Rajah & Tann implements AI to enhance legal workflows

Rajah & Tann, one of Singapore’s largest law firm is implementing artificial intelligence to enhance legal workflows.

It has collaborated with Microsoft to integrate Copilot into its daily operations to "significantly" reduce the time it takes for lawyers to issue minutes, draft pleadings, and process large data loads.

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP's head for technology media and telecoms law practice, Rajesh Sreenivasan said it was important for the firm to deploy AI tools in time consuming tasks and change the way lawyers tackle the massive amounts of data.

Founded in 1976, the firm is one of the Big Four law firms in Singapore, with its operations stretching across 10 countries including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Rajah & Tann found itself under mounting pressure to oversee a growing number of cases, while delivering support at the same speed and level of quality.

The company looked for solutions to help its lawyers streamline tasks involved in collating legal pleading submissions. It wanted a tool that can seamlessly integrate with its existing IT ecosystem, accurately process legal information, improve decision making, reduce errors, and enhance workflow efficiency in a regulated environment.

It decided to adopt and deploy Microsoft’s AI-powered productivity tool - Copilot for the desired outcomes.

AI journey

Rajah & Tann contracted Crayon, a managed services provider to help guide it through its AI adoption journey.

To ensure a smooth deployment, Crayon implemented a two-step approach that included strategies for both technical readiness and adoption.

Sreenivasan said the company was initially prepared for Microsoft's licensing construct, upgrading from its existing CSP license to an enterprise agreement.

After careful assessment on different use cases and potential pain points within the organisation, he added that Crayon introduced Copilot to lawyers and educated them on Microsoft’s security suite to customise future modules.

Since deploying AI into its lawyers’ daily workflows, the company has seen drop in the amount of time it takes to complete administrative tasks.

"Using Copilot in Microsoft Teams, meeting minutes are issued in two to three hours, as opposed to one to two days," Sreenivasan said.

It has helped them to focus on legal analysis, develop actionable strategies and solutions that directly address their clients’ core concerns.