Damien Riehl of vLex is an attorney and technologist (and musician). He discusses how AI is changing the legal profession and why the billable hour model no longer makes sense. Damien explains how large language models like Vincent AI can do legal research exponentially faster than humans, completing tasks in minutes rather than hours. This presents challenges to the traditional billable hour model that has dominated big law firms. Damien argues lawyers need to move towards alternative fee structures like flat fees and subscriptions.
Damien predicts the demise of the traditional Cravath model of law firms built on armies of associates billing hours. With AI, partners don't need as many associates anymore. Damien advises lawyers to specialize and provide expertise the machines can't, like counseling clients. He agrees that solo law practices can leverage AI to serve the latent legal market of small businesses through fractional general counsel services, and that economic forces will drive adoption of alternative fee models as early adopters gain market share. The lawyers who first move to alternative fee structures will remain competitive as legal AI proliferates.
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(57) The Benefits of Being First to Subscription Billing using AI with Damien Riehl of vLex