The world of legal tech is buzzing, and it’s easy to get lost in the hype. But what does real innovation look like when applied to legal processes?
Earlier this month, Holly Reimer, Continuous Improvement & Innovation Manager at Woolworths Group, and Ziggy Cheng, Legal AI Specialist at Thomson Reuters presented a real-world example of how Woolworths Group is doing just that, transforming their approach to the legal team’s review of tender responses with the help of CoCounsel™.
The Innovation Drivers
Woolworths’ legal team faced two key challenges when responding to tenders: customers often felt their non-disclosure agreement feedback contained too many revisions, and the turnaround time for Customer Agreement reviews was simply too long. This manual process prevented the legal team from delivering advice at the speed the business required. By collaborating with the business and refining their review approach to focus only on significant risks, they were able to automate the initial review with CoCounsel. This resulted in increased efficiency, significantly reducing review time, enhanced focus and velocity, allowing legal and business teams to concentrate on critical issues for faster decision-making, and improved alignment and strategy, ensuring legal resources are used more strategically on high-value tasks.
“A junior lawyer was doing most of the contract reviews … she estimated it to carry around eight hours to do the first pass review on most occasions. We’ve been able to reduce it to between 1 and 2 [hours], using this process.”
Holly Reimer, Continuous Improvement & Innovation Manager at Woolworths Group
Their solution?
Holly, together with her team, developed a framework that leverages AI to automate the initial legal review, systematically checking for deviations from standard positions and flagging unusual provisions.
The framework provides a step-by-step walkthough; it’s a breakdown of how a leading organisation leverages AI to solve real business challenges.
“For us, it’s about making sure our legal team can focus on the truly strategic work,” says Holly. “CoCounsel helps us cut through the noise, allowing our experts to apply their skills where they matter most.”
Ziggy, who has partnered closely with Woolworths on this initiative, adds: “What’s truly impressive about Woolworths’ adoption is their commitment to genuine transformation. They didn’t just overlay technology; they built a smarter process from the ground up, identifying key pain points and leveraging AI to solve them.”
Following the presentation at the Lawtech Summit, Holly sat down with Ziggy to discuss the adoption and integration of CoCounsel at Woolworths, strategies for lawyer adoption, and the importance of adapting processes to leverage AI effectively.
Get an inside look
Download your copy of the Tender Response Framework use case via the form on this page, and inside you’ll find:
- A Use Case Background: Understand the specific challenges Woolworths faced with their previous tender response process.
- How CoCounsel Helps: Learn the mechanics of how AI transforms the initial legal review, freeing up legal experts.
- A Step-by-Step Walkthrough: See the practical, guided process of using CoCounsel for tender responses.
- Final Output Examples: Discover what the structured output looks like, including topics, clause references, identified issues, and suggested actions.
- Business Impact: Grasp the real-world benefits like increased efficiency, enhanced focus, and improved strategic alignment across the organisation.
As Catherine Roberts, Thomson Reuters Senior Director of AI and Legal Tech, puts it: “This use case is a prime example of how thoughtful AI integration can empower legal teams, turning lengthy, manual tasks into opportunities for strategic impact. It’s about leveraging technology to elevate human expertise.”
