- An intelligent legal services platform will free lawyers from repetitive tasks so they can focus on delivering greater value to clients
- Using machine learning, the platform will analyse past cases to support project scoping, contracting and onboarding
- The initiative will help transform service delivery at Harper James, driving digital change and accelerating a shift to innovative pricing models.
Aston University’s digital transformation experts are partnering with Birmingham-based commercial law firm Harper James to develop an intelligent legal services platform, powered by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), that will reshape how lawyers deliver services.
Through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), the three-year project will involve specialist expertise in data science and AI to create new technologies for Harper James. The law firm, which specialises in supporting SMEs, will use the system to enable its commercial lawyers to speed up work by automating processes like project scoping, proposals contracting and client onboarding.
The project will apply and extend the latest research on GenAI to develop novel AI models to analyse and learn from legal services data. The intelligent platform will be capable of tracking and learning from past cases to assist with forecasting the range of outcomes and potential legal procedures involved in future projects.
Harper James aims to differentiate itself in the UK legal sector through the way it delivers legal services and its subscription model. To further enhance its services, deliver more value to clients and maximise internal efficiencies, the firm is transitioning from a traditional billable-hour pricing model to a new value-based pricing model.
With an AI-enabled legal services platform, the KTP will create efficiencies that allow this transition, supporting the law firm to adapt and grow in a rapidly evolving sector.
Toby Harper, founder and CEO of Harper James, said: “The innovation developed through this project with Aston University is a fundamental pillar that will set us apart from the rest of the legal services sector. It will allow our lawyers to focus on delivering exceptional value to clients, who will receive advice and support faster, more efficiently, and with even greater pricing transparency.
Professor Abdul Sadka, director of The Sir Peter Rigby Digital Futures Institute at Aston University, said:
“KTPs like this form a very important part of our contribution to society as academics. By working in partnership, we can extend our specialist knowledge and expertise while being a solution provider to ambitious businesses like Harper James, enabling them to overcome digital challenges faced along their growth and innovation journeys.”
Developing this level of innovation will draw on the research team’s expertise in the latest AI technologies, including natural language processing, federated learning and predictive analytics.
The project brings together Aston University experts from across two of its academic centres, The Sir Peter Rigby Digital Futures Institute and the Aston Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application. Established at the intersection between engineering, health and social sciences, The Sir Peter Rigby Digital Futures Institute’s goal is to advance digital transformation through collaborative projects that deliver economic and social benefits for Birmingham, the West Midlands and beyond.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, funded by Innovate UK, are collaborations between a business, a university and a highly qualified research associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector-leading KTP provider, ranked first for project quality, and joint first for the volume of active projects.
For more information on the KTP visit the webpage.