Hi there,

Will introducing new AI-powered efficiencies kill firm profitability?

Well maybe...but maybe not?

As we recently heard from Chris Grant, HSBC's Head of Legal Market Engagement in our latest webinar:

"Just because you put AI in place doesn't mean I won't pay the same price as I was paying before because you are doing it quicker and faster. 

In fact, I might pay a premium because you're doing it a little bit quicker. But that conversation won’t be had if we’re talking about the hourly rate."

As he further explained, by moving away from the “chain of the hourly rate,” firms can increase efficiencies, pick up more work, and better service their clients, which all ultimately lead to more profitability. 

And just maybe (hopefully) that will cause law firms to focus more on outcome-driven arrangements, and value-based fee models that drive those outcomes.

That’s what we hear time and again from our GC community. That’s what they want!

You can hear more from Chris and other industry experts in our latest article on how in-house teams can collaborate with their firms to drive AI innovation.🤝

Also, in this week's edition of The PERSUIT:

• Data 📊 that dispels the common misconception that competitive RFPs are just "a race to the bottom."
• How PERSUIT helped Wells Fargo make the move to value-based pricing, 😊 improving outcomes for their in-house team and firms, alike. 
• Where you can find PERSUIT as we roll into the fall season🍂! 

Cheers!

Jim

Jim Delkousis

Founder and CEO  

PERSUIT

INNOVATION IN LEGAL

AI-Driven Legal Transformations: A Roadmap for In-house & Firm Collaboration

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and more specifically Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI (GenAI) are rapidly transforming the legal industry.

But as the ChatGPT hype begins to fade, in-house teams are finding that there’s a lot of work to leverage the promised “magic” that lies behind this (not so) new technology. 

Last month, I hosted a spectacular panel of industry experts to share their experiences and predictions about how generative AI is transforming the in-house/firm relationship and the billable hours model in legal, including: 

• Chris Grant, Head of Legal Market Engagement at HSBC 
• David Cunningham, Chief Innovation Officer at Reed Smith, and 
• Sean Monahan, Senior Director of Data Modernization at Harbor (formerly HBR Consulting). 

In this article, I’ve pulled some of the key takeaways and highlights. 

Continue Reading: AI-Driven Legal Transformations —  A Roadmap for In-house & Firm Collaboration

Maui Gevero

Senior Manager, Legal Advisory

PERSUIT

DATA

Competitive RFPs in Legal: Does the Lowest Price Always Win?

There’s a misconception that when a corporate legal department uses a competitive RFP process to select outside counsel, it creates a “race to the bottom” — meaning the in-house team is only interested in driving down the price.

But as we surpass $10 billion in proposal value submitted on PERSUIT, including proposals submitted by 100% of Am Law 100 firms, here’s what we actually see happen. 

Continue Reading: Competitive RFPs in Legal — Does the Lowest Price Always Win?

Jordan Weinstein

VP of Data & Product

PERSUIT

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

How Wells Fargo Moved to Value-Based Pricing With PERSUIT

"I really think it all started when our CEO and CFO's office came to our legal department and said, 'We really need to better manage our legal spend. Go off and do that, and tell me how you're doing that,'" explains Ashley Woodill, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Wells Fargo. 

Since then, Ashley has improved outcomes for both her in-house team and their law firms. You can hear Ashley's story here!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Where's PERSUIT? 

Here's where you can find us this month:

• NAMWOLF 2023 Annual Meeting: Baltimore, MD, September 10–13 — Visit us at the event
• CLOC EMEA: London, UK, September 18 — Visit us at the event
• Innovative Legal Leaders Roundtable: Paris, FR, September 27 — By invitation