Artificial Lawyer: “…As we all know (not news) lawyers are also increasingly engaged under Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs), particularly fixed fees, and certain areas of law are fiercely competitive, with clients consistently driving down prices, whilst maintaining expectations as to quality. See Richard Tromans’ article on 30 June on the rise of AFAs – AFAs Increase to 16.8% – Could Be Good News for Legal Tech. In this context efficiency is top of mind, particularly in departments such as banking and finance, corporate, and real estate. Statements such as ‘Efficiency – we’re not that kind of firm’ are now few and far between, although surprisingly are still uttered from time to time. It is not surprising that the conversation in these departments has moved from whether ‘To automate or not to automate?’ to questions such as ‘Show me the appropriate use cases?’ and ‘Which legal tech will bring the greatest efficiency to my process?’. It is also refreshing to note that for more progressive firms, efficiency is not the only driver when it comes to accelerating the pace of legal tech adoption. The Clarilis team works with law firms daily in this space to produce a customised Value Analysis report to help them quantify the potential impact of deep automation and consider, alongside efficiency, outcomes such as increased margin, higher recovery rates, and the financial and competitive benefits of liberating fee earners from the mundane. Intangible benefits such as better work/life balance and lawyer wellbeing can then become a natural by-product of automation which are, in themselves, key drivers of talent acquisition, development and retention…”