I’ve always thought of Labor Day as the real beginning of the new year. Schools open, the East Coast humidity shows hints that it may evaporate soon (please, please, please) and there is a sense of fresh opportunities. Among them:

• Mark Cohen, of Legal Mosaic, checks in to let you know that he  is now writing a weekly article for Forbes. Check out his first article, “How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform the Delivery of Legal Services.”

Writes Cohen, “AI is ushering in the second phase of legal delivery disaggregation. Technology—not labor arbitrage—is the engine for a “better, faster, cheaper” delivery of certain legal services. Several corporate legal departments, law firms, and service providers utilize AI for review and standardization of documents, for example. And the list of potential tasks is growing rapidly.

• Christopher Tessier, Manager, Communications at Wolters Kluwer, reports that WK has partnered with Hyperion G P Research, to present the “Hyperion TrendView Report [Legal Market Intelligence] Finding Value in E-Billing.” They surveyed 157 law firms “ranging in size from 10 to 4,500 timekeepers.”

Among the results:
> There is a strong overall acceptance of e-billing, with nearly half of firms reporting that at least 40% of their clients require firms to submit invoices electronically via a client-sponsored system.
> 71% of law firms believe that e-billing makes them more likely to win future business.
>  53% of firms report increased client satisfaction as a result of e-billing.
> “E-billing firms overwhelmingly do not have fast-pay discounts with their clients.”
> “E-billing capabilities are not perceived to improve the dialog about billing and invoices for legal services.”
> Small (43%) and large firms (61%) aren’t very satisfied with e-billing systems but 73% of medium firms seem satisfied.

Sounds like there is much opportunity for more innovation

Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX and a member of the California bar. Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu. Twitter: @MonicaBay

Cover image: Clipart.com