its arsenal of innovative approaches. âThe firm recognizes the value and importance of innovation in meeting the needs
Team Puts Artificial Intelligence Through Pilot Tests Wasson said the software read the documents, then highlighted and extracted the contract language for 30-plus provisions at a 95 percent level of accuracy in roughly two and half hours. Katz and Wasson, along with Lawson Parker, Julia Zaft and Renae Nanna, have continued to test the software, comparing its results to HB’s own work, as well as comparing the Kira program to another offered by eBrevia. Wasson said initial results show an efficiency gain that could dramatically reduce cycle time, provide greater consistency in the review process and enhance firm profitability. When Richard Susskind spoke about artificial intelligence at the 2014 partner retreat in San Antonio, few thought that machine learning software would be available on the market so quickly. Now having just completed two proofof-concepts with these tools, Husch Blackwell is rapidly moving forward to incorporate machine learning as part of its arsenal of innovative approaches. “The firm recognizes the value and importance of innovation in meeting the needs of its clients and attracting lawyers to join the firm,” said Hal Katz, HB partner in Austin. “Innovative tools like artificial intelligence increase our efficiency and turnaround time for our clients, and also allow us to more effectively and efficiently utilize our lawyers and other professionals.” Katz, along with Gayle Hickman,
Director of Operations for the HLE SBU, and Lann Wasson, Associate Director of Legal Project Management, formed a team to develop the initial pilot tests. In July, the team began investigating due diligence solutions that incorporated artificial intelligence in their software. Of the 17 vendors in this space, the group narrowed the field, interviewed four companies and performed hands-on testing with two systems. “The software has come a long way in a very short amount of time,” Wasson said. “Last spring during our LPM workshops, we heard that clients were asking if we were using this software yet.” The team tested a program from Kira Systems, uploading 1,320 documents, some hundreds of pages in length.
While Kira’s software provides hundreds of provisions out of the box, lawyers can also train the system to look for custom terms and conditions. The software also includes a multi-document comparison feature for evaluating derivative contracts based on standard forms. “The importance of embracing change cannot be overstated,” said Hickman. “If we do not quickly adopt this disruptive technology, we will no longer be competitive, and most importantly, we will not maximize the value we deliver to our clients.” Hickman and Matt Schneider are forming a multidisciplinary team to create best practices, provide guidance to associates using the software, and identify the best engagements that fit the value proposition and pricing requirements.
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