Moving With the Times: Dymocks In-House Legal Team Embraces Innovation with Lexis+ AI^®

Background

The Dymocks story is one of a celebrated family business with a long tradition and a small, busy legal team embracing modern legal technology.

Dymocks is a diverse family-owned business dating back to 1879 that has grown well beyond its traditional retail beginnings. Beginning with bookstores and the famed Dymocks Building on Sydney’s George Street, the company has expanded into education, premium stationery, property, and large-scale farming - including an operation of over 70,000 macadamia trees.

For the legal team of three working on a wide range of matters, the decision to adopt Lexis+ AI has provided a welcome injection of efficiency into their fast-paced days.

Challenge

Company Director, Andrew Forsyth, a solicitor and former partner of law firm Deacons, has decades of legal experience, and joined the family business on a part-time basis after retiring from the law firm.

Andrew’s responsibilities at Dymocks involve him in a wide range of problems and disputes, from litigation to property leasing and compliance, and he occasionally represents the company in tribunals or mediations.

Andrew was frustrated with the need to conduct research and access precedents from unstructured generic websites, and as he was familiar with LexisNexis® from his days at Deacons, he was excited to put Lexis+ AI through its paces.

"I knew I could 'nut out' a liquidated damages claim, but it would have taken me a day, so I asked the question of LexisNexis, and in 30 seconds I had a well-drafted document to use as a starting point,"

"Lexis+ AI is a tool that assists us to lift productivity quite substantially. Undoubtedly, we can get more done in less time than we could without it."
Andrew D Forsyth
Company Director, Dymocks Group

Andrew finds the rapid responses and document drafting assistance that Lexis+ AI gives him to be very beneficial. While emphasising the need to verify the output personally, he says Lexis+ AI gives him great assistance in solving problems and finding legal answers without the necessity of instructing external law firms or spending excessive time on generic websites.

"Lexis+ AI is a tool that assists us to lift productivity quite substantially. Undoubtedly, we can get more done in less time than we could without it."

Dymocks Group Legal Counsel, Adelina Tama, says she enjoys using Lexis+ AI and finds the time savings and cost efficiency to be the greatest benefits.

"For some tasks that may take up to an hour to complete, particularly if research into a specific practice area is needed, I could spend 15 minutes going into Lexis+ AI, asking it different questions to finally get the answer. Then I can go back to providing the business with advice."

With an extraordinary breadth of responsibility for legal matters across the business, Adelina needs to have access to current legal knowledge on a wide range of practice areas.

"We go to LexisNexis first to see if we can find the information, because sometimes the matters are not such that they require an external lawyer. Sometimes you just want an answer before you start off a project."

Her work varies from managing leasing agreements for the company’s extensive property portfolio, to managing the franchise agreements for Dymocks Books' franchised network and solving general commercial, corporate, intellectual property, and privacy questions, and covering WH&S matters.

"Lexis+ AI generally gives you an idea of what the situation or what the advice is, so that you can tackle the issue first and foremost."

"For some tasks that may take up to an hour to complete, particularly if research into a specific practice area is needed, I could spend 15 minutes going into Lexis+ AI, asking it different questions to finally get the answer. Then I can go back to providing the business with advice."

Explore how other Australian firms are transforming their legal workflows with Lexis+ AI.

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