Over the last couple of years we’ve gotten used to seeing stories about law firms signing up for legal AI software licences with the leading providers in the market. But, signing up for a few months, or even a year, means little in the legal AI sector in the long term unless they renew that contract.
Which is why this news below from Kira Systems and US law firm Goodwin Procter is interesting. In fact, that Kira feels this is worth sharing with the press is in itself proof of how seriously legal AI companies take renewals.
Using an AI review system is not like having an enterprise licence for your firm-wide DMS or for Microsoft Office. Those types of licence you will keep for years and years. But, AI review tools are point solutions. There are also more than two dozen in the market. Even if your team has got used to training a certain review system there is little to stop you from switching suppliers. The firm will function still. AI doc review will continue with another vendor. Life goes on.
And, once you’ve decided to ditch one supplier, how long before you go back?
So, when Goodwin decided it would commit to not just a renewal of Kira, but an expanded licence, the tech company understandably felt it was worth mentioning.
The 1,000-plus lawyer firm, which has offices across the US, Europe and Asia, initially had ‘a year-long introductory trial licence’.
When the year was up would they or wouldn’t they renew? They were plenty of other choices in the market, some of which they’d tested.
It must have been a tense moment for the sales team responsible for the Goodwin account. What if they decided AI tools were not for them, or chose a rival instead…?
Luckily for Kira it won out. And, Patty Johansen, Goodwin’s Director of Knowledge Management and who leads the firm’s global initiative to embed technology within its transactional practices, has now said in a statement: ‘Leveraging Kira for artificial intelligence due diligence has enhanced our lawyers’ workflows, in turn increasing the value we are delivering to our clients. Our M&A associates have embraced the Kira platform, with many referring to it as their ‘secret weapon’.’
Goodwin has now ’embedded’ the Kira software within the workflows of its M&A and and Real Estate Leasing practices, and intends to extend deployment to other parts of the firm, it said.
Noah Waisberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Kira Systems, was understandably pleased. He added: ‘Goodwin is a leader in legal innovation. We are delighted to continue to work with the firm.’
Moral of the story: getting a law firm to sign up for a pilot, or a one year licence, is one thing – getting them to renew and expand the use of your legal AI review software is another.
Over the coming years it will be interesting to see which legal AI companies retain their clients as licences expire around the planet and come up for renewal.
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[ Main image: lending library card, Wiki Commons, with AL changes. ]