Case study
From exploration to everyday use: How Scharfstein LLP implemented Thomson Reuters AI Solutions
See how the firm built on its commitment to client service by thoughtfully integrating Thomson Reuters Westlaw and CoCounsel into everyday legal practice.
About Scharfstein LLP
Scharfstein LLP is a premier full-service law firm with the expertise and experience to navigate challenges and opportunities for its clients. The team takes pride in providing exceptional, strategic, and cost-effective solutions to achieve clients’ goals.
A client-focused approach to innovation
When Scharfstein LLP began exploring AI, the motivation was straightforward. It wanted to enhance client service and maintain an edge in a highly competitive industry, all while preserving professional standards. Samuel Edmondson, a partner at the firm with a focus on civil litigation, recalled the inflection point: “With how quickly AI advancements were happening in non-legal fields, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before it became an integral part of the practice of law,” adding, “We'd rather be proficient as the technology evolves rather than chasing it later.” Overall, the firm recognized the clear value in selecting tools that could help lawyers deliver high-quality advice more efficiently. The opportunity was not about replacing legal work, but about increasing capacity and responsiveness.
“Clients want things done efficiently, they want them done well, and they want them done as cost-effectively as possible. If I can save time on things like research and drafting, that’s a good thing, for both my clients and for me.”
Tammi Hackl
Partner, Scharfstein LLP
From evaluation to adoption
In early 2025, Scharfstein LLP began its AI implementation plan by conducting a careful evaluation of Thomson Reuters and a competing provider, testing their AI solutions over approximately one month each. In side-by-side legal research tasks, the team found that Thomson Reuters Westlaw delivered more dependable legal research results, reflected source material more accurately, and produced stronger initial work product.
Thomson Reuters CoCounsel also stood out for its ability to streamline document analysis and legal drafting. The firm could not identify a comparable offering from the competing platform that matched CoCounsel's capabilities in those areas.
Ultimately, Scharfstein LLP chose Thomson Reuters as its AI legal solutions provider due to the combination of strong legal research performance, practical AI functionality, and necessary guardrails surrounding data privacy and confidentiality.
Discovering the value of Westlaw Advantage and CoCounsel in daily work
For partner Tammi Hackl, an experienced family law practitioner at the firm, the value of the tools was recognized quickly. "Clients want things done efficiently, they want them done well, and they want them done as cost-effectively as possible," she explained. “If I can save time on things like research and drafting, that’s a good thing, for both my clients and for me.”
Articling student Brenna Triffo saw the impact just as quickly in her day-to-day work. “I use the Thomson Reuters tools all the time,” she said. In one instance, CoCounsel helped her produce terms and conditions for an e commerce app, significantly reducing the time she expected to spend on the task, as this was outside her usual areas of expertise. Triffo explained that she inputted the website and the app description and CoCounsel produced an output she was then able to compare against applicable legislation, privacy policies, and other information she surfaced during her research. "I was anticipating that this project would probably take me a couple weeks, but now I think I'll be able to finish it by tomorrow,” she stated.
Usage increases as benefits become evident
As with any new technology, users have adopted at their own pace, and usage continuously grows with hands-on experience and exploration. “Among several of the less adventurous users at our office, there has been something of an “A-ha” moment when a junior that they have been working with provides them with the output from AI tools,” Edmondson shared. “These kinds of moments have generated support for the use of Thomson Reuters AI tools in our practice.”
Hackl found that once she began applying CoCounsel to timeline creation and complex drafting — tasks that are typically highly manual and time-consuming — the value of the AI tool became much more apparent and quickly became part of her regular workflow. “I can input things and have a timeline created that helps in preparing examinations in chief, organizing issues… I find it's just been a godsend,” she said.
Hackl echoed her colleagues’ sentiments, noting, “I love the new tools. When I started practicing law, you would have to do Boolean searches or hike down to the library to look through the CDs and books. Now, it’s so much faster and so much quicker to get on the right track.”
Quality remains central
Throughout its adoption of AI, Scharfstein LLP has remained consistent on one point — technology supports legal judgment; it does not replace it. The firm continues to verify AI-generated work using source links, noting-up tools, and primary authorities. Lawyers value the tools not only for time savings, but also for helping surface relevant case law and organize information more effectively.
The firm has experienced meaningful efficiency gains while maintaining the professional care and quality its clients expect. “Even accounting for time spent verifying CoCounsel or Westlaw AI outputs, we are able to be more efficient. That efficiency allows us to do more work for more clients in the same amount of time,” explained Edmondson.
“I was anticipating that this project would probably take me a couple weeks, but now, with CoCounsel, I think I'll be able to finish it by tomorrow.”
Brenna Triffo
Articling Student, Scharfstein LLP
Looking ahead
Scharfstein LLP expects AI to become an increasingly embedded part of legal practice, particularly in research, drafting, and document analysis. At the same time, the firm sees the lawyer's role as firmly intact. Strategic judgment, advocacy, creativity, and courtroom work remain fundamentally human strengths. Triffo sums up this perspective quite well: “Lawyers will always be needed, and to be an effective lawyer, you have to be effective and efficient with the technology that’s being used.”
By taking a thoughtful, practical approach, the firm has integrated Thomson Reuters AI solutions in a way that strengthens both client service and internal efficiency.
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