Law://WhatsNext The View from the Interface with Kevin Cohn
We sit down with Kevin Cohn, Chief Customer Officer at Brightflag, who occupies one of the most unique vantage points in legal services – the interface between corporate legal departments and their outside counsel. We’re sure any AI start up would pay a premium to understand the work that is going to law firms and the value and time it takes to deliver that, right? By processing billions of dollars in legal invoices, Kevin and his team have unprecedented visibility to spot macro trends – from law firm partner utilisation patterns to staffing changes.
In this lively but familiar conversation (we’ve each all known one another for a few years) Kevin reveals some emerging trends very relevant to the technological revolution we are all experiencing. Beyond the predictable conversation about rising law firm rates, Kevin shares two interesting developments the Brightflag team are noticing:
- increased partner utilisation (which might actually be good news if total hours are decreasing?)
- something more troubling – what Kevin diplomatically calls "not the most above board" AI-enabled billing practices, with ever more invoices showing suspicious six-minute increments.
We also talk about the evolution of skills and relationships in an era when both clients and counsel are being shaped by automation and analytics.
Kevin is also our first Law://WhatsNext guest to have an AI version of himself shipped and deployed to give Brightflag customers on-demand access to his expertise on legal operations and spend management. While Kevin Clone can handle questions about invoice review and matter management workflows with ease, we discover its limits when we request an Italian wine pairing. The Clone politely deflects: "I'm here to focus on legal operations and Brightflag." Some things simply can't be replicated by AI. The real Kevin remains irreplaceable.
Key References
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