AL Interview: LexisNexis CEO, Sean Fitzpatrick

Artificial Lawyer spoke to LexisNexis CEO, Sean Fitzpatrick, about a range of Big Picture topics: from company growth despite the Claude Crash, how token costs are less than 1% of RELX revenue, its data sharing relationships with Harvey and Luminance, its M&A goals, to global growth and more.

Here’s a summary of some of the key points:

• That they saw a solid increase in H1 revenues despite rapid market changes, including the Claude Crash caused earlier this year by Anthropic’s launch of enterprise skills.
• That growth has largely come from new AI capabilities within Lexis, some connected to research, but also plenty from areas such as drafting and the more transactional side of the offering.
• That although token use and costs have risen, they managed to increase profits as well. This is because revenue growth outstripped cost growth. Also, they’ve found that token costs are less than 1% of RELX revenue. Note: they are a subscription business.
• How LexisNexis shares data in different ways with Harvey and Luminance, and how it works with Anthropic and OpenAI.
• That they are also working with open-weight models, and this adds to the mix of LLMs they can tap.
• That Lexis and its parent RELX are very well capitalised and have plenty of cash flow, and this may be different to some VC-backed companies once ‘the investment window’ for legal AI gets smaller.
• That M&A targets are very much an area of focus, but they are looking for bolt-ons, not large-scale platforms to buy.
• That the recent Doctrine M&A deal in France also helps with Lexis expanding its Civil Law capabilities. And on that theme, Lexis would like to expand even more globally, with Civil Law jurisdictions naturally a key part of that.
• Overall, Lexis believes it is in a very strong position, with its mass of curated data providing a solid foundation for future growth.

To watch the video (about 20 mins) see below. Or you can also go direct to the AL TV Channel here.

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Two Major Legal Innovators Conferences this November

Come and join us in New York and London this November at Legal Innovators! 

Legal Innovators UK – London, Nov 4 and 5

And, then Legal Innovators New York – Nov 17 and 18.

After another fantastic Legal Innovators California, where we had speakers from OpenAI, Y Combinator, Google, Meta, and many more pioneering organisations; and our stellar inaugural event in Paris this June, we are now looking forward to the landmark conferences in London and New York, both in November, and both across two days: Law Firm Day, and Inhouse Day. 

• Legal Innovators UK – London, Nov 4 and 5
• Legal Innovators New York – Nov 17 and 18