LEXPERT MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2016 61
Non-disclosure agreements are a perfect
example, she says, because they're fairly
repetitive and widely used across different
parts of the business.
While legal departments have tradition-
ally collected the information and perhaps
entered it in templates, she says they can
now have the business side collect the in-
formation online and, at the very least, get
a first dra to in-house counsel.
"I can see instances where an in-house le-
gal group says to its business: 'Here are the
terms of our standard NDA. Fill in party
names and you can have your agreement.
If you need anything else, you still have to
come to us.'
"It's another manifestation of in-house
groups growing their capabilities. I think
the more they can standardize and use
these tools, there may be things they no
longer come to us for. at's possible."
But, like Peters, Nickerson doesn't
believe law firms will be replaced by in-
house automation programs. "I think if
firms build out their capability and ser-
vice a wide variety of people, they may be
able to do it more efficiently and provide
it at a more efficient price than in-house
can do. I'm not sure how that will play out
— it could go either way."
WHEN AUTOMATION MEETS artifi-
cial intelligence, that's the real Big Bang for
a new world for lawyers and law firms.
It's already happening, Nickerson says,
pointing to Berwin Leighton Paisner in the
UK, which is using a "contract robot" in its
real-estate group.
e robot extracts data from land regis-
try documents and enters it into a spread-
sheet. It cross-checks the data to remove
duplicates and then uses the spreadsheet
to send out queries and things like light-
obstruction notices. e firm says the robot
can complete legal work "within seconds,"
which would take a team of paralegals and
associates months to do.
"What we're talking about today is just
the beginning," says Nickerson. "is is go-
ing to change how we practise, who does
the work, and where the work is done."
Nickerson believes it "could eventually
change whether law firms become more
purely advisory in some areas, versus doing
some of that lower-end legal work.
"I don't see it as disastrous for external
counsel. I feel it's a disaster if we don't
do it."
MATTHEW PETERS
>
MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT LLP
Automation can be quite rigid.
Anyone using automation
alone is missing good
opportunities. Our experience
is there is a bunch of low-
hanging fruit you can get
to first, before you get to
pure document automation.
| IN-HOUSE ADVISOR: AUTOMATION |
