LegalTech Tapas – Andrew Arruda, ROSS Intelligence

Welcome to the latest LegalTech Tapas podcast on Artificial Lawyer with Andrew Jardine. Today we speak to Andrew Arruda, co-founder and CEO of legal research system, ROSS Intelligence.

ROSS was one of the first legal AI companies to hit the headlines back in 2015. At the same time, Andrew rapidly became globally well-known as he spread the gospel about the new wave of legal technology that was sweeping through the sector.

In this episode we look at the product today and what it can do for you, plus we get to hear more about Andrew’s and ROSS’s story. If you can’t listen just now, check out a partial transcript below. (Press play to listen – 18 mins approx. )

Episode transcript (What does Ross do?)

This week on the show we will be serving up a new take on a classic dish with ROSS Intelligence an AI enabled legal research tool. ROSS is one of the early pioneers in Legal technology using tech to approach the age old task of legal research a little differently, and to explain all of this we will be joined by none other that Andrew Arruda CEO and Co-founder of Ross.

Now…. legal research tools are not anything particularly new, most lawyers will be familiar with the likes of Westlaw and Lexis which have been on the market for some time. In a nutshell these tools provide an online way to access research materials a lawyer might need when arguing a court case, think statutes, regulations and of course existing case law. So if you need to build and substantiate an argument these tools help you to do that more quickly and more robustly.

Ross of course primarily allows lawyers to access these same materials too, but what ROSS does differently is change the way in which lawyers interact with the research tool itself. Instead of having to detail your search with complicated keyword sets and other selected options, Ross simplifies the experience by letting the user ask a question in natural language. To give an example you might ask ROSS “what is the distinction between a contractor or an employee in NY?” Following which ROSS would bring up a list of relevant cases and also identify which are likely the most relevant for you.

Another fun feature of ROSS is the Doc Analyser this tool among other things automatically finds previous negative citations for cases that you upload to the tool. Using this you could quickly check for weaknesses in the arguments used by opposing counsel and strength check your own. If you aren’t sure exactly what a negative citations is, all you need to know is that cases with more negative citations are less trustworthy. 

Episode transcript (Who should use Ross?)

If you are a lawyer supporting litigation in any context you are likely going to need some kind of legal research tool whether it be a newer AI enabled product or one of the classic research tools, so the question is really who stands to benefit most from the advancements ROSS offers.

My expectation is that smaller law firms or even individual practitioners would probably gain the most from using ROSS, basically anyone that doesn’t have the substantial number of junior lawyers to throw at legal research that large law firms do. ROSS’s enhanced ability to surface only relevant results makes the workload manageable for a smaller team, while the simplified interface means you don’t need to be a research tool specialist to conduct effective research.

ROSS may also appeal more to individual practitioners that work on a contingent fee basis. In those instances you could use the ROSS Doc Analyser to undertake a relatively low effort check on the strength of a certain case before agreeing to take it on, committing your full time and resources to the matter.

Well that is about it for this episode, we will be back shortly with another tasting menu, but in the meantime if you have enjoyed this episode please do share it with your friends and colleagues on linkedin, twitter or whatever social media you use. And just as a reminder you can sign up for the next Legaltech Tapas episode at legaltechtapas.substack.com and on all the major podcast platforms.

About ROSS Intelligence

ROSS Intelligence, founded in 2015, is building technology to help everyone to obtain the best possible legal outcomes. ROSS’s AI-powered legal research service is the fastest way for lawyers to find all the relevant law they need, enabling them to deliver excellent results to their clients. Today, ROSS is in use at the world’s largest law firms, at mid-size and boutique firms, and in solo practices.

About Legaltech Tapas: Legaltech Tapas is a regular podcast that serves up bite sized summaries of the latest legal tools, what they do, and why you might use them. Each episode discusses a different legal tool, and includes an interview with a guest from that company so you can hear directly from the horses mouth why you should be using their product. To get the next episode direct to your inbox, sign up @ https://legaltechtapas.substack.com/ or follow us on Twitter @legaltechtapas