In an industry traditionally resistant to change, one Philadelphia-based law firm has emerged as a pioneer in the adoption of generative AI (GenAI). With over 60 years of experience and offices across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, Zarwin Baum demonstrates how strategic GenAI implementation can transform legal practice while maintaining the highest standards of data security and client service.
Through its adoption of the Thomson Reuters CoCounsel suite, the firm has achieved remarkable efficiency gains, improved client relationships, and created a true competitive advantage.
The firm’s generative AI journey
As early adopters of GenAI, the team at Zarwin Baum approached the technology with curiosity, intention, and a forward-looking mindset. “As a firm, we decided to really investigate everything that was out there because we realized that it’s the future of our practice,” says Ross DiBono, a shareholder on the insurance defense team and a member of their technology committee.
The firm’s approach was guided not by hype, but by a recognition of GenAI as the next step in the natural evolution of legal work. “Years ago, attorneys had to go to a law library to do research. Then Westlaw came, and they could do the research from their desk. What they could do in a day, they could do in hours. Now, with generative AI, what used to take hours, we can do in minutes,” DiBono explains. “It doesn’t change the work; it just changes what we have to focus on.”
That thoughtful, pragmatic adoption has already started delivering results.
Onboarding, training, and support
To ensure a smooth rollout, the firm partnered closely with Thomson Reuters for hands-on onboarding and training. A dedicated learning day brought the Thomson Reuters team on-site to work directly with attorneys and staff. “That really was a big help for us. Putting a face behind the tech made a huge difference,” says DiBono
For remote attorneys and those in satellite offices like Lisa Slotkin, Managing Shareholder of the Jersey City office, training was available via Zoom, and support remains ongoing. “Whenever I call or message with a question, I get a very prompt response. The support has been excellent.”
Ted Schaer, Chairman of Litigation at Zarwin Baum, points out that the involvement of Thomson Reuters is just as critical as the tool itself. “It’s great to have a product, but if you don’t have the right team implementing it and backing you up, then you’re wasting your time and money.”
Thomson Reuters — the right technology partner
For the firm, choosing Thomson Reuters wasn’t just about features or support; it was about trust, reputation, and proven reliability. “Thomson Reuters is an established company that has been trusted by the legal industry for decades,” says Schaer. “When you have that kind of track record of competence, consistency, and excellence, it gives you confidence that you’re working with the right partner.”
Security and responsible AI use also played a role in the firm’s decision to choose Thomson Reuters. “When it comes to GenAI, we knew we needed guardrails,” says Mitchell Kaplan, Managing Shareholder. “We’re in the legal industry. Data privacy, security, and the prevention of hallucinations are non-negotiable.” After evaluating several tools, the firm chose CoCounsel for its robust safeguards and closed-system architecture. Schaer adds, “As lawyers, we have strict confidentiality obligations set by our state courts and by our clients. Having worked extensively in cybersecurity myself, I needed to be sure any product we used met those standards. Thomson Reuters delivered on that.”
Integration was another key factor. “The nice thing when we looked at Thomson Reuters was that we could combine CoCounsel with Westlaw and have the drafting in one place,” says Slotkin. The tools also connect with the firm’s document management system, creating a complete, seamless experience. As Schaer puts it, “The ease between the products lets you float back and forth, digest complex information quickly, and confidently generate high-quality work for clients.”
Outcomes that matter
Ease and accuracy
Despite initial concerns about learning something new amid her busy schedule, Slotkin has found Thomson Reuters tools remarkably easy to adopt. “The learning process was much faster than I anticipated,” she says. “The time that I have saved, just from that little bit of time spent investing and learning it, has made it worthwhile.”
She now uses Westlaw and CoCounsel together seamlessly, appreciating the intuitive interface and time-saving workflow. “I can just put a query in there the way I would ask a colleague a question,” she explains. When it comes to accuracy, she’s impressed. “I have found it to be very accurate. The hyperlinks make it easy to check back and confirm,” says Slotkin.
Efficiency
CoCounsel has had a transformative impact on the firm’s efficiency, enabling attorneys to move cases faster, manage them more effectively, and deliver results quickly to clients. “Efficiency is a key component,” says Kaplan. “Our clients are constantly asking us to create efficiencies, and there’s just no better efficiency than that created by generative AI.”
As an early adopter of CoCounsel, Kaplan’s team has seen clear improvements. “It simply cuts down on the amount of time that an attorney needs to manually go through evidence, to go through documents, to compare documents.” He adds, “CoCounsel gives an attorney a tremendous starting point.”
That time-savings advantage has proven critical across different types of legal work. DiBono shared a case where the efficiency of CoCounsel helped him deliver immediate value. “I had a situation recently when I used CoCounsel in a case where plaintiff’s discovery was months overdue. As soon as it came in, I fed it into CoCounsel, got a report, and was able to evaluate the case for my client within hours instead of a week. It helped us resolve the case quickly.” This kind of speed has changed the pace of his entire practice.
Slotkin echoes the theme of accelerated results, especially when dealing with high volumes of materials. “I’ve reviewed thousands of pages of medical records that might normally take me a full day,” she says. With CoCounsel, she can have a work product that “I can actually use in 20 to 30 minutes.” For her, the tool feels like an immediate assistant. “It’s like CoCounsel is another person on my team. She’s right there all the time. I don’t have to wait to see what else she’s working on.”
Schaer emphasizes how CoCounsel supports his own efforts. “The summary function really allows someone at the management level to look inside the file, understand what the case is about, and have a relatively in-depth meeting with a client in a short amount of time.” As DiBono points out, the overall impact is a sense of control in a busy profession. “We’re always going to have that list of tasks that keep us up at night,” he says. “CoCounsel helps get rid of those items. You can get things done quicker, more efficiently, and not worry about missing tasks or deadlines.”
Wider impact, deeper value
Better case outcomes
Beyond time savings and efficiency, Thomson Reuters CoCounsel delivers real, measurable impact on case outcomes. DiBono shares a standout example. “I used CoCounsel on a case and got a great report with a clear, well-structured prompt. It actually helped me get more money than I initially asked for to settle.”
Typically, defense attorneys present a settlement evaluation to clients and insurance carriers, but final decisions can involve pushback and negotiation. In this instance, the clarity and depth of the CoCounsel-generated report gave the client the confidence to exceed the initial recommendation. “They were able to see and understand the case so clearly that they agreed to contribute more toward the settlement,” says DiBono. “That led to a better result, and ultimately a successful resolution.” For the firm, this is a clear return on investment — better insights, stronger arguments, and improved outcomes.
Improved experience
Beyond the outcomes, CoCounsel is improving lawyers’ day-to-day experience by helping attorneys focus on the parts of the job that matter most. “AI lets our attorneys spend their time doing what they went to law school for: thinking and strategizing, not summarizing,” says Kaplan.
Newfound efficiencies free up time for higher-value work while reducing the burnout that comes with repetitive, administrative tasks. DiBono adds that the tools help clear out the mundane parts of practice, such as budgets, evaluations, and case summaries, so they no longer linger at the bottom of the to-do list. “Now we can get those tasks done without pushing back the rest of our work. It just makes everything easier and more enjoyable.”
More strategic thinking
With CoCounsel, attorneys are finding more time and mental space to think strategically. “We can now digest large volumes of information — depositions, discovery, medical records — much faster. That frees us to concentrate on defending the case, rather than drowning in paperwork,” says DiBono.
Slotkin echoes this shift, explaining that the relief from tedious tasks enables deeper thinking. “The tedium of what we do is important, but it’s nice to have CoCounsel handle some of that, so I can spend more time thinking,” she says. “I prefer not to be reactive but proactive, and CoCounsel helps me do that.” Schaer also sums it up clearly. “Nobody went to law school to comb through 3,000 pages of records. We went to critically think and be zealous advocates. These tools help us do exactly that.”
Better client service
CoCounsel helps lawyers become more responsive to client needs more quickly and with greater depth. “What CoCounsel has allowed us to do is efficiently manage massive amounts of data and become more responsive to our clients’ needs, in a timelier fashion,” says Schaer. He adds, “I’m getting back to my clients faster, with more concise and cogent responses” at a pace he wasn’t hitting before.
“This responsiveness improves client relationships significantly,” says DiBono. “It helps us seem more informed about our cases, and clients aren’t chasing us down anymore.” Slotkin shared a real-world example. “A client called with a surprise question. In 30 minutes, I was able to use CoCounsel and Westlaw to find the right answer and email him exactly what he needed in record time.”
More wins
CoCounsel helps firms gain a real competitive edge — especially those that need to do more with less. “On the defense side, we don’t always have the manpower or resources,” says DiBono. “But now we can digest 30,000 pages of medical records accurately and quickly. It really does level the playing field and gives us a huge competitive advantage, especially against other defense firms that aren’t using technology like CoCounsel.” That speed and accuracy help the firm stay agile and perform at the same level as larger, better-resourced competitors.
Schaer reinforces how critical this kind of investment is to long-term success. “In today’s day and age, if you’re not out in front, you’re behind,” he says. “The investment that we’ve made in CoCounsel and Westlaw puts us not only out in front, but at the tip of the spear.” He emphasizes that embracing tools like GenAI is key to staying relevant. “We’ve made a conscious decision to spend on technology that makes us a better law firm. It makes our lawyers better lawyers, it makes our paralegals more efficient, and that efficiency translates into cost savings and winning for our clients.”
