What really matters in tech innovation

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Even as generative AI dominates headlines and business agendas, the legal industry is shifting toward smarter technology use. Torys takes an approach of intentional innovation, leveraging the right tools at the right time to enhance efficiency and service quality

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Published June 17, 2024

Despite a technology environment that is very much in flux, Torys’ overall tech-acquisition strategy remains prudent and balanced. Always with an open mind to new tools and workflows, the firm is innovative but also evaluative, says senior associate Jessica Lumière. Based in the Halifax office, the Legal Services Centre (LSC) offers a suite of service offerings that feature process and technology efficiencies. Lumière stresses that adopting any new tool starts with identifying minimum viable product (MVP): focus on the must-haves. The LSC – which started 10 years ago with four lawyers and one staff and has since grown to 20 lawyers, two clerks, two paralegals, and four staff – supports all Torys offices remotely. Matured from a testing ground to dedicated teams organized by workstream with a refined scope of services to meet the definition of higher-volume, process-oriented, repeatable work, the pace of the centre’s advancement in terms of tools is cautious. The team strikes the balance between gaining efficiencies versus risk and potential upside for clients. “Everyone gets excited about what these new technologies and platforms offer – and, given the roles we have, we’re always interested in exploring,” Lumière says. “But do we need them? It’s easy to get sidetracked and pulled off your plan, so grounding decisions in that concept of MVP is critical.” Overall, when looking to innovate, intentionality should underline the process. Determine what specific task or process you’re looking to improve, define the benefit you’re trying to achieve, determine the firm’s and/or client’s appetite for risk, and evaluate the tool against known outcomes to test its accuracy.

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We simply won’t be using some GenAI tools yet. We like aspects of [Generative AI], such as how it shapes workflows, but it's always driven by context. We don't think GenAI is quite ready for prime time in the sense of throwing open the doors and embracing it fully”

Clare Mauro, Torys LLP

“Technology can be incredibly helpful, and we’re figuring out better and smarter ways to deploy it. That’s how the industry will continue to evolve”

Gillian Dingle, Torys LLP

Intentional innovation in a tech-saturated space

AS TECHNOLOGY continues to accelerate change in the legal industry, there’s been a shift in recent years to weed out “technology for technology’s sake,” focusing instead on bringing in the right technology in the right circumstances at the right time – and wielded by the right people. “Technology can be incredibly helpful, and we’re figuring out better and smarter ways to deploy it,” says Gillian Dingle, partner in the securities defence litigation practice at Torys LLP and former head of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution practice. “That’s how the industry will continue to evolve.”

The tech newcomer to the space with the most buzz by far is generative AI. Though machine learning has been used for several years in ediscovery, the newest iteration is being touted as a game changer, enabling legal professionals to be in the driver’s seat when interfacing with their data, according to Clare Mauro, director of litigation and ediscovery services. “They may be empowered as a result to surface key documents or identify trends, where previously they wouldn't have been able to do so without expert search abilities or relying upon sophisticated ediscovery analysts. It won’t eliminate the role of learned intermediaries, but it will evolve. If this technology is putting lawyers in the driver’s seat, then the analysts are driving the bus on turbo speed.” With the ediscovery sphere constantly advancing, Mauro – who oversees a team of litigation professionals that includes the firm’s eDiscovery Technology Group – remains on top of cutting-edge options. But, especially considering new features like GenAI, everything must be evaluated for comparative strengths and weaknesses.

Dingle, who was instrumental in developing the Halifax ediscovery arm, now looks to the nearshoring operation regularly. The fact that the LSC is fully integrated into the firm ensures not just significant gains in efficiency but means that all stakeholders share the common goals of excellent legal analysis and client service, high bars at Torys. “This is an exciting time in developing the way we approach ediscovery,” Dingle says, adding that it’s an example of how, as innovation marches forward, the firm keeps pace via people, tools, and ideas that are flexible, adaptable, and intentional. “It’s a great development for the firm and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here. We’ve already hit the ground running.”

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Through predictive coding and AI tools, Torys was able to reduce document review timelines by up to 60%, allowing for quicker and more accurate case assessments

161

28,000

LSC by the numbers

1/3

600

4,000

1,250

clients in 2023

of S&P/TSX60 are clients

documents for regulatory review

NDAs negotiated in 2023

documents produced for a complex reorganization

public offerings filed in 2023

The rise of GenAI

“If you look at the sheer volume of options right now, the marketplace can feel chaotic. We carefully triage use cases that make sense, and when we’re testing tools where the practical applications and benefits are underwhelming, we move on”

Jessica Lumière, Torys LLP

“If you look at the sheer volume of options right now, the marketplace can feel chaotic,” Lumière says. “We carefully triage use cases that make sense, and when we’re testing tools where the practical applications and benefits are underwhelming, we move on.” Mauro’s team is also mindful of the highly sensitive client information they work with. For example, until they can be assured client data isn’t used to train large language models, “we simply won’t be using some AI tools yet.” “We like aspects of [Generative AI], such as how it shapes workflows, but it’s always driven by context. We don’t think GenAI is quite ready for prime time in the sense of throwing open the doors and embracing it fully,” she says, noting that this ties back to the firm’s overall approach of intentional innovation.

Using state-of-the-art tech and ediscovery services, Torys’ projects saw an average cost savings of 30-40%

Torys processed and analyzed over 12 terabytes of data in the past year

Torys ediscovery by the numbers

“I don’t care how shiny the paint job is, you’ve got to look at the engine.” Collaboration as part of the formula For Dingle, integrating a new technology or process calls for immediate engagement with colleagues who have the right expertise. Highlighting that collaboration is in the firm’s DNA across practice areas, and between offices from Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax to New York and Calgary, “we see a lot of value in bringing experts in quickly, to make sure we’re thinking about things the right way,” Dingle says. When a legal team loops in members of the LSC or of the ediscovery Technology Group, “the best advice I can offer is to trust in their expertise,” Mauro says. “Allowing us the freedom to play to our strengths – the technology, the software, the tools, the workflows – optimizes outcomes. Tell us what your desired output is and we’ll recommend the best, most accurate, efficient, and cost-effective way to achieve that deliverable.”

Whether it’s an escalation path to a specialist practice area for input or oversight, or regular touchpoints between the deal team and the team doing the underlying diligence or managing the ediscovery, “the key is always collaboration.” “It’s not having someone take the work and complete it in a vacuum; it’s very much a two-way street,” Lumière says. As the firm continues to focus on the “big three” factors that best service clients – people, processes, and technology – Mauro’s litigation technology and ediscovery team is partnering more closely with Lumière and the LSC on a new service offering providing an added layer of ediscovery review. If a review is right-sized, it will be kept in-house. The new workstream is a prime example of collaboration because it often generates offshoot work, Mauro notes. For example, her team recently handled a regulatory review, and it turned out the client also needed a particular document-type review that the Halifax team had expertise in. “Embedding these teams and workflows allows questions to be answered or escalations to happen in real time – if you’re going outside the firm, you’re not always getting the same level of responsiveness.”