Brinks leverages CoCounsel to streamline legal workflows, reduce outside counsel spend, and enhance global legal operations
Brinks, a global leader in secure logistics and security solutions, operates across 54 countries with a diverse legal footprint. For Hal Snedden, VP of Global Privacy and Cybersecurity Counsel, the challenge was clear: how could Brinks harness AI to elevate legal productivity and reduce costs?
“I joined Brinks in 2023, and the AI craze started not long after,” Snedden recalls. “We asked ourselves, how can AI benefit us at Brinks?”
The legal team identified six core use cases for AI:
- Compliance presentations
- Contract creation
- Redlining
- Negotiation
- Legal research
- Drafting memoranda
They evaluated multiple AI tools — both legal-specific and general purpose — against criteria such as relevance, efficiency, and user experience.
“We found that CoCounsel really met all of those use cases, from a relevance standpoint, an efficiency standpoint, and a user-friendliness standpoint,” Snedden says.
Quantifiable impact across global legal operations
Brinks’ evaluation focused on measurable outcomes. Could CoCounsel reduce the hours it was spending on legal tasks? Could it lower outside counsel costs? The answer was a resounding yes.
“With AI, you’re able to get the law at your fingertips,” Snedden explains. “You’re able to do more in terms of legal research and negotiation points. Something that might have taken several days of research can now be accomplished much quicker.”
The time savings translated directly into cost savings. Tasks that previously required external legal support could now be handled in-house, with CoCounsel acting as a virtual legal assistant.
“Some of the work that AI can do is at the level of an associate at a law firm. You’ll find that you’ll save outside counsel costs,” Snedden notes.
Strategic enablement and competitive advantage
Beyond efficiency, CoCounsel gave Brinks a strategic edge in negotiations and internal collaboration.
Snedden says, “If you’re in-house counsel and you have an AI tool like CoCounsel, you have a competitive advantage. Whether you’re negotiating contracts or working with internal functions, AI gives you answers quicker — especially with deep research features.”
This speed enables Brinks’ legal team to support more deals, improve their work-life balance, and focus on strategic initiatives.
“That’s hours of time you could spend being more strategic, on multiple deals, or having a better work-life balance,” Snedden adds.
Global readiness and a trusted partnership
Operating in 54 countries, Brinks required a solution that could adapt to diverse legal systems and languages. CoCounsel delivered.
“Thomson Reuters met us where we were,” Snedden says. “They gave us resources to help us understand the technology and met with all our global legal attorneys. CoCounsel handled prompts in Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages really well.”
Looking ahead, Snedden is excited about the future of AI and its role in legal innovation.
