Walmart’s AI solution makes life easier for in-house counsel

Walmart's legal counsel is using a new technology to reduce the time spent on answers and initial discovery by up to 80 percent.
8 May 2018

Walmart’s new AI solution makes life so much better for in-house counsel. Source: Shutterstock

Imagine a world where the boring part of your job is automated and you get to focus on and do more of the interesting things – the things that actually inspired you to study your subject in the first place.

That’s now a dream come true for lawyers at Walmart. The company has invested in a new artificial intelligence tool by LegalMation.

Alan Bryan, Walmart’s senior associate GC of legal operations and outside counsel management told the Corporate Counsel that the technology is automated to create first drafts of answers to litigation and to draft the initial round of discovery requests, each in about two minutes.

This could equate to shaving off 10 hours of attorney time on each lawsuit, according to LegalMation’s estimates.

“This has and will continue to help our internal and external attorneys focus more time on higher level strategic legal concerns,” Bryan said in an email interview with the legal publication.

So far, LegalMation is available only in California. In time, it will be made available in Texas and Florida, and slowly expand to the rest of the country.

“Due to the success of the pilot, Walmart has worked with LegalMation to expand,” Bryan said. “this process will continue to expand as we utilize LegalMation in a great number of jurisdictions.”

What’s interesting is the fact that the company didn’t need to change any of their existing systems to procure and implement the LegalMation solution. All that was necessary was a change in process around assigning certain lawsuits to include drafts created by LegalMation.

Although Walmart was the first company to publicly announce a partnership with LegalMation, but Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart soon joined the ranks to partner with the company to leverage its AI-powered legal solution as well.

James Lee, LegalMation’s CEO sympathizes with lawyers who spend hours doing tasks his AI solution can automate. “They didn’t go to law school to write discovery requests,” Lee said. “That’s one of the most unpleasing parts of the job. I’m glad we’re able to use AI to start doing a lot of that work.”