CASE STUDY
Bassford Remele embraces its tech advantage
Jessica Klander and Daniel Olson are seasoned attorneys at Bassford Remele, a Minneapolis law firm that’s been around for well over a century. Klander, a 15-year veteran of the firm, is Chief Operating Officer and Co-chair of the Consumer Finance practice group. Olson, who’s been with Bassford Remele for 13 years, splits his time between employment law and commercial litigation.
Both are dedicated and driven in their practice — and recognize that legal technology from Thomson Reuters has been instrumental in improving their own work, their clients’ satisfaction, and the firm’s overall growth.
Early adopters of leading technology
Bassford Remele offers all the experience of an established practice, but with the energy and drive of a startup. “Although we’ve been around for 140 years, we are a firm that is known for adopting technology early,” says Klander. They want to keep it that way. Using products like Thomson Reuters CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, and Practical Law helps them work more efficiently, attract top talent, and better serve their clients.
The firm is always competing with large national firms for top talent, and Klander is convinced that Bassford Remele’s size and investment in advanced technology is a major draw. “They get the resources and a smaller sized firm, which is a selling point for us,” says Klander.
This tech-forward approach isn’t just attracting talent — it’s also helping to bring in and retain clients. “Being able to market ourselves as a leader in generative AI (GenAI) technology shows that we are keeping abreast with the best and the brightest, and we’re thinking about new and creative ways to service client needs,” says Olson.
Using GenAI responsibly
While the firm initially had concerns about security, they quickly saw that GenAI could be used responsibly and were completely on board.
According to Olson, “I really see the generative AI component of litigation as being the trendsetter in the way that we’re going to practice. To the extent we can be at the forefront of that is good not only for the legal services that we’re providing, but also for our clients.”
The firm quickly put policies in place around the responsible use of AI. Originally, the biggest concern was maintaining confidentiality of their documents and client information. “Being able to explain to people the difference between ChatGPT and the closed-circuit nature of CoCounsel, which maintains all the confidentiality of our documents and our usage was the easiest way for us to combat that concern,” says Olson.
Klander looks at the issue more practically. “AI is going to get used. So you should be offering your staff, your attorneys, and your organization a product that is secure and safe to use — and is going to help your practice tremendously.” She adds, “We want a product that is robust enough for us to use in a way that is also appropriate.”
Time savings and seamless use across products
Olson uses Westlaw Precision primarily for legal research, citing tremendous efficiency gains. He is also a user of CoCounsel. “On any given day, I feel like I save six to eight hours of attorney time.”
Klander, too, has experienced incredible time savings. She uses AI-Assisted Research on Westlaw Precision to jumpstart her research. “You can use a natural language question, and it will get you answers for that particular question within minutes instead of hours.”
She also recalls a particular case with a complex timeline. Klander uploaded the complaint, depositions, and other client documents into CoCounsel. “And within 10 minutes I had a really clean, nice timeline of events that would have taken someone else on my team or myself hours to do.” While she stresses the importance of always checking the work, “It makes my job a lot easier,” she adds.
The seamless flow between Thomson Reuters products adds speed, ease, and consistency to their experience. “It’s all in one platform, and I trust the information,” says Klander. Olson agrees, “Being able to use CoCounsel for a variety of different functionalities really just makes it far more efficient than it otherwise would be.”
Accelerated client support
The productivity gains translate directly into better service for their clients. “The best way to keep a client happy is to be efficient and responsive,” says Klander. CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, and Practical Law play a role in her client-building, as she’s able to turn work around much faster.
Klander explains, “I can get them the answer they need in real time rather than waiting a day or two or three.” It’s useful, especially when she’s on calls with clients and they ask nuanced questions. She can log into CoCounsel and, in many instances, get them the answer they need at the moment. “The reality is that, if you give your client work faster, they send you more in return.”
Olson takes it one step further, explaining there is an expectation from clients that the firm will use the most updated tools. “If we’re going to trial, the expectation is that we’re using trial director or the best technology that’s going to enable us to be effective in the courtroom.” Klander adds, “Clients love our use of AI because it creates efficiencies in our billing and basically decreases the amount of time we’re researching and summarizing information.”
Law technology drives business growth
What’s good for clients is also good for the firm. Klander says,“I think one of the misconceptions I hear from people who are hesitant to take on technology tools, like AI-Assisted Research is that they need to bill that time.” Both Klander and Olson disagree. These tools don’t replace billable hours. Instead, “they enable you to handle more cases,” says Olson.
It pays to be an early adopter of revolutionary technology. For those at Bassford Remele, the investment in Thomson Reuters CoCounsel makes good business sense for all parties, including the firm.
Olson sums up the advantages nicely, “I’ve had conversations with all my clients, at the outset of adopting CoCounsel and Westlaw Precision, that we have AI tools that are going to enable us to do legal services far more efficiently than we’ve done in the past.” He adds, “They see that not only on the individual case bills, but they also see it in the volume of cases that we can handle. We can handle more than we could prior to adopting CoCounsel. And that’s in the best interest of the firm.”
