Digitalisation and Legal Tech are confronting the legal market with new challenges. Gleiss Lutz recognised these issues and the associated opportunities for the firm very early on:
We observe and monitor market trends, evaluate systems and tools on a regular basis and, given our “niche strategy”, develop our own tools where the market offering ends. One aim is, to replace repetitive tasks with software. This creates a working environment affording our lawyers greater scope for individual and personal advice.
We rely on different approaches to identify the trends at an early stage:
- our “Digital Future” think tank
- exchanges and workshops with our clients as well as in our global network of law firms
- the European Legal Tech Association (ELTA), of which we are a founding member
- regular internal Legal Tech trainings, innovation contests and Design Thinking workshops
Over the past year, for example, we have developed our tools “FactTracker” (a Legal Tech tool for storing, structuring and processing individual pieces of factual information in (major) projects) and “Rocket” (a claim bot for class actions developed in-house) and established them in our case work with great success.
In our capacity as a full service law firm, we accordingly offer a broad range of expertise in the legal tech area as well: This comprises a selection of various market-leading Legal Tech tools supplemented by our specially developed, tailor-made tools. This not only enhances efficiency and productivity but also supports the consistent high quality of our advisory services and furthermore results in the best possible advice for our clients in terms of costs.
Digital Future: Advice on the challenges faced with digitalisation
We launched our digital campaign “#DigitalFuture” back in 2017. The resultant think tank takes a cross-disciplinary approach – beyond the different structures of our law firm – working creatively and with great dedication on the digital issues of tomorrow. The exchange of digitalisation and legal tech issues between lawyers and employees of our firm enables joint use cases to be defined, giving rise to new advisory products and legal tech tools that are successfully applied in our case work (more details on this are provided here).
Document Automation
Document automation is used in the creation and management of contracts, pleadings and other suitable documents, adapted to the specific individual case. This applies in particular to model contracts in Corporate/M&A and Employment and in pleadings and statements of defence in class actions.
Artficial Intelligence & Chatbots
Intelligent tools that draw on algorithms and artificial intelligence and, as such, learn and accelerate working steps, make it possible to focus on complex facts and individual client support. Legal chatbots can also be put to beneficial effect for repetitive issues for instance.
Investigations / Ediscovery
In many client matters, the analysis and evaluation of unstructured mass data plays an important part, for example in compliance, investigation or antitrust proceedings. Here we use eDiscovery solutions across the board, which make it possible to handle the processing of large quantities of data in compliance with data protection requirements, while at the same time being crucial for quality management, efficiency and risk management.
Business Applications, Supporting Tools & Process Automation
We use a variety of innovative tools: These include IT tools that support the storing of factual information as well as automated notification of deadlines in case work.
There is also the possibility of automatic document generation, creating statements of claim at the “push of a button”, up to the self-developed, database-supported, automatic creation of pleadings in mass proceedings and the monitoring of deadlines and proceedings.
Preparation of Facts & Content Analysis
Collecting factual information with multi-dimensional interlinking from different sources and systems in a clear manner compliant with data protection, processing it, and organising it in work streams so that it can then be used in our processes has been very time-consuming up to now. We have optimised this process with a specially developed, customisable legal tech tool, for which we received the PMN Management Award 2020 in the category Legal Tech.
In order to quickly evaluate and process even unstructured data, we use intelligently configurable content analysis tools. These can quickly capture the data content and export individual elements to other systems for focussed searches.
Transactions / Due Dilligence
Highly intelligent pattern recognition technologies that learn from the interactions between lawyers and documents also minimise repetitive activities by comparing contract clauses, simplify work steps and support client processing.
Legal Tech-Training & Legal Apps
As part of our Gleiss Lutz Academy, we also provide our lawyers with targeted training on legal tech topics. One important element of this training is learning how to work with a “no code automation platform”. In this way, we simplify the use of legal tech tools and train our lawyers’ understanding and handling of digitalisation topics.
Each staff member at Gleiss Lutz can use our “digital toolbox” to create small apps without the need for significant programming knowledge. We not only train the use of this tool but also attach great value to legal design thinking methods, a structured method of working, logical thinking and creativity, and we regularly award prizes for the best apps.
Legal Project Management
In the areas of strategic approach, focus and time management, we rely on professional legal project management in our client work so as to always maintain an overview and to be able to assess the status quo in the best possible way.
Knowledge Management
Our expertise is a key factor in our success as a law firm. To bundle this knowledge and make it available to all employees, we use our knowledge management system, which goes beyond a pure information management system. This means that we are optimally prepared for all challenges.
Through regular (specialist) publications, participation in events and our know-how, we are ideally positioned to face the advancing digitalisation and to develop appropriate solutions for our clients.
