Madrid annual report
Uría Menéndez adapting AI to review contracts
and do due diligence in Spanish
Firm also plans to roll out the system to cover other languages, such as Portuguese, after signing
contracts with two software companies
Santiago Gómez Sancha
Uría Menéndez is adapting artificial
intelligence (AI) systems to aid the
process of reviewing contracts and
conducting due diligence in Spanish.
Earlier this year, the firm announced it
had signed contracts with two software
companies – Luminance and RAVN
System – to implement AI systems that
would help make time-consuming tasks
more efficient.
“Everybody is very interested in
what’s going on,” says Santiago Gómez
Sancha, the firm’s systems director,
who is overseeing the adoption of the
new software. He continues: “With
any technology, if you are the first to
implement it and pass the benefit to
the client, then you have a competitive
advantage. When we decide to go with
some new technology, we bet on it in
order to gain an advantage. Today, any
technological advantage is normally
short-lived, but while you have it, it’s
important to use it.
The firm is currently addressing the
relevant data protection issues and
teaching the platform to understand
Spanish legal documents.
Gómez Sancha says: “They are now
building and teaching the system and
feeding it with Spanish samples,” he
says. “We expect that, after the summer,
we should have a comprehensive
Spanish platform.” The firm will then
roll out the system to cover other
languages, such as Portuguese, and
then “make it learn the differences and
subtleties of Spanish legal language in
Latin America”.
Gómez Sancha says that, once the
system is operational, it will free up
more time for lawyers rather than
threaten their livelihoods. “If we begin
to reduce those more cumbersome
activities fast, then we will be able
to offer our lawyers more interesting
activities,” he says. “Then we will have
a workforce that is happier and able
to do more value-added legal work
and business development, as well as
spending more time with clients. We
believe we can then win more business.”
Rise in foreign investment and growing tech sector
fuelling law firm optimism
Cristina Hernández Lería
Growth in foreign investment and
domestic M&A, as well as the growth
in demand for legal services from new
technology clients – such as Uber and
Airbnb – means the outlook for law
firms in Madrid is positive. However,
despite the increase in market confidence,
lawyers warn that firms cannot be too
complacent, particularly with regards to
retaining staff and keeping clients.
“It is essential [for law firms] to treat
lawyers and administrative staff well,
otherwise they will have a look at what’s
going on in the market and find many
more opportunities than two or three
years ago,” says Cristina Hernández
Lería, a corporate partner at Lener. “Only
if professionals feel that they are not
merely company resources, but instead
form part of a project, with their financial
needs covered, while also being able to
reconcile