Stop Picking AI Vendors. Start Picking AI Strategies
When lawyers start looking at AI for contracts, they usually start with 'which vendor is best?' Wrong question. You're actually choosing between four completely different strategies - and the 'best' one depends entirely on your situation, your practice, your timeline and your ambitions.
Your Four Real Options 🛠️
Option 1: Microsoft Copilot The safe choice. Your IT team will approve it, your insurance won't freak out, and partners will stop complaining about security. But in six months, you'll be frustrated by what it can't do. Good starting point, not end game.
Option 2: Legal AI Platforms (Harvey, Spellbook, etc.) The specialized option. These are genuinely better at contract work—they're trained on legal documents and understand contract language nuances that general AI misses.
Option 3: Public AI with Smart Safeguards The low investment choice. Best AI capabilities, lowest cost, and you can start testing today with proper anonymization workflows. If your team can set up data governance protocols, this lets you explore what's possible without major commitment. BUT – you need to think hard about what “proper anonymization” means for you and your practice.
Option 4: Private AI Instance The comprehensive platform. Goes way beyond contracts—your own AI that can handle research, writing, analysis across your entire practice. Unless you're processing 1,000+ contracts monthly, hard to justify for contracts alone, but if you want to transform your whole operation, this is the path.
The Real Differences Between These Approaches
Option 1: Start here if you want IT approval and gradual adoption
Option 2: Worth serious evaluation—talk to lawyers with similar practices who've tested these
Option 3: You can literally start experimenting this afternoon with the right safeguards
Option 4: Think bigger than contracts—this is about transforming your entire practice
Bottom line: Each approach serves different goals. Start with what matches your timeline and ambitions, not just your current contract volume.
My Process: Five Key Questions Before We Talk Solutions ❓
1. How do you do things NOW? What's working well in your current process and where are the biggest pain points?
2. Where do you want to GO with your practice? Are you trying to handle more volume, improve quality, reduce costs, or gain competitive advantage?
3. What brought you to think about AI NOW? Is this driven by client pressure, competitive threats, or internal efficiency needs?
4. What are your biggest concerns and risks? What keeps you up at night about implementing AI and what would failure look like?
5. What do your clients think about this? Are they asking for AI capabilities or would they be skeptical about AI assisting with their work?
I help organizations cut through the vendor noise to find what actually works for their situation. Curious to see how this might work for your practice? I’m happy to help. Email me at adam@lawsnap.com or click here to set up a time for a free consult to start talking through these questions.