Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/1547047
FEATURE 14 www.canadianlawyermag.com CROSS EXAMINED the off-the-shelf platforms end and where custom configuration begins. Python scripts, tailored workflows, for example, can push further. "So, in our workflow we're actually going to [use] some, for lack of a better term, custom or differently configured ways to go beyond those limits." That thinking is visible in MT❯Forge, the firm's recently launched alternative legal service provider division, led by Toronto-based partner Sahil Zaman. Rather than applying AI as a catch-all solution, MT❯Forge is built around repeatable, high-volume transactional work – fund formation, lending transactions, acquisition agreements – where playbooks built from the firm's own expertise are combined with AI tools and contract lawyers to deliver speed, consistency, and cost predictability. Peters is candid that some of that work is replacing what the McCarthy teams c urrently handle. "We would rather essentially tackle that ourselves and do that first with clients," he says. The competitive landscape is also shifting in ways that demand attention. Peters is careful not to name vendors, but his point is clear: law firms need to understand which technology partners are genuinely aligned with them and which are quietly positioning to compete. "We've already heard narratives of some of these larger companies proposing that you can skip the law firms completely," he says. Those vendors are frenemies at best – useful partners today, potential competitors tomorrow – and he urges firms to engage them directly on strategic direction, scrutinize contract terms, and talk regularly to peer firms. That kind of cross-firm collaboration, he says, is already happening at the North American and global level. Those same ground-level pressures are reshaping what firms expect from new lawyers, and McCarthy Tétrault is acting on that directly. The firm is co-developing a new course with Western University's Faculty of Law – AI-Enabled Corporate Practice: Business Law in Action – launching in the 2027 winter term, that will put students through simulated transactions and AI-assisted drafting exercises before they set foot in a firm. The driver is straightforward: the lower-level drafting work that has traditionally taught junior lawyers their craft is being absorbed by AI, and the apprenticeship model is fraying as a result. Peters makes a concrete prediction on where this all lands. Within three years – not five – the gap between firms that have fully integrated AI and those that haven't will be visible to clients and to the talent market alike. The firms that have done it right will be more human, not less: lawyers focused on judgment and client relationships, freed from administrative drag. "The firms that have … resisted it," he says, "are not going to be able to compete from a value perspective with clients … and quite frankly for talent." "We've already heard narratives of some of these larger [legal tech] companies proposing that you can skip the law firms completely" CANADIAN LEGAL SUMMIT Matthew Peters will appear at the Canadian Legal Summit on a panel titled "The Key Elements of Winning GC–Law Firm Partnerships," examining the following topics: The practical factors that strengthen and sustain high-performing GC–law firm relationships How firms can better align with client expectations on value, service, and strategic insight What differentiates firms that consistently retain and grow mandates How cross-border complexity is shaping stronger, more integrated partnerships Visit canadianlawyermag.com/ events for more information on the summit.