Schenck Price makes a bigger-firm bet on AI, without becoming one
Midsize New Jersey law firm uses legal AI to strengthen workflows, sharpen client service, and compete like a much larger firm.
"Every day, you read a new report in a legal periodical where an attorney is either in trouble with a court or has an ethical issue as a result of improper use of AI or using an untrustworthy system. We simply cannot take any risks with our attorneys' professional reputation and our client outcomes. It is another reason that the only choice for us was LexisNexis®."
About
John Ursin is Managing Partner at Schenck Price and a corporate attorney whose earlier litigation experience still shapes how he advises clients. He leads the firm with a sharp eye on both legal work and business operations, and he approaches technology the same way he approaches client service: practically, strategically, and with little patience for wasted motion.
Amplifying talent over size
Schenck Price works in the highly competitive NJ/NY metro market, where surrounding firms continue to grow larger through M&A. John isn’t interested in matching that model. His focus is on preserving Schenck Price’s position as a strong suburban firm that delivers first-class legal services efficiently and offers clients a better value proposition than firms carrying much larger overhead.
AI has moved center stage in this effort. John puts it plainly:
“We cannot compete and deliver without the right tools. Our firm is investing heavily in the integration and adoption of legal AI technology, because we are committed to delivering the highest level of legal services.”
Not a shortcut. A better standard.
Schenck Price doesn’t view AI as a way to cut corners. Instead, John talks about AI’s ability to raise the standard of work.
“AI is not about doing things faster or saving time,” he said. “It allows us to focus on precision analysis and deliver more comprehensive communication to the client. Ultimately, it is the key to a better work product and better results."
John shares another reason why this matters now. Clients increasingly expect firms to use AI for their benefit, and in some cases are reviewing legal work with AI themselves. For Schenck Price, the issue is no longer whether AI will affect legal service. It already does. Adopting and integrating AI strategically is how firms will rise to the top in meeting shifting client expectations.
Why trust matters most
When Schenck Price evaluated legal AI providers, John wasn’t swayed by slick marketing or shiny new features.
“The market is flooded with legal AI companies who make many promises,” he said. “When it comes to choosing where to invest our resources in the tech space, it boils down to one word: Trust.”
With decades of experience as a litigator, corporate attorney, and leader of a respected law firm, John rests that trust on several truths: LexisNexis’ long relationship with the legal profession, the quality of its legal research foundation, confidence in the platform’s approach to attorney-client communication and work product, and the sense that it has the resources to maintain its edge as the industry evolves.
“We could not risk partnering with a provider that cannot keep up and whose products might be obsolete in six months,” he shared. Legal AI is moving too fast, he suggests, to bet on a vendor that might not keep pace.
Built for the way lawyers actually work
What stood out to Schenck Price was not only the platform’s credibility, but the way it fits into legal workflows. John said, “I really think that LexisNexis has a multiple-decade head start over other providers. They completely understand how attorneys interact with research and documents.”
He points specifically to Lexis+® with Protégé™ as part of that advantage, describing how it works “seamlessly between legal data, client communication, drafting documents, and using a firm’s own document library.” That matters because Schenck Price is not looking for AI in the abstract. The firm is purposefully establishing a legal tech ecosystem that helps attorneys move through real everyday work more effectively.
About
John Ursin is Managing Partner at Schenck Price and a corporate attorney whose earlier litigation experience still shapes how he advises clients. He leads the firm with a sharp eye on both legal work and business operations, and he approaches technology the same way he approaches client service: practically, strategically, and with little patience for wasted motion.
Amplifying talent over size
Schenck Price works in the highly competitive NJ/NY metro market, where surrounding firms continue to grow larger through M&A. John isn’t interested in matching that model. His focus is on preserving Schenck Price’s position as a strong suburban firm that delivers first-class legal services efficiently and offers clients a better value proposition than firms carrying much larger overhead.
AI has moved center stage in this effort. John puts it plainly:
“We cannot compete and deliver without the right tools. Our firm is investing heavily in the integration and adoption of legal AI technology, because we are committed to delivering the highest level of legal services.”
Not a shortcut. A better standard.
Schenck Price doesn’t view AI as a way to cut corners. Instead, John talks about AI’s ability to raise the standard of work.
“AI is not about doing things faster or saving time,” he said. “It allows us to focus on precision analysis and deliver more comprehensive communication to the client. Ultimately, it is the key to a better work product and better results."
John shares another reason why this matters now. Clients increasingly expect firms to use AI for their benefit, and in some cases are reviewing legal work with AI themselves. For Schenck Price, the issue is no longer whether AI will affect legal service. It already does. Adopting and integrating AI strategically is how firms will rise to the top in meeting shifting client expectations.
Why trust matters most
When Schenck Price evaluated legal AI providers, John wasn’t swayed by slick marketing or shiny new features.
“The market is flooded with legal AI companies who make many promises,” he said. “When it comes to choosing where to invest our resources in the tech space, it boils down to one word: Trust.”
With decades of experience as a litigator, corporate attorney, and leader of a respected law firm, John rests that trust on several truths: LexisNexis’ long relationship with the legal profession, the quality of its legal research foundation, confidence in the platform’s approach to attorney-client communication and work product, and the sense that it has the resources to maintain its edge as the industry evolves.
“We could not risk partnering with a provider that cannot keep up and whose products might be obsolete in six months,” he shared. Legal AI is moving too fast, he suggests, to bet on a vendor that might not keep pace.
Built for the way lawyers actually work
What stood out to Schenck Price was not only the platform’s credibility, but the way it fits into legal workflows. John said, “I really think that LexisNexis has a multiple-decade head start over other providers. They completely understand how attorneys interact with research and documents.”
He points specifically to Lexis+ with Protégé as part of that advantage, describing how it works “seamlessly between legal data, client communication, drafting documents, and using a firm’s own document library.” That matters because Schenck Price is not looking for AI in the abstract. The firm is purposefully establishing a legal tech ecosystem that helps attorneys move through real everyday work more effectively.
"We keep asking for more from LexisNexis and they keep delivering without hesitation. The training has accelerated the usage of the product. If you're not partnering with Lexis and using Lexis+ with Protégé, you're simply making a mistake."
Punching above its weight class
One of John’s clearest insights is that AI changes what scale can look like for a regional suburban firm.
“AI allows us, as a 100-attorney firm, to provide services more like a firm double our size — using AI to amplify our talent and relationships.”
That idea sits at the center of Schenck Price’s strategy. The firm is not trying to become a larger institution for its own sake. It is using AI to extend the reach of its lawyers, support more sophisticated work, and stay highly competitive while holding onto the culture and value proposition that define the firm.
Embedded into daily work
John understands that purchasing a platform is only the beginning. Schenck Price relied on LexisNexis for adoption and onboarding and then collaborated further on tailored, practice-specific training sessions that helped turn initial interest into daily, practical use. “Our attorneys trust LexisNexis, so there is no hesitation to use the product and integrate it into our daily work,” he said. “Once you trust the product, then we need coaching to integrate AI into our daily tasks.”
He is equally direct about the alternative. “If a firm is not using it, they are simply ignoring a tremendous resource, which has to impact their clients negatively.”
By all accounts, a win
For John, the payoff is practical. AI helps Schenck Price pursue sophisticated work, support attorneys more effectively, and stay competitive without losing its identity. It also gives firm leadership confidence that they are pacing purposefully ahead of today’s fast-moving legal technology shift.
In fact, he puts it in unusually human terms: “It is not an exaggeration to say that our partnership with Lexis Nexis has allowed me to sleep better.”
