Global News
Thomson Reuters, a global content and technology company, is introducing deeper integration of CoCounsel into Westlaw and Practical Law as well as launching two new features. These enhancements build on the company’s vision to deliver a comprehensive GenAI assistant for every professional it serves.
Customers will experience a more seamless workflow within CoCounsel 2.0, the professional-grade GenAI assistant, across legal research products, including CoCounsel Core. The deeper integrations, available in late October, will further a user-centric experience throughout the Thomson Reuters legal solutions portfolio.
This enhanced integration will improve ease of use in two ways: first, the full CoCounsel AI assistant will be available in the user interface of Westlaw and Practical Law, enabling users to be able to use CoCounsel Core skills seamlessly; secondly, users will soon be able to create an on-page analysis of Westlaw and Practical Law content with CoCounsel.
“Leveraging the latest technology plus our best-in-class content, we are continuing to strengthen our legal research solutions and build on delivering one GenAI assistant for professionals and deliver a cohesive, unfragmented user experience,” said Mike Dahn, head of Westlaw Product Management, Thomson Reuters. “We’re harnessing our data, expertise, and technology to empower customers to drive efficiencies and strengthen productivity through the power of generative AI and deliver on our CoCounsel vision of accelerating and streamlining workflows.”
New Features in Westlaw
Two new GenAI research features, Mischaracterization Identification and AI Jurisdictional Surveys, will help customers save substantial time and deliver greater confidence that legal research is accurate, thorough, and complete.
Mischaracterization Identification is a new generative AI capability to help detect mischaracterizations and omissions in legal briefs. Customers can upload a brief to Westlaw Precision with Cocounsel and see where opposing counsel has mischaracterized the law, and judges using this feature will be able to see where all litigants may have mischaracterized the law in their filings.
“I often find that opposing counsel has miscited or overstated case authority, and when that happens, we can use it to great advantage with the court. This tool would save tons of time in finding those opportunities,” said Scott Matney, general counsel, FPS Inc.
“This enhancement [Mischaracterization Identification] is one of the most innovative legal tools available,” said Susan Verbonitz, partner, Weir Greenblatt Pierce. “It not only reduces time spent on the rinse-and-repeat task associated with human research, but it also identifies potential weaknesses in opponent’s arguments.”
AI Jurisdictional Surveys on Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel is a generative AI skill that enables customers to do 50-state-survey research much faster than with traditional methods, saving hours of time. It provides relevant statute language for legal questions for each jurisdiction selected for federal and state jurisdictions and U.S. territories.
“Time is valuable and there is never enough of it. AI Jurisdictional Surveys and the new mischaracterizations enhancement expand our research capabilities while also saving us time and reducing cost,” added Verbonitz.
More Generative AI in Practical Law and Contract Express
Now generally available in the UK, Search & Summarize Practical Law is a generative AI intuitive chat that dramatically improves how customers access trusted expertise and content from Practical Law. Launched in the United States as Ask Practical Law AI, the feature is now called Search & Summarize Practical Law. It quickly provides summarized and synthesized answers grounded in Practical Law know-how, while connecting customers to deeper insights – validated by trusted Practical Law content created and maintained by a team of more than 650 lawyers.
Contract Express has made creating document templates significantly faster by adding the power of generative AI with the know-how of human automation experts. Using AI technology to kickstart the document-creation process, Contract Express enables legal professionals to focus their time on the more complex automation requirements, helping them better support their clients.
Upcoming Product Enhancements
CoCounsel Drafting UK will roll out in November, bringing an end-to-end drafting solution that streamlines and improves the drafting process for legal professionals within Microsoft Word. The UK launch follows the U.S. debut earlier this year.
Additionally, Thomson Reuters is furthering its integration with Microsoft 365 by launching an alpha CoCounsel app in Microsoft Teams. The CoCounsel app will automatically access the needed information from Thomson Reuters solutions and provide the answer directly in Teams. The app, which is slated to be available in late 2024, will access generative AI skills from Westlaw Precision, Practical Law, and CoCounsel Core.
Thomson Reuters leaders will share more at t SYNERGY on the company’s recent enhancements to its legal products, integration efforts, third-party collaborations and product roadmap. SYNERGY, the Thomson Reuters user conference, will be Nov. 11-12 in Orlando for legal professionals.
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