AI for Law Firms: Actionstep Intelligence Webinar Recap

As legal technology advances, AI for law firms is becoming increasingly essential but what law firms need can often be misunderstood. In the webinar “How — and Why — AI Should Fit Into the Way Your Firm Already Works,” Beth Thompson, Vice President of Market Strategy and Legal Evangelism, and Jennifer Ramovs, Senior Director of Global Solutions Consulting, shared how Actionstep Intelligence handles that work inside Actionstep’s legal practice management platform, not as a bolted on additional tool. Watch the full recording, or read the highlights below.

What is Actionstep Intelligence?

Actionstep Intelligence is the AI feature layer built into Actionstep. It works inside the matters, emails, and documents a firm uses to manage their practice and business operations, with no separate system or login. It is what powers AI for law firms looking to streamline operations where their data and team already live.

“Our AI operating system is for the business and practice of law. We’re not trying to replace practicing law for you. We’re not trying to take away that legal expertise. We are trying to enhance the way that you get that work done, operate your business and manage it on a daily basis,” says Beth.

Every matter in Actionstep holds its own communications, invoices, contacts, tasks, and documents in one record. That record gives Actionstep’s AI the context it needs to write matter summaries, send alerts, and provide insights.

How does AI time capture work for law firms?

Actionstep records billable work as it happens across Word documents, Outlook emails, PowerPoint files, and PDFs. It then drafts a billing narrative for each entry, tied to the work itself, which can significantly improve billing accuracy and reduce manual entry. From there, review a contract and the entry describes that review, ready for the invoice.

“Tracking your time when you do the thing is the number one most important way we can increase our billable time,” says Jennifer.

How does Actionstep automate legal workflows for law firms?

Your firm sets up workflows in Actionstep to match how it practices. Contingent tasks add steps only when a matter calls for them. For example, in a family law matter, child-related tasks appear only when children are involved, so staff don’t wade through tasks that don’t apply.

“Workflow says, law firm, you tell me how you practice law. We’re not gonna tell you how to practice law. We’re gonna let you tell us how you practice law,” says Jennifer.

Jennifer also previewed Workflow 2.0, Actionstep’s next iteration of a favorite capability. It moves matters from one phase to the next automatically, sends email notifications, and prompts staff to collect key information at the right step.

How does AI catch data entry errors in a matter?

Actionstep reads legal documents for key facts, flags inconsistencies across the matter, and saves the data where it belongs. In Jennifer’s workers’ compensation example, it caught mismatched details staff would otherwise find by hand, and filled in fields they used to re-enter.

What does business intelligence for law firms look like in Actionstep?

Actionstep’s BI dashboards draw on the same matters, invoices, and time entries your team works in every day to get granular insights and recommendations. Users can ask plain-English questions, such as “What’s our revenue this quarter?” or “Which fees are outstanding?” Answers follow each user’s permissions.

“It’s still gonna respect any security permissions that might be in play. It’s gonna say, ‘I’m sorry. I can’t answer that. You don’t have access to that information.’” – Jennifer

Does Actionstep work with Outlook, iManage, and NetDocuments?

Yes. From Outlook, users can send emails, log time, and manage tasks without leaving their inbox. Actionstep includes its own document management and also integrates with iManage and NetDocuments.

“We complement those tools that are already serving a great purpose in law firms, not try to replace them,” says Jennifer.

Explore all integrations here.

Key takeaways

• Actionstep Intelligence runs inside Actionstep, with no extra system or login.
• AI time capture records billable work as it happens and drafts the billing narrative.
• Workflows follow your firm’s practice, adding tasks only when a matter needs them.
• Actionstep BI answers firm questions in plain English, within each user’s permissions.

See it on your own matters. Watch the recording or book a demo.