Build or Buy?
Legal teams are facing an old dilemma but in a new world.
It's an important question.
Here is what I think:
Broadly, there are two kinds of AI automations:
Core automations: Automating legal work, client touch points, marketing and outreach - the things that make you special. Examples: niche drafting, legal workflows, internal and external facing AI agents.
General automations: AI tools not specific to legal work, which add productivity in any organisation. Examples - note takers, scheduling agents, travel planners, brainstorming bots (example Gemini, GPT, Claude)
Build the first, buy the latter.
Why build yourself?
1. Cost
Building your own legal AI agents isn't as complicated or expensive as you think. AI has made customised software more approachable and affordable to build yourself, in-house or through specialised teams (such as us).
2. Differentiation
For core legal automations, they will differentiate your work from that of others, ensure your quality, your workflows and your approach is reflected, your unique "signature" is present in your work.
In the world we are stepping into - quality and taste matter as much as "getting things done".
Why would you be slotted into using the same generic tools that everyone else uses?
If your AI isn't special, your work is a commodity, undifferentiated in quality, taste or personality.