Podcast Summary: The Geek In Review – vLex’s Autumn ’24 Update: Show and Tell with Ed Walters

Release Date: September 12, 2024

Hosts: Greg Lambert & Marlene Gebauer
Guest: Ed Walters, vLex

Introduction

In the September 12, 2024 episode of The Geek In Review, hosts Greg Lambert and Marlene Gebauer delve into the latest advancements in the legal technology landscape with special guest Ed Walters from vLex. The episode, titled "vLex’s Autumn ’24 Update: Show and Tell with Ed Walters," provides an in-depth exploration of vLex’s significant platform upgrades aimed at enhancing innovation and creativity within the legal profession.

vLex’s Autumn 2024 Release Overview

Transition to a Comprehensive Platform

Ed Walters begins by outlining the transformative changes in the Autumn 2024 release of vLex. "The autumn 2024 release is really more a platform. It is not just research tasks. There's drafting tasks, there's transactional tasks. You'll see all kinds of cool redlining tools," says Ed [01:04]. This shift marks vLex’s evolution from a premier research tool to a multifaceted platform supporting various legal workflows.

New Workflows and Features

Ed emphasizes that the new release significantly expands the range of functionalities available to legal professionals. "It is now a platform for all kinds of legal work. Analyzing red lines, doing transactional documents, putting together closing buyers, doing research," he explains [32:25]. These enhancements aim to integrate seamlessly into the daily processes of lawyers, offering tools that support drafting, contract analysis, and transactional tasks.

Prompt Assist and Multi-Turn Conversations

Comparison to Perplexity

Greg Lambert draws a parallel between vLex’s new prompt assist feature and tools like Perplexity, highlighting their mutual ability to handle complex queries. "Is it similar to what users see in a tool like Perplexity?" Greg asks [02:51]. Ed confirms, stating, "Exactly. And I think like Perplexity, it will show the hypothesis, it will show what we think you're asked and it will ask follow up questions" [02:51]. This feature enhances user interaction by providing clarifying questions to ensure accurate responses.

Emphasis on Transparency and Auditability

Ed underscores the platform's commitment to ethical AI by ensuring transparency and accountability. "The hallmark of that, as you've heard me say before, is really transparency, auditability, accountability," he asserts [04:28]. This approach allows users to understand and verify the AI's decision-making process, fostering trust and reliability in the tool.

Defining Workflow Tools in the Legal Context

Difference Between Research and Workflow Tools

Greg seeks clarification on the term "workflow tools" within vLex’s offerings. "When you say workflow, what are you meaning when it comes to what Vincent is doing here?" he asks [04:28]. Ed responds by differentiating workflow tools from traditional research tools: "The workflow tools start the process so that lawyers are information professionals, are like in the process of doing what they're doing, not outside that process" [05:05]. This integration ensures that legal professionals can perform their tasks more efficiently without having to switch between disparate systems.

Detailed Look at New Workflow Tools

Contract Analysis and Redlining

Ed highlights the introduction of advanced contract analysis and redlining tools. "Now when you are working on a contract, you can analyze red lines, you can analyze the contract itself, you can put together elements of the closing buyer when the contract is done," he explains [06:50]. These tools streamline the review and modification of contractual documents, saving valuable time and reducing the potential for errors.

Native 50 State Survey

One of the standout features is the native 50 state survey tool. "The Autumn 24 release also includes multi turn questions... we can get back the answer in a table that summarizes what in 10 minutes all of the law for all 50 states," Ed elaborates [11:14]. This tool automates the complex process of gathering and summarizing legal information across multiple jurisdictions, a task that previously required extensive manual effort.

Multi-Document Collections

Ed introduces the concept of multi-document collections, which allows teams to manage and collaborate on extensive sets of documents efficiently. "With collections, instead of each person like individually uploading all of those documents, you can create like a secure repo for those documents in business AI and then control who in your team has access to it," he states [16:25]. This feature enhances collaboration and ensures that all team members are working with the most up-to-date information.

Addressing AI Challenges

Preventing AI Hallucination

A critical concern in AI-driven tools is the potential for incorrect or fabricated information, known as hallucination. Addressing this, Ed explains, "If the confidence score is not very, very high, it's instructed to say I don't know, not to create an answer or give a low confidence answer" [13:08]. This safeguard ensures that users receive reliable information and can trust the outputs provided by the platform.

Document Linking and Audit Trails

Ed demonstrates how the platform links responses back to specific sections of documents, enhancing the auditability of AI-generated insights. "For every one of these obligations, we are setting back chapter reverse what section of the asset purchase agreement that obligation derives from," he shows [15:09]. This feature provides a clear trail of where information originates, facilitating verification and further analysis.

Globalization and Multilingual Support

Support for Multiple Jurisdictions and Languages

vLex's Autumn 2024 release significantly expands its global footprint. Ed states, "You can query them in any language... It doesn't really matter what language it's in. So I can search the French database in English, I will get authorities in French, summarize in English with an answer in English" [09:29]. This multilingual capability allows legal professionals to conduct research across various jurisdictions without language barriers, making the platform invaluable for global law firms.

Unique Global Platform

Ed asserts the uniqueness of vLex’s global platform: "I think Vincent is the only kind of global platform where the laws of many different countries are available in a single platform, which for global law firms is very powerful" [10:03]. This consolidated access to international legal databases positions vLex as a leader in providing comprehensive legal research tools.

Integration with Docket Alarm and Vita Skills

Enhanced Litigator Insights

The integration with Docket Alarm introduces Vita Skills, which leverage vLex’s extensive docket database to provide deep insights into litigation strategies and behaviors. Ed explains, "These Vita skills... allow, you know, individual lawyers or information professionals, law librarians, to create their own queries, their own research tasks that will search across everything and then return these just kind of amazing insights" [18:54]. This feature empowers legal teams with data-driven insights to inform their litigation approaches.

Superior Data Structuring

Ed highlights the decade-long investment in data structuring: "Because of the size of that database and because we have invested probably at this point a decade in structuring all of that data using Sally tags, we are able to derive these really interesting AI insights" [19:37]. This meticulous data preparation ensures that the AI can generate accurate and meaningful insights.

Expanded Use Cases Beyond Research

Marketing and Recruiting Applications

Greg suggests potential uses of vLex’s tools beyond traditional legal research, such as in marketing and recruiting. "I could also see our recruiting team looking at this as well to find experts in the field," he proposes [19:37]. Ed agrees, expanding on the versatility of the platform: "We are now sort of serving the top of the market and in size and the smallest law firms and kind of, you know, converging on the middle market as well" [32:25]. This broad applicability makes vLex a valuable tool across various departments within law firms.

Expert Witnesses and Client Services

Ed discusses how vLex enables the creation of specialized services like expert witness identification and client-specific insights: "This is document warrant that allows you to do all of them, look all of them in place over a bigger document set than anyone's got" [21:15]. By automating and enhancing these processes, vLex helps firms offer more comprehensive and tailored services to their clients.

Performance Enhancements

Faster Processing Times

The Autumn 2024 update significantly improves the speed of data processing and response generation. Ed mentions, "The responses are much faster... this would take, I don't know, the person, year or something. It's 50 different tasks behind the scenes... it will create a summary table that shows all the answer in about 10 minutes" [21:21]. This acceleration transforms what was once a time-consuming task into a quick, near-instantaneous process, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

Handling Large-Scale Tasks

Ed showcases the platform's ability to handle large-scale inquiries, such as 50 state surveys, efficiently and accurately. "But critically, if we're asking something on the frontier and there's no good answer, it will actually say for some jurisdictions, you know, there's not really anything here. It won't invent something or hallucinate," he assures [22:44]. This reliability is crucial for maintaining the integrity of legal research and reporting.

Use Case Scenarios and Client Benefits

Streamlining Client Services

Ed elaborates on how vLex’s tools can revolutionize client services by automating routine yet complex tasks. "If you have a tool that does that kind of grunt work for you, that sort of takes care of that behind the scenes, that creates like a new kind of product that your firm can offer to clients," he explains [24:00]. This not only enhances the value provided to clients but also allows law firms to offer competitive and innovative services without incurring significant additional costs.

Global Compliance and Monitoring

For multinational clients, the ability to monitor and comply with laws across various jurisdictions is paramount. Ed states, "Exxon also has operations in France and Portugal and Brazil. So this now allows, I think maybe a mid sized firm to have like a global footprint for the first time" [25:42]. This global compliance capability is a significant advantage for firms serving large, international clients.

Prompt Assist Follow-ups and User Guidance

Multi-Turn Conversations Capability

Greg inquires about the limitations and best practices for using multi-turn conversations within the platform. "Is there a limit on the number of follow ups that you can do?" he asks [25:52]. Ed admits uncertainty about specific limits but emphasizes the platform’s flexibility: "We are not going to have like a hard limit, but you probably could have if you were trying to push it to do something screwy" [26:41]. He advises users to utilize this feature responsibly to maximize its utility without overcomplicating interactions.

Guidance on Effective Use

While the platform offers extensive capabilities, Ed acknowledges the potential for misuse. "The risk of multi turn conversations is that if you really wanted to, you know, try to, to break this... you probably could," he cautions [27:33]. He stresses the importance of using the tool to enhance productivity and maintain focus on relevant legal tasks.

Future Directions and Closing Remarks

Platform Evolution and Market Positioning

In his concluding remarks, Ed Walters emphasizes that the Autumn 2024 release transforms vLex into a comprehensive legal platform. "This is really not the addition of a couple of more workflow tools. This is the first time Vidson is really a platform," he states [32:25]. He highlights the platform’s superior global capabilities and rapid adoption by both large and small law firms, reinforcing vLex’s position as a leader in legal technology innovation.

Availability and Contact Information

Ed assures listeners that the new features are already in use and encourages them to explore further: "You can go to vlex.com forward/vincent and you'll see all the information about this AI there maybe in the show notes" [36:18]. He emphasizes that vLex is committed to continuous improvement and supporting its clients with cutting-edge tools.

Conclusion

The The Geek In Review episode featuring Ed Walters from vLex provides a comprehensive overview of the Autumn 2024 updates, showcasing significant advancements that position vLex as a leading platform in legal technology. From enhanced workflow tools and multilingual support to robust AI features ensuring transparency and reliability, vLex's latest release empowers legal professionals to work more efficiently and offer superior services to their clients.

Notable Quotes:

• Ed Walters [01:04]: "The autumn 2024 release is really more a platform. It is not just research tasks."
• Greg Lambert [02:51]: "Is it similar to what users see in a tool like Perplexity?"
• Ed Walters [13:08]: "If the confidence score is not very, very high, it's instructed to say I don't know, not to create an answer."
• Greg Lambert [25:52]: "Is there a limit on the number of follow ups that you can do?"
• Ed Walters [32:25]: "This is the first time Vidson is really a platform."

For more information, listeners are encouraged to visit vlex.com/forward/vincent.