Accelerating progress with Thomson Reuters CoCounsel

Faster time to results

The firm found that CoCounsel helps them deliver work at a much greater speed. Whether Sullivan Festeryga is drafting a contract, performing research, finding the answer to a specific question in a 4,000-page document, or advising a client, they can get the job done faster than ever before. In addition to making their teams quicker and sharper in their work, the productivity gains directly impact the firm’s bottom line. While they employ different billing models depending on the practice area, the time savings benefit everyone. Festeryga explains that for flat-fee or percentage-based projects, “We are able to deliver quality legal services faster. The less time we spend on a project without sacrificing quality, the more profitable it becomes.” The firm benefits even while under an hourly model. While they may bill fewer hours per case, Festeryga says, “This benefits our clients, and our hope is that those saved hours will be filled with more cases from clients who see they are saving legal costs per file. We are able to provide quality legal services for our clients more quickly and efficiently, and therefore less costly for them.”

GenAI — the next frontier

When talking to colleagues who might be hesitant about using GenAI, Festeryga is very clear: “The practice has not really changed. You’re doing the exact same thing you have been doing for years — you’re just going about it differently. Before you send out any document prepared by an associate or a clerk, you are always going to check it to ensure it meets the firm’s high standards. The same thing applies to any document created with the assistance of AI. You check and edit the work to ensure it is up to your high standards before you send it out the door. The benefit is that it takes less time, allowing you to provide your clients with their needed solutions faster and with a cost savings.”

“You’ve got to do it!”

In Festeryga’s mind, using Thomson Reuters tools, including CoCounsel and Westlaw Edge, is a no-brainer. “If you don’t adapt, you’re going to be left behind,” he says. “So, you’ve got to do it!” He believes in the product. He likes that AI-Assisted Research is part of Westlaw Edge Canada. “It is a curated database,” he says. “We know the cases are up to date. There is next to no chance of running afoul of quoting a case that does not exist as the media has reported some counsel have done in various jurisdictions.”

But more than that, the use of GenAI is where the profession is moving. Festeryga has made a concerted effort to get the senior lawyers in the firm to adopt its use. Their newer lawyers and clerks are already using it, which is the way it should be. This generation “needs to pass on information to those who come behind them, which is how the legal profession is supposed to work,” says Festeryga. “We owe an obligation to teach those coming up behind us to become better lawyers, and this is one tool that can definitely help in achieving that goal.”

Teaching the next generation of lawyers is that much easier when you’re working with a product you know and trust. “We were already subscribing to Westlaw,” says Festeryga. “We know the product. We know it’s secure. And we know that Thomson Reuters has done its due diligence.” This is very important to the firm. Sullivan Festeryga can assure its clients that any data is always kept private and secure.

Using AI in the practice of law is another powerful tool in Sullivan Festeryga’s toolbox to help deliver quality and cost-effective legal services to its clients.