Lexis Draft [SMART 100, 2016]

This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

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1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation initially came to life when…

Following extensive research we were able to clearly define an area of hurt for modern legal practitioners e.g. 52% of legal practitioners admit to or know someone who admits to skipping proofreading and checking activities due to time and workload pressures [2014 Lexis Nexis Research]. In response we designed and built a toolkit for modern lawyers when drafting. It included analytical and search software by Lexis Nexis and also integrating global best-in-breed software. Further customer validation throughout the build process confirmed the functionality would allow them to ‘Focus on important tasks’ [93%] and ‘Improve accuracy and reduce risk’ [91%].

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Lexis Draft is a ribbon in MS Word and Outlook that enables a practitioner to undertake:
Legal editing and proofreading
Editorial review
Analytical and legal research validation
Access precedent and deeper research libraries
Collaboration and information exchange tools.

It does this by…

Lexis Draft evaluates documents and shows findings in the form of either track changes or through a ‘right hand pane’. It analyses and validates references against 4 significant databases [cases, legislation, companies and legal definitions]. Identifies editing mistakes or proofreading errors for correction, and analyses individual sentences and recommends how each sentence could be written more ‘clear and concise’.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

No solution like this has been available to legal practitioners. This is an evolutionary step in the way technology and innovation assists the modern lawyer to be their best and deliver quality documents in a fraction of the time. This innovation brings together a range of functions useful in a way that has not been done globally.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

Allows the lawyer to focus on important tasks
Improve quality of their document [accuracy, consistency and completeness] and reduces risk that a case or legislation referenced is out of date or has been over-ruled.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

An individual reviewing manually, identifying each entry [case or legislation reference] and checking against external databases. Proofreading by hand. Products such as MS Office offer some useful features however not to the sophistication of checking if sentences are clear and concise or if inconsistent uses of a phrases in different parts of the document or reference or numbering is correct.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

The human eye and hand. Basic functions in MS Office and some individual software overseas however not to the breadth or sophistication of this toolkit.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

All legal practitioners who draft documents as part of their day. Research showed 85% of legal practitioners do 2+ hours of drafting activity every day [2014 Lexis Nexis Drafting Research]
There are some features more heavily suited to some segments e.g. the case and legislation validation area is more suited to Barristers or Litigators as they reference more broadly and deeply than other lawyers.
The proofreading, readability and other functionality around search and PDF converter are more broad spectrum for drafting activity in general (and we know have been applied to other categories such as marketing teams to check documents).

It is available for sale through…

On sale via a Lexis Nexis relationship manager (core sales team) only [at this time].

Our marketing strategy is to…

Promotions and social media to raise awareness to the relatively unconscious need that ‘there is a better way’ and not to compromise legal documents. Provide tools for evaluation such as demos, webinar’s, trial options, also a ROI calculator http://www.lexisnexis.com.au/drafting/roi-calculator.html
To promote directly to the decision cycle in firms with messaging for their decisions (Managing Partner vs IT vs Knowledge Manager).

FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.