Leading New Zealand law firm with a reputation for innovation and early adoption of legal technology, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, has launched its first in-house gen-AI based chatbot, named AIME. 

In an era where technology continues to reshape the legal landscape, the firm prides itself as being at the forefront of embracing technology solutions to streamline its operations and better serve its clients.

Leveraging the power of Azure, AIME has been configured by the firm’s in-house technology team and is currently being trialled by partners and staff, for use, initially for administrative tasks. The robust testing is allowing people to feel comfortable and develop trust in gen-AI, while also identifying the opportunities it presents and understanding and mitigating any risks.

Contained within the Microsoft Teams environment, AIME has the layers of security applied to this platform, ensuring that internal data entered into AIME remains protected and secure, and adheres to privacy laws.

Technology Partner, NZTech Board Member and Chair of the AI Forum’s working group on gen-AI strategy, Tom Maasland, has been deeply involved in the roll out of AIME.

“Gen-AI has the potential to disrupt many industries – and the legal industry is firmly, and some would say high up, on that list. MinterEllisonRuddWatts has a strong culture of innovation, and we are constantly seeking ways to better serve our clients – and gen-AI will form a key part of that service. The launch of AIME, is just one of the many ways we are working to make providing legal advice more efficient.”

Chief Information Officer, Nigel Stevenson, has a keen focus on the future of gen-AI, and in finding ways to keep the firm at the forefront of opportunities.

"AIME represents another major milestone in our firm’s technology innovation journey. Our team has worked to ensure that this AI-powered chatbot integrates seamlessly with our firm’s operations and systems, providing a more efficient experience for partners and staff, while maintaining our high levels of security and confidentiality,” says Nigel Stevenson.

“We are looking forward to analysing the results of our trial and sharing the lessons with clients.”

MinterEllisonRuddWatts has a proven track record as a market-leader in the legal technology space, developing commercial offerings such as its own fully customisable and Obligations Management system, Document Automation system, as well as being the New Zealand reseller of an award-winning online compliance training solution in New Zealand and Australia, Safetrac. In 2019, the firm was New Zealand’s first law firm to establish a joint venture to create an AI / legaltech company, McCarthyFinch – the country’s pioneering AI-innovator, developing legally-focused artificial intelligence solutions for the global market.

McCarthyFinch’s first product, authorDOCS™, was released to the market in late 2019 and designed as an AI-backed add-in for Microsoft Word to enhance the review and drafting of contracts. The firm exited its start-up McCarthyFinch in late 2020 to Onit, a leading provider of enterprise workflow solutions including enterprise legal management, contract lifecycle management and workflow automation.