Law firms drown in AI pitches. Startups promise faster research. Quicker drafts. Fatter margins. But trials pile up. Lawyers burn out. Enter Business Insider‘s spotlight on Cozen O’Connor, a firm with over 1,000 lawyers and $800 million in revenue. They’ve faced the deluge head-on. And shifted gears.
Pilot fatigue hits hard. It’s what happens when staff test too many tools at once. Overworked attorneys get pulled in. Time slips away. Cozen O’Connor changed course. No more frenzy. Now they pick winners carefully. Define success upfront. Scale what works.
Andrew Woolfe, the firm’s chief strategy and innovation officer, lays it out plain. “Pilot fatigue is real,” he says. Before any test run, they set metrics. High usage? Green light for rollout. But numbers alone don’t cut it. Does the tool fit daily workflows? Boost client results? Make lawyers happier? Attorney input seals the deal.
They stay picky on participants. Limit demands. Favor broad-use tools. Yet specialized ones get a shot if they deliver clear wins. Even flops teach lessons. Evaluation sharpens. Training improves. Change management strengthens. The big ask: “What’s going to help us develop institutional muscle around AI?”
Cozen bets big but few. Finite time. Tight budget. Tools must aid attorneys. Help clients. Spark learning. They’ve tried Laurel for timesheets. DeepJudge for custom search engines. Harvey for firm-wide tasks. Each pilot builds that muscle.
Discipline Pays Off in a Crowded Field
Other firms chase the same edge. But pitfalls lurk. Hallucinations snag lawyers. Fake cases in briefs draw sanctions. Cozen’s method dodges much of that. Focus on fit over flash.
Their practice group events underscore commitment. Panels on generative AI best practices. IP attorneys discussing tools in symposia. Cozen O’Connor’s site lists sessions with Michael Coburn, Jeffrey Klamut, Joseph F. Rich. Ethics in utilities. AI as IP practice aid. Firm lawyers speak at events through 2026.
DeepJudge ties in tight. Cozen pilots it alongside Freshfields, Holland & Knight. Builds firm-specific search from internal knowledge. Grounds AI in real docs. Cuts hallucination risks. A LinkedIn post from DeepJudge highlights Cozen’s grounding strategy. Pilots start hot, then fade. Not tool quality. Workflow fit. Reliability across cases.
Clearbrief enters the mix too. Cozen tests its hallucination detector. Scans Word docs. Flags fake citations. Builds audit trails. Like spell-check for law. A LinkedIn update notes layered verification: AI as first draft. Fact-checkers next. Curated databases. Human sign-off.
Broader industry echoes the strain. Firms like HSF, Kramer Levin appoint AI chiefs. Scale pilots thoughtfully, per Business Insider. But requests keep coming. Internal lawyers push too. Cozen sticks to priorities.
Past stumbles remind why caution rules. In 2023, Cozen attorneys faced fines for ChatGPT fakes in court. A federal judge hit them. Apologies followed. Lessons stuck. Now, pilots emphasize verification. Client wins. No repeats.
Insurance angles grow. Cozen attorneys Tiffany Bustamante, Abigail Horvat tackle AI liability. Webinars on tools for claims. Bad faith when AI denies coverage. Their work in Mealey’s Litigation Report. Florida reforms. AI expansion.
X chatter amplifies urgency. A post shares the Business Insider piece directly. Others flag AI misuse in briefs. Sanctions for unverified CoCounsel output. 6th Circuit calls out file names like “CoCounsel Skill Results.” Fake quotes. Misrepresented holdings. Lawyer sanctioned. No CJA pay. Bar referral.
Firms evolve. Or lag. Cozen’s playbook offers a path. Define goals. Test smart. Learn always. Even if a tool shelves, skills endure. Attorneys gain confidence. Clients see gains. That’s the muscle. And in law’s high-stakes game, it counts double.
Requests won’t stop. But fatigue can. Cozen proves it. Pick tools that stick. Build from there.
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