also how it is made. Using AI, legal tech companies themselves automate what were once extremely difficult and human-intensive processes. We at Casetext have applied AI technologies to review millions of cases and flag which ones are possibly overturned (with an attorney process involved in making the final call), to summarize the holding of a case, and to make our search algorithms better. This saves us money — whether it be editorial staff or software engineers — that we can pass along to our subscribers.

In sum: artificial intelligence is flourishing within smaller firms as they realize how this technology helps them do the work of many — and do so affordably.

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Jake Heller is the co-founder and CEO of Casetext. Before starting Casetext, Jake was a litigator at Ropes & Gray. He’s a Silicon Valley native, and has been programming since childhood. For more information about Casetext’s A.I. technology for solo and small firms, click here.