What will happen to law firms and the legal profession when the use of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes prevalent in legal services? This paper addresses this question by considering specific AI use cases in legal services, and by identifying four AI-enabled business models (AIBM) which are relatively new to legal services (if not new to the world). These AIBMs are different from the traditional professional service firm (PSF) business model at law firms, and require complementary investments in human resources, intra-firm governance and inter-firm governance.
Law firms are experimenting with combinations of business models. We identify three patterns in law firm experimentation: first, combining the traditional PSF business model with the legal process and/or consulting business models; second, vertically integrating the software vendor business models; and third, accessing AIBMs from third-party vendors to take advantage of contracting for innovation. While predicting the future is not possible, we conclude that how today’s law firms transform themselves into tomorrow’s next generation law companies depends on their willingness and ability to invest in necessary complements.
Citation
Armour, John and Sako, Mari, AI-Enabled Business Models in Legal Services: From Traditional Law Firms to Next-Generation Law Companies? (July 12, 2019).