There have been countless conversations about how to use AI in legal, but often the discussions were largely hypothetical. Similarly, much has been written about what might be possible, but now, many firms are moving beyond speculation and seeking out more practical advice.
As litigation and other teams across the law firm adopt solutions and begin putting AI to work, they are shifting the dialogue from potential to proven value. Consequently, real-world examples of how law firms are gaining an advantage using AI for litigation management and a range of additional use cases are more valuable than ever.
Recently, a panel of innovation experts shared their experiences using AI inside their flexible and powerful case strategy, preparation, and management solution—offering advice about where they’ve seen success. The discussion included insights from:
- Florinda Baldridge, the US Director, Global eDiscovery & Litigation Technology at Norton Rose Fulbright
- James Bekier, the Senior Director of Litigation Services at Baker Hostetler
- Caroline Sweeney, the Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer at Dorsey & Whitney
- Tiama Hanson-Drury, the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Opus 2 (moderator)
In this blog, we’ll explore how their use of AI-enhanced case strategy, preparation, and management software delivers value and enables their law firms to stay ahead in a competitive market. We’ll share insight and advice from the experts on:
- Strategies for strong AI adoption, ongoing education, and team enablement
- How to use AI-enhanced software to improve results and strengthen client relationships
- Leveraging technology to win business and provide superior client services
Encouraging adoption and building trust when using AI for litigation management
We all know that investing in AI-enabled tools is only the first step. What comes next—adoption—is arguably the most important, but potentially the most challenging step. Earning trust and buy-in from lawyers and litigation teams is essential to success.
For many law firms, AI adoption often starts small, with a single workflow such as document summarization, entity extraction, or deposition analysis. However, finding the right tool for your litigation team’s unique needs is essential to adoption. For example, the best AI-enabled legal case management solutions are designed specifically for litigation processes like issue tracking, creating case chronologies, witness profiling, and more.
Discussing Baker Hostetler’s success, James Bekier said, “The reason I’m getting so much adoption is because it’s targeted and built for that kind of work…Every tool says it can do transcript summaries but when I’ve tested CoPilot [and other tools] they’re general, not focused enough.”
As teams discover how their workflows can be enhanced, their perception shifts. AI that was once viewed as a novelty quickly becomes an essential part of their day-to-day work.
With strong adoption, users are empowered to leverage AI to solve challenges and develop new use cases. Caroline Sweeney witnessed this firsthand at Dorsey & Whitney, saying, “When you’re getting the use cases from the end users and they’re helping with the training and being your evangelist, that makes such a tremendous difference in adoption.”
Training also plays a pivotal role in adoption. Rather than lengthy sessions that disrupt schedules, firms that offer brief, focused demos and lightweight training modules are seeing success. These sessions build confidence and empower lawyers and legal professionals before they dive in.
During a training session on AI, Caroline met some skepticism. But an impressive illustration of AI’s ability to identify sentiment won over a partner at Dorsey and led to an exploration of how AI could deliver added value to clients.
Enhancing client service and delivering value with collaboration portals and AI
Building stronger client relationships is another benefit of an AI-enhanced case strategy, preparation, and management solution. Customizable, client-facing portals are a powerful way to deliver updates, share key documents, and keep stakeholders aligned. When tailored to client preferences, these platforms create a real-time, single source of truth, dramatically improving communication and engagement.
In an example of the impact of client collaboration portals, Florinda Baldridge discussed how Norton Rose Fulbright enhanced one client’s experience by using the space to deliver AI-assisted document, deposition, and expert witness statements summarized.
Firms are also leveraging the flexibility offered by AI-enhanced case strategy, preparation, and management software to deliver customized solutions and long-term value to clients. In another example from Caroline, what began as a solution for a single urgent project evolved into a broader platform that supports ongoing compliance, training, and reporting—making the technology indispensable to the client’s operations.
To deliver successful outcomes for their clients, lawyers need a clear, distraction-free space to focus on building their case strategy. At Norton Rose Fulbright, they use Opus 2 as a digital “war room” to bring together their team, organize key information, and manage litigation workflows—a place separate from the vast volumes of documents and data in eDiscovery.
Winning business and new revenue opportunities
In many firms, technology is no longer just a tool, it’s become a differentiator that can help firms win work and grow revenue. Showing prospective clients exactly how technology can deliver value and manage matters can give your firm a competitive edge.
Recently, Dorsey’s M&A team were working with an existing client who needed a deal room and were looking at several options. Rather than send over a static data sheet, the team presented a live demo of the AI-enhanced Dorsey Virtual Data Room offering built with Opus 2 and the impact was immediate.
Caroline described the interaction, saying, “We showed them the AI functionality, and right there on the phone the client said, ‘OK, we’re going to use you guys.’ That’s a revenue-generating opportunity for us.”
In a similar example, Norton Rose Fulbright used a custom portal built on their case management platform to solve a challenge posed by a prospective client. By illustrating for the client how they would centralize case information, organize their work, and provide the client transparency, they won the work.
Conclusion
These examples are incredibly valuable for litigation and other legal teams beginning and advancing their AI initiatives. They illustrate that using the right technology can drive more effective workflows, enhance client value, and help law firms hit their growth goals.
By offering practical training, customizing client solutions, and demonstrating value both internally and to clients, legal teams can turn AI-enhanced case strategy, preparation, and management software into a true competitive advantage.
For firms ready to take the next step, explore how award-winning, AI-enabled case management software can help achieve better outcomes—for legal teams, clients, and the firm.
