Troutman Pepper, a national law firm with over 1,200 attorneys, has announced the launch of its AI assistant called Athena. The firm-approved application, powered by ChatGPT, aims to revolutionize legal workflows by harnessing the power of generative AI. Within the first 24 hours of its release, Athena was engaged in nearly 300 conversations by more than 125 different users from all of the firm’s practice and administrative departments.
Troutman Pepper’s Generative AI Task Force collaborated with Microsoft to leverage OpenAI’s large language model (LLM), which is hosted in the firm’s private cloud. Athena utilizes advanced extensions of the LLM through system prompts, resulting in more accurate and targeted outcomes. The platform was developed in partnership with Framework Consulting, an award-winning AI development group that Troutman Pepper has been working closely with over the past few years. The platform was thoroughly tested and received feedback from early adopters before its firmwide release.
According to the Chief Innovation Officer of Troutman Pepper and lead of the Generative AI Task Force, the launch of Athena represents the firm’s commitment to exploring and adopting generative AI and large language models. Streamlining internal processes is crucial for delivering more value to clients, and the pilot phase of Athena showed incredible results in terms of enhancing overall user and client experiences. The firm plans to expand the use of this AI solution across the entire organization.
Troutman Pepper prioritized the safety, security, and ethical use of generative AI throughout the development of Athena. The Task Force collaborated with the Office of General Counsel and Information Security teams to ensure responsible research and implementation. While Athena is available to everyone at the firm, mandatory ethics training is required to ensure that the risks, benefits, and ethical responsibilities associated with the technology are well-understood.
To educate attorneys and staff on the practical application of generative AI to real-world legal issues, the Task Force developed an educational series in collaboration with an award-winning strategist and law professor. The series aims to provide a hands-on understanding of the benefits and implications of using generative AI.
The Marketing department at Troutman Pepper has already been utilizing Athena to draft marketing materials, such as press releases, social media captions, and attorney bios. The results have been impressive, allowing the team to efficiently meet the needs of attorneys and clients.
Looking ahead, Athena has been approved to assist with legal work in accordance with the firm’s and clients’ policies and procedures regarding the use of generative AI. The Task Force is actively working on developing other generative AI solutions for both internal and client use. They are also exploring the integration of powerful generative AI capabilities into existing applications like Relativity, Kira, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
Troutman Pepper’s Generative AI Task Force was established to ensure the firm and its clients can effectively and safely utilize disruptive tools and technologies. With Athena’s launch, the firm takes a significant step towards transforming legal workflows and enhancing client experiences with the power of generative AI.
