Thomson Reuters is adding to its long list of legal tech partners with the addition of Laurel, the time recording system. The move follows TR’s spinning off of Elite in 2023, which also had a time recording capability.
So, one can see why TR did this. The companies added: ‘Combining Laurel’s work intelligence with Thomson Reuters Fiduciary-Grade AI provides firms with transparency and measurement capabilities needed to understand how AI influences legal work, client service and firm performance.’
And more specifically: ‘Laurel’s work intelligence platform records activity as it happens, in the background, on devices — time spent in email, documents, calls, and applications including Thomson Reuters products — automatically classifying it by client and matter and turning it into ready-to-review timesheets, real-time profitability insight, and AI ROI measurement.’
And this culminated in the argument that ‘helping close that gap by creating visibility into the full lifecycle of AI-powered legal work, giving firms a clearer understanding of efficiency gains, matter performance, profitability, and return on technology investments’.
Of course, it would be great if we all stopped measuring value by time…..but, hey, we live inside Big Law and Big Law doesn’t plan on changing anytime soon.
Plus, for a law firm, trying to find ROI in AI tools while also seeking to bill for as much time as humanly possible, is a bit like one of those Zen Buddhist mind-benders that is impossible to find an answer to and is designed to lead you onwards to enlightenment.
Ryan Alshak, CEO & Co-Founder, Laurel, commented: ‘Law firms have been running AI investments and business operations as two separate systems that were never designed to talk to each other. That ends today.
‘Thomson Reuters brings the tools attorneys rely on to do legal work. Laurel captures that work and makes it visible: how time is spent, where write-down risk is building, and whether the firm’s AI investments are pulling their weight. Firm leaders have never had that picture before. Now they do’
Camillo Speroni, Head of Partnerships & Alliances, Thomson Reuters, added: ‘Our customers know that Fiduciary-Grade AI is improving firm efficiency and work product quality. Through our partnership with Laurel, firms gain greater visibility into how AI-powered legal work contributes to operational and business performance, helping them measure the value of their technology investments.
‘That insight is increasingly important. Our research found that while AI adoption among legal professionals continues to grow, many organisations still struggle to connect AI usage to measurable business outcomes. Together, we’re helping firms better understand, demonstrate, and maximise that value.’
Conclusion: What is the sound of one billable hour clapping?
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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.
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