Since the firmwide rollout in the past year, Athena has had phenomenal success for Troutman Pepper’s generative AI assistant, with over 1,000 users adopting it—above 40 percent of the firm’s attorneys and professional staff. More impressively, above 60 percent of users have used Athena at least five times. “We’re proud to be one of the first major law firms to develop and integrate a generative AI assistant. Celebrating its one-year anniversary this month, Athena has dramatically improved efficiency, increased client service, and is changing the practice of law,” said Will Gaus, Troutman Pepper’s Chief Innovation Officer.

Athena has helped a lot with document summarization, legal case analysis, drafting, generation of ideas, timeline visualizations, and even creating images. The tool reduces time spent by attorneys on routine tasks and allows them to focus more on strategic legal work.

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“Our philosophy has always been not to waste a minute on something a computer can do better,” said Alison Grounds, partner and managing director of Troutman Pepper eMerge, the firm’s eDiscovery and legal technology subsidiary, “which is a mindset adopted well before generative AI.” She said, “We have integrated Athena with other technologies in which the firm has invested, driving internal efficiencies that translate into real value for our clients.“

“Besides quicker turn time, our clients enjoy improved quality of service and a firm wide focus on using technology for improved continuous improvement,” added Dan Pulka, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer of Troutman Pepper, who also oversees the client experience division.

Troutman Pepper’s marketing team immediately took a liking to Athena and began using it for press releases, social media posts, attorney bios, pitches, RFPs, award nominations, and graphic design.

“Athena has also proved invaluable in our generative AI practice,” Grounds added. “Where a client requires a global generative AI policy with respect to data collection, use, and sharing, we draw upon not only our experience from advising others but also our personal insights, helping clients to avoid pitfalls and seize opportunities.”

Troutman Pepper lawyers regularly counsel clients on all legal issues associated with generative AI, including privacy, data security, and information governance, intellectual property, compliance, labor and employment, contract, and risk management.

It represents one of the first large law firms to deploy a generative AI assistant. Troutman Pepper did so only after proper planning for its proper deployment by establishing a Generative AI Task Force. The task force fleshed out such safeguards as a comprehensive training program and a set of ethical standards. They are always testing new features in Athena to ensure continued evolution of the platform per user needs. Since the launch, the team has pushed several major updates including

AthenaIQ Document Database: Allows Admins to upload documents that can be used to perform retrieval augmented generation, improving response accuracy and relevance.

MobileOne: Extend the chat from Athena company-wide via a mobile app for access anywhere, anytime.

Document Insights: Enable a user to upload and engage with up to 20 documents for deep analysis within one conversation.

Create Timeline and Diagram: Agents will use the uploaded documents to create visual timelines of events and corporate structure diagrams.

“Our goal has always been to create a versatile platform empowering our attorneys and business professionals to solve a wide array of challenges,” said Andrew Medeiros, Director of Innovation. “We are always listening to our users and fine-tuning Athena to meet their evolving requirements, making sure that it is always at hand as a formidable tool in their everyday work.”

In addition to Athena, Troutman Pepper has invested in a few AI solutions, including its in-house-developed platforms through its Innovation division and eMerge-backed in-house expertise. Its belief in continuous innovation has been applauded nationally by the Financial Times, which named it as one of the top 25 most innovative law firms, and by The Legal Intelligencer for the 2024 Law Firm Innovators.

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