As I wrote last time, I had the pleasure of presenting with Patrick Palace of Palace Law at SoLI18 last month on the Innovation in Legal Technology panel. Patrick had five examples of how his small firm has actually implemented technology. Not talk, but action — which is inspiring and also can be replicated by other firms.
Patrick opened by describing the five projects as partnerships and synergistic opportunities. Note, that is a joint-venture approach, not a purchaser-vendor relationship. Not to spoil the ending but the data summary was as follows:
1 Small Firm
5 ideas
5 tech companies
5 joint-ventures
18 months
76% increase in cases
72% increase in gross revenue
0 increase in advertising costs
The last three prove the value of technology and how data tells a story. More below on the five projects:
Scraping a government database with MetaJure
Palace Law and MetaJure partnered to create a connector to scrape data maintained by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. With the connector, case specific data is scraped every night, OCR-D, and downloaded onto Palace Law’s server. Using MetaJure’s Metasync program, Palace Law then sorts the data and uses it to manage their case load. The result is that Palace Law does not have to wait for snail mail or emails from the State before taking action. In fact, often Palace Law attorneys can respond to an adverse order or letter before it even leaves the government mail room. Additionally, the attorneys are no longer dependent on the undependable State website that is often down, under maintenance, or too slow to use. This project improved efficiency, allowed a faster and uninterrupted work flow, created better customer service, and an automated seamless flow of near real time case information.
Auto-labeling documents with Coral Docs
Palace Law partnered with Coral Docs to create a program to automate the processing of all incoming mail, including the electronic mail downloaded using the MetaJure tool. The result of the joint venture is a tool that uses text recognition software to auto-name documents to adhere to the Palace Law naming standards. Second, the newly auto-named documents are then auto sorted (i.e., by SOLs, payment orders, correspondence, etc.) and then auto-assigned to the responsible attorney who handles the case related to the document. The process occurs in three easy steps:
- Step 1: Aggregation of all electronic and batch-scanned paper mail (unnamed and unlabeled);
- Step 2: Sync mail through Coral Docs desktop application; and
- Step 3: Coral Docs cloud-based platform processes documents based on file contents and extraction rules and assigns the mail to the responsible attorney.
This program alone saves hours every day of manual document review, manual labeling of each document, sorting, and assignment to each attorney. As a result, Patrick Palace says that he was able to reassign 20 hours a week of employee time to new projects.
Case value calculator (PPD Calculator)
Palace Law also partnered with Allen Rodriguez of One400 to create a case value calculator. The “PPD calculator” is on the home page of the Palace Law website and is available 24/7 for free. With three easy questions, the calculator allows injured workers to calculate exactly what their case is worth based upon the value of their permanent partial impairment as rated by doctors. This free tool gives injured workers a guaranteed method to know how much they are entitled to receive for their injuries. Patrick Palace says that the PPD Calculator “keeps the State honest so injured workers can’t be cheated out of the money the law says they deserve.” The calculator has since been duplicated by One400 to other firms nationwide. It’s an example of how a partnership with a law firm and a tech company can yield big benefits for both: a low-cost custom tool for the developing law firm and a new product for the tech firm that can be reproduced for mass production.
The PatBot by LawDroid analyzes cases and provides tools
Using chatbot technology, Tom Martin of LawDroid partnered with Palace Law to create the PatBot to analyze workers compensation cases and to give injured workers a toolbox of do-it-yourself pleadings, forms, letters, and links. With this technology on the home page of the Palace Law website, anyone at any time can have their case analyzed, key issues identified, and they can “take action” with a step-by-step tutorial on each issue using the DIY toolbox. The PatBot is available 24/7 and can be used repeatedly. Did I mention that it is free? The PatBot is another example of what the next generation of A2J looks like from a small firm. If more firms had tools like this and the “Case Value Evaluator,” the access gap nationwide might finally begin shrinking.
Client intake sheet with best case choice algorithm
Palace Law created a potential client intake form that collects all data from every potential new case phone call and adds it to a database. Using the data it collected, Palace Law then partnered with Suffolk Law to create an algorithm that identifies the facts critical to any case to decide whether to accept or reject a case. After the algorithm was created, it was integrated with the intake sheet. Palace Law now has a real time intake sheet that tells lawyers whether a potential case should be taken or rejected based upon the history of cases taken or rejected with similar facts. The “best choice algorithm” continues to grow and learn as new cases are taken and becomes smarter and more accurate over time and as more data is collected. Amongst its many uses and purposes, it has been an effective guide to help create consistency of case choice and a training tool for younger lawyers learning how to identify a good case from a bad one.
Top Takeaways:
- Experiment or pilot projects;
- Treat tech companies as partners; and
- Be open to change.
Again, great concrete examples for firms to follow. If you have other tech partnerships to share, reach out on Twitter @maryjuetten. #onwards
Mary E. Juetten
Mary E. Juetten lives on the West Coast, holds a J.D., and is both an American and Canadian professional accountant. Mary is passionate about metrics that matter and access to justice. She founded Traklight and Evolve Law and consults as an Access Advocate for LegalShield. You can reach her by email at mejuetten@traklight.com or on Twitter: @maryjuetten.
