An in-house lawyer can ask the Lexis+ AI platform to draft a cease and desist letter to a third party who's infringing on their company’s trademarks.

The generative AI technology will produce a first draft of the letter, as well as the precedent-related material and other reference documents that would assist the attorney with fine-tuning the letter.

The lawyer could also request Lexis+ AI make the letter more aggressive in tone, and it will quickly update the draft to include language in that vein.

The cease and desist letter example is one of several key ways in-house counsel can utilize LexisNexis technology powered by the latest AI to help them manage increasing workloads with finite resources, said Jeff Pfeifer, chief product officer for LexisNexis North America and UK.

The company also recently unveiled Lexis Connect, a legal intake and matter management workflow solution for corporate legal departments that it worked with Microsoft to develop.

“We’re experiencing an unprecedented period of technology developments for in-house counsel to use,” Pfeifer told Legal Dive. “Our work with generative AI and development of Lexis Connect in Microsoft Teams is about improving the efficiency of in-house counsel workflows in the face of ever-increasing productivity expectations.”

Conversational search

In addition to its drafting capabilities, Lexis+ AI also includes a conversational search functionality, Pfeifer said.

For example, an in-house lawyer working on a litigation matter could use the Ask Lexis+ AI feature to outline the benefits of moving state civil cases to federal court in New York. 

The technology responds by noting there are several benefits for that type of legal maneuver and highlights the most significant upsides.

The attorney could also request that the technology summarize the case law for removing New York civil cases to federal court.

Lexis+ AI responds that such cases can be removed if they fall under federal jurisdiction. The platform highlights, however, that certain requirements and limitations apply and it lists what those mandates/limitations include.

The technology also lists the relevant case law and statutes, which are pulled from underlying LexisNexis content.

“Something that we've heard a lot about from in-house counsel is that they're looking for a very concise representation of a legal answer, and that's what we see here,” Pfeifer said.

Handling inbound requests

Meanwhile, Lexis Connect was developed in partnership with Microsoft’s in-house legal team and is designed to help legal departments manage requests for assistance.

The platform, which is integrated within Microsoft Teams rather than being web browser-based, features a conversational AI tool called “Ask Legal.”

The technology can determine whether a question posed by a business professional can be answered by a policy document and provided to the requester without a member of the legal department being involved.

For example, the Ask Legal function could answer whether a business user needs to execute a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before having a conversation with an outside party about a potentially sensitive topic.

“We get active, usable information back in the hands of the end user as quickly as possible, thereby deflecting some inbound inquiries to the legal department,” Pfeifer said. “And then those [inquiries] that do go to the legal department are really substantive and are ones that require legal management and oversight.”

Additionally, if a business user is not satisfied with the initial response provided by the Ask Legal feature, they can request that an in-house lawyer follow-up directly with them. The application will then assign an attorney for follow-up, Pfeifer said.

Product rollout plans

Lexis Connect is currently being used by LexisNexis’ legal department and Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) team.

LexisNexis is looking for additional legal departments interested in testing out the product, Pfeifer said, and the company plans to make the technology more widely available in the fall.

As for Lexis+ AI, the company plans to make it widely available for in-house counsel and other legal customers late this summer.

“We’re thrilled to bring this transformative technology to customers,” said Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional, in a press release