It’s been a bit of a crazy week around here. Power is back on in (most of) Houston, and I’m headed to Chicago for the American Association of Law Libraries Annual Conference. Hopefully, the massive Internet outage that’s happening with CrowdStrike and Microsoft 365 won’t have me hanging out at the airport bar all day. Look for me on Tuesday as I introduce the newest members of the Marian Gould Gallagher Award. I have a snazzy new jacket to premiere at the event as well.
Here are some stories that caught my attention this week. Remember to check out the AI Lawyer Talking Tech daily podcast for stories like these and more. Let me know if there are other stories out there that caught yours!
Have a good weekend everyone. – GL
Swedish Legal Tech Startup Leya Secures $25 Million in Funding
Swedish legal tech startup Leya has secured $25 million in Series A funding to accelerate its product development and growth. Leya’s AI-driven platform integrates with law firm documents and sources to automate repetitive tasks and enhance legal professionals’ productivity. By assisting lawyers with tasks like reviewing, searching, and drafting, Leya aims to improve efficiency and outcomes, transforming the legal industry in Europe.
LegalFly Secures €15 Million in Series A Funding
LegalFly, a Belgium-based startup founded by ex-Tinder executives, has secured €15 million in Series A funding. The company offers an AI-powered platform that automates contract review and drafting, tailoring reviews to internal policies in various languages and jurisdictions. The platform is designed for law firms and in-house legal teams within the finance and insurance sectors, showcasing the growing impact of North European companies in the legal AI landscape.
Dentons Partners with AI Startup Intanify for IP Discovery
Dentons has collaborated with Intanify, an AI fintech startup, to expedite and enhance the creation of IP inventories and evaluation of IP opportunities and risks. The collaboration involves Dentons referring clients to Intanify for a fee and piloting a white-label offering under its brand. Intanify’s AI platform enables accelerated IP audit and due diligence processes, making these processes more accessible to SMEs.
AI21 Labs Develops Hybrid Model for Legal Industry Applications
Researchers at AI21 Labs are developing foundation models and AI systems for enterprise use, focusing on their latest model, Jamba-Instruct. This hybrid model combines Mamba and Transformer architectures to achieve both speed and accuracy. In the legal industry, AI21 Labs’ technology can be used for tasks such as term sheet generation and financial document Q&A, emphasizing the importance of safety and security considerations when deploying AI models.
Thomson Reuters Launches CoCounsel Drafting Tool
Thomson Reuters has launched CoCounsel Drafting, an AI-based tool that simplifies and expedites contract drafting. CoCounsel Drafting integrates with Microsoft Word to streamline the entire process, allowing users to find optimal starting points, search for specific clause language, draft and modify clauses, and review contracts. This tool significantly reduces drafting time and increases productivity, revolutionizing the way legal documents are created.
Rocket Matter Unveils Next Generation of Its Law Practice Management Platform
Rocket Matter has launched the latest version of its law practice management software, designed to provide increased flexibility and customization for law firms. The updated platform retains core features like timekeeping and accounting but introduces enhanced integrations with QuickBooks Online and improved security measures. This new version emphasizes user-specific workflows, dashboard views, and customizable reports, allowing firms to tailor the platform to their unique needs.
OpenText Expands Generative AI Tools for Enterprise Content Management
OpenText’s latest quarterly release, Cloud Editions 24.3, expands the company’s generative AI tools for enterprise content management. The update includes support for various media types in its AI framework, leveraging technology from Micro Focus to capture metadata and analyze unstructured text, audio, video, and image content. This expansion highlights the potential impact of generative AI in the legal vertical, particularly in discovery, where AI can accelerate evidence retrieval and case strategy development.
European Union’s AI Act Published, Setting Compliance Deadlines
The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act has been published, establishing a comprehensive legal framework for regulating AI systems. Key obligations include ensuring AI literacy of staff by February 2025, compliance programs for high-risk AI systems by August 2026, and stricter requirements for existing AI models by August 2027. The Act imposes significant penalties for non-compliance, urging businesses to assess their AI systems and implement compliance measures.
Hélder Santos of Bird & Bird Discusses GenAI Partnership with Leya
Hélder Santos, Global Head of Legal Tech & Innovation at Bird & Bird, discusses the firm’s partnership with genAI-first startup Leya. The collaboration focuses on onboarding generative AI, extending lawyers’ abilities, and providing clients with enhanced value. Santos highlights the need for industry standards to ensure accuracy and transparency in genAI applications, advocating for a culture of innovation within law firms).