Annie Lespérance Podcast Transcript
Annie Lespérance joins host Brian Thomas on The Digital Executive Podcast.
Welcome to Coruzant Technologies, Home of The Digital Executive Podcast.
Brian Thomas: Welcome to The Digital Executive. Today’s guest is Annie Lespérance. Annie Lespérance is the head of Americas at Jus Mundi, a legal tech company at the forefront of artificial intelligence and international law and arbitration with responsibility for leading the company’s business strategy in the Americas.
Prior to joining Jus Mundi, Annie gained wide experience as a lawyer at cabinet Yves Hortier from 2012 to 2019. And the permanent court of arbitration from 2011 to 2012, where she acted as secretary of arbitral tribunals in the international commercial investor state and sports arbitration disputes under various procedure rules and governing laws.
She also acted as head of Latin America for dispute funder Omni Bridgeway with a responsibility for launching the company’s operations in the region. Annie earned her law degree from the University de Montreal and her LLM cum laude from Leiden University. Annie was called to the Quebec bar in 2010 and to the Paris bar in 2011.
She is fluent in French, English, and Spanish.
Well, good afternoon, Annie. Welcome to the show!
Annie Lespérance: Good afternoon, Brian. Thanks for having me!
Brian Thomas: Absolutely. I really do appreciate you making the time hailing out of the great city of Montreal as we call it here in the U.S. I know it’s pronounced. I think “Moriale” in French. So, I did my best without trying to butcher the name, but I do appreciate the time.
And Annie, let’s jump into your 1st question here. Can you tell us about your role as head of Americas? At use Mooney and what strategies, you’ve implemented to lead the company’s business in the Americas.
Annie Lespérance: Thanks, Brian for that 1st question and congratulations on a perfect presentation of the word in French.
To answer your question, perhaps I’ll give a little bit more context to our audience today as to what use Mooney is. So, Jus Mundi is a legal tech company that provides comprehensive AI powered legal research. In the fields of international law and arbitration. So, in essence, our platform aggregates a vast array of information in a space where information is quite difficult to find.
So, bottom line, Jus Mundi has become our users one stop shop for all of their arbitration related needs. Now, as head of Americas at Jus Mundi, my role involves overseeing our operations and strategic initiatives across North and South America. And one of the key strategies we’ve implemented is fostering strong relationships with local arbitration institutions, such as the American Arbitration Association, and local arbitration associations, such as Women Way in Arbitration Latin America.
This allows us not only to collect exclusive data from regional institutions and associations, but also to increase our regional content footprint. And by doing so, we ensure that our regional users have access to the most relevant and up to date information. We, of course, often participate as well in conferences, webinars and workshops organized by our local partners to share our thought leadership on AI and arbitration and gather valuable feedback from the market on our products and services.
Another important strategy has been to tailor our messaging to the specific markets. This involves understanding the unique challenges and needs of each region and customizing our communication to resonate with local practitioners. So, for example, in Latin America, we emphasize the importance of access to comprehensive legal databases in multiple languages.
While in North America, for example, we find things like the efficiency and accuracy of our A. I. Driven tools. So, this targeted approach really helps us connect more effectively with our audience and demonstrates the value of our solutions in addressing their specific concerns. And finally, we have emphasized the importance of a customer-centric approach, ensuring that our support and services are always aligned with the needs and expectations of our users.
And this is why we have grown the Jus Mundi team locally within our 2 hubs in the Americas in New York and Mexico City. So, by having dedicated teams on the ground, we can provide more personalized support and build stronger relationships with our clients and partners.
Brian Thomas: Thank you. And obviously there’s a lot that goes into that because you’re traversing you know, multiple countries, laws are very different as you know.
And I know that you are head of that role, look or oversee a lot of that work. And I know it’s challenging, but I know you’re up for the challenge because. As a, an experienced lawyer and speaker, you’re fluent in 3 languages, so I think that’s awesome that you’re part of this team and, and sharing some of the complexities that you manage every day.
So, Annie, you’ve been recognized in the future leader’s category of Who’s Who Legal, Arbitration, and in the litigation funding spotlight table of Chambers Partners. What do these recognitions mean to you and how have they impacted your career?
Annie Lespérance: Well, Brian these recognitions hold significant meaning for me as they are peer review based.
And reflect the hard work and dedication of my teams and myself as obviously one doesn’t reach these heights alone. They have definitely enhanced my credibility in the field and opened up new opportunities for me for business development. These accolades have also allowed me to connect with other leaders and experts in the industry and foster valuable relationships and knowledge exchange.
They have inspired me to mentor and support the next generation of legal professionals sharing my experiences and insights to help them navigate their own careers. With that being said, maintaining a certain level of excellence requires a commitment to ongoing professional development. And staying abreast of the latest trends and advancements in the field.
It also involves continuously striving for innovation and improvement in our work, ensuring that we not only meet, but exceed the expectations of our clients and peers. So, in this sense, I think these accolades also serve as a reminder of the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in a rapidly evolving field.
Brian Thomas: Thank you and I appreciate you kind of breaking that out for us, you know, with these recognitions and awards it comes with a lot of obvious credibility and you did highlight that. And again, I appreciate you sharing and I’m so grateful for you to be in the league of some great and smart people out there.
And Annie, Jus Mundi is at the forefront of AI in international law. How do you see AI transforming the field of arbitration in legal research in the coming years? So, when we talk about AI, I’d like to specifically refer to generative AI or Gen AI. So, GenAI is already revolutionizing the legal industry and how is it doing?
Annie Lespérance: So, it is doing so by enhancing efficiency and accuracy, and I’ll get back to that. In a minute. So currently at Jus Mundi, we are actually developing a general product, which is going to be called use AI assistant. And this product is really similar to chat. And that you can ask a question. And the assistant will produce a response in seconds, thereby the efficiency gains.
However, unlike chat GPT the answers are not based on information from the web. They are based solely on data found on Jus Mundi and any data that a law firm will upload to the platform. So, this type of assistant will be useful not only for legal research, But also for other types of tasks, such as summarization, translation, analyzing, comparing, and drafting legal memos and pleadings, as well as searching for arbitration professionals based on their past experience.
So, in other words. These tools enable providers like use when we need to expand their scope from purely legal research to broader legal services. So, as I was alluding to earlier, the main advantages of these tools include increased efficiency in completing legal tasks. Enhanced productivity of the workforce within a law firm and improved accuracy of the work being carried out.
So, for example, GenAI tools can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and precedents that might be overlooked by a human lawyer. So, we already have 29 law firms participating in our Use AI Acceleration program at Jus Mundi, testing our GenAI product, which is in its beta phase, and receiving training on it.
And this enthusiasm and quick adoption already of this product, which is not even finalized, right, it’s still in its beta phase, definitely shows that law firms understand the need to become early adopters of these types of Gen AI tools to reap the competitive advantages these products bring. In the long term, I really do believe these tools will have a positive impact.
From a law firm’s perspective, their margins will increase as they adapt their workforce to the new workflow created by Gen AI. You know, thanks to Jenny, I, we are already seeing remedial tasks traditionally carried out by junior professionals in a law firm being transferred to support staff and paralegals, thereby freeing up the time of junior associates to focus on higher value tasks, commanding higher rates for the law firm.
From the client’s perspective, GEN AI will also have a positive impact. Efficiency gains, thanks to GEN AI, will result in lower overall fees, and this will allow clients who may not have traditionally been able to access legal services due to high costs to do so. So in this sense, we may eventually see an uptick, perhaps, in small arbitration claims being launched.
Or even parties delegating the decision-making power over their small arbitration claims to a GNI solution with the possibility for human review thereafter. So, all in all, to wrap this up, I think integration of GNI into the legal space is truly a transformative shift that is redefining the industry.
And while tools, you know, are not perfect and they need human supervision, they are enhancing the efficiency, accuracy and accessibility of legal services, ultimately benefiting both the legal professionals and law firms and their clients.
Brian Thomas: Amazing. Thank you, Annie, for sharing. And it’s interesting that you all have developed this in-house.
Obviously, you’ve got You’re niched to the legal space, right? Not the broad web, where a lot of some of these generative AI tools are pulling everything from the Internet. So, so good to hear and good to hear that people are adopting this, especially in your practice and some of those partners that you’re working with.
And Annie, last question of the day, given your experience and expertise, what emerging trends do you see in international arbitration, particularly in the Americas and Latin America?
Annie Lespérance: So, one of the emerging trends in international arbitration is obviously the increasing use of technology to facilitate proceedings.
So, this A movement started in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic with virtual hearings and electronic submissions becoming more and more common. Now, in the wake of GEN AI, we are seeing more and more arbitration institutions and associations issuing guidelines on the use of GEN AI by counsel and arbitrators in arbitration proceedings.
There is a call for increased regulation around GEN AI in light of COVID 19. Privacy and confidentiality concerns amongst others. Now, in the Americas and Latin America, we are seeing a growing emphasis on diversity and inclusion within arbitration panels to ensure that a wider range of perspectives is represented in the field.
Another significant trend is the rise of specialized arbitration centers and rules in the region, which cater to the specific industries and types of disputes. And this specialization allows for more tailored and effective resolution of complex arbitration cases. And then finally, in terms of types of disputes, there is an increasing focus on sustainability and environmental considerations in arbitration, reflecting the broader global movement towards responsible and ethical business practices.
Brian Thomas: Thank you for sharing, and I like how, you know, a lot of the podcast is generally in North America again to traverse the globe, but you did highlight some things specifically to a region in Latin America in the Americas that we don’t always get to hear perspective, especially from a. Legal or legal tech perspective.
So, I appreciate that Annie and Annie, it was such a pleasure having you on today. And I look forward to speaking with you real soon.
Annie Lespérance: Thank you, Brian. Likewise. Thanks for having me again.
Brian Thomas: Bye for now.
Annie Lespérance Podcast Transcript. Listen to the audio on the guest’s podcast page.
