Background

Holding Redlich, established in 1959, is a leading Australian law firm with offices in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns. Recognised for its specialist expertise and innovative approaches, the firm is deeply client-focused, providing practical legal solutions tailored to specific client needs. Holding Redlich serves some of Australia’s largest public and private companies, along with all levels of government, addressing complex and strategic business issues. The firm’s reputation is built on delivering the highest quality legal thinking and expert industry knowledge. Consistent investment in the growth and development of its people, including access to advanced legal technology, underscores Holding Redlich’s commitment to excellence.

Challenge

In 2023, Holding Redlich sought to enhance its legal research capabilities to improve efficiency and better serve its clients. Traditional legal research methods were time-consuming and labour-intensive, requiring significant manual effort to ensure accuracy and completeness. The firm recognised the need for a solution to streamline the research process, reduce time spent on locating relevant information, and maintain high standards of accuracy and quality in legal advice. This need arose amidst the firm’s commitment to stay at the forefront of groundbreaking legal research technology and meet growing client expectations for quicker, more efficient service.

“We are supporting the research and development of generative AI across the industry.”

Solution & Outcomes

To address these challenges, Holding Redlich embarked on an innovative journey to integrate AI into its legal research processes. The initiative began with trialling LexisNexis® new AI-powered tool, Lexis® Argument Analyser, which enhances case law research by swiftly uncovering deep insights without the need to review hundreds of documents. Legal research tech-a-thons were introduced across the firm’s offices to test this tool, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Following this feedback, Holding Redlich decided to roll out Lexis Argument Analyser firm-wide and also invested in Lexis+®, the AI-powered legal research platform.

Holding Redlich prides itself on being one of the first law firms to use generative AI in legal workflows to drive client success and efficiency. A pilot program saw a cohort of lawyers using Lexis+ AI, the generative AI solution from LexisNexis. Significant time savings were reported across each office, particularly when using the case summary feature, which allows lawyers to quickly identify relevant cases and avoid wasting time reading those that are not. This feature alone significantly expedited the legal research process. The firm’s decision to invest in Lexis+ AI is providing the team access to the latest in legal tech. LexisNexis played a crucial role in this process, organising training sessions, providing guidance, and ensuring smooth implementation through a series of firm-wide webinars that educated staff and facilitated an effective transition to using these tools.

“One of our lawyers completed a research task in 4.5 hours using traditional methods. He was able to replicate and complete the same task using Lexis+AI in 35 minutes.”

The integration of AI-enabled legal research tools has had a transformative impact on Holding Redlich’s operations. Lawyers at the firm have reported significant improvements in efficiency and time savings, with lawyers saving several hours per week on typical research tasks, allowing more time for strategic thinking and client engagement. For example, one of our lawyers completed a research task in 4.5 hours using traditional methods. He was able to replicate and complete the same task using Lexis+ AI in 35 minutes.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many lawyers expressing excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to enhance their skill set with the capabilities of Lexis+ AI.

The AI tools have enabled lawyers to quickly access authoritative content and citations through hyperlinking, streamlining the research process and reducing the time required to deliver high-quality legal advice. The firm emphasises that the same due diligence applies when using AI-enabled research as with traditional methods. The firm intends to use the extensive and innovative use of Gen AI as something that will help retain its best talent and also attract the best lawyers in the market. Holding Redlich also intends to highlight Lexis+ AI in upcoming tenders and in communications and assure their clients that they are using best-of-breed law technology.

“Client success drives all of our lawyers, and the new efficiencies of Lexis+ AI augment and enhance their current skill sets, allowing for excellent, accurate, and timely advice.”

Challenges Ahead

Despite the positive outcomes, Holding Redlich acknowledges typical behaviour change challenges when adopting such transformative technology. Perfecting the art of prompting when using AI-enabled research tools remains critical and some lawyers are still adjusting to this aspect.

The firm is committed to ongoing training and education in collaboration with LexisNexis to improve proficiency.

Another challenge is adapting to the implications of AI on the traditional billable hour model. The efficiency brought by AI means that high-quality work can be completed more efficiently. While changes in billing practices will take time, the firm recognises that clients will benefit with the significant advancements in technology that Holding Redlich is investing in.

“It has been a joy and a privilege partnering with LexisNexis on our AI journey. We see LexisNexis as far more than legal publishers; they are an integral legal- tech partner, facilitating our access to the best available legal research tools and enabling us to provide cutting- edge, timely, and top-quality service to our clients.”

KEREN SMITH
CHIEF KNOWLEDGE OFFICER
HOLDING REDLICH