The Case for A.I. in Building Persuasive Arguments

Chad recognizes the need to stay ahead of the curve in adopting new legal technology. When he first heard of ROSS Intelligence, he immediately understood the benefits that machine learning could bring to legal research.

“ROSS provides a new, necessary baseline that every lawyer will ultimately come to rely on. You can’t just keep doing the same things you’ve done for years. Artificial intelligence helps you build persuasive arguments more quickly and efficiently. Presenting favorable arguments grounded in the most relevant law should win the day. Appeals are time consuming and expensive for clients, so nailing winning arguments the first time is paramount.”

But finding the right law on traditional platforms can quickly become inefficient. “At a certain point, you need to know whether investing more hours will improve the quality of work. I want to save my clients administrative costs associated with their bankruptcy so they can put that money back into their company. But I also want to win for them. I can only do that successfully by staying lean. ROSS helps me focus my research more quickly, gives me better information about when my research is complete and helps me win in court while staying on budget.”

Harnessing A.I. to Grow a Practice

Over the past several years, growth in client demand at the Van Horn Law Group has threatened to outpace the firm’s capacity to take on new work. Chad needed to find a solution that would buy his firm back more hours in the day while ensuring the high quality of service that his clients had come to expect.

“That’s what sets us apart from the bigger law firm model, we can’t bill millions of dollars in administrative fees. We don’t have the capacity.”

As a firm doing a significant amount of flat fee work, finding a tool that helps increase certainty while reducing research time is critical. “ROSS definitely saves my time and lets me concentrate more on investigating the facts and putting together a case. It also lets me focus more on client service and counseling. At the same time, I’m more confident in my arguments. I’ve conducted the researched myself with with AI behind me rather than rely on a clerk or associate. I know that no stone has been left unturned. I just have to apply the facts to the law at that point.”

In addition to growing his paid practice, Chad has found more time to help unrepresented parties and his community. “The time I’ve saved on research and writing using ROSS has allowed me to dedicate more time to the pro bono space and local organizations.”

Chad’s commitment to the public has been widely recognized. In recent years he has been voted Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the Legal Aid Service of Broward County and Florida Big Brother of the Year by Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Chad attributes his ability to focus on community service in part on his adoption of ROSS.

Conclusion

Chad recommends ROSS. “I recommend it to other lawyers because this is going to be the baseline moving forward. If lawyers aren’t using technology like this their client will suffer.

Using technology to build community.

“You obviously can’t guarantee what’s going to happen in any case, but whether you’re advising an entrepreneur in a transaction or a parent in a family law matter, you can give the client confidence that she fully understands how the law should work in her situation.”

Jonathan’s interest in technology isn’t limited to building his law practice. He uses his active Twitter account to build and strengthen communities in Stillwater. “I work with a lot of young professionals in Stillwater through Rotary and other organizations. I’m always looking for ways to help people work together, whether it's entrepreneurs, people developing technology on the Oklahoma State campus or local activists improving the city. Technology isn’t an end in itself, it provides tools to bring people together and leverage their strengths.”