Wilson Sonsini Launches 10 Legal Tools on Gavel

Wilson Sonsini has long been at the forefront of legal technology, representing innovative startups and leading venture capital firms. This summer, the firm took its commitment to innovation a step further by immersing partners, associates, and summer associates in Gavel—the no-code platform for building legal applications.

As part of its “Build a Bot” program, attorneys from across the firm collaborated to develop legal bots in a variety of practice areas. Some of these tools will be used internally, while others will be client-facing, aiming to enhance collaboration and further immerse clients in the legal process.

Initially, the firm experimented with a traditional chatbot model but found it limiting. While chatbots can handle simple interactions, they lack the sophistication to gather complex client information or generate intricate legal documents.

By contrast, the Gavel platform offers far greater versatility. It enables the creation of chatbot-like tools when appropriate but also supports complex decision-tree logic, allowing users to navigate detailed questionnaires, incorporate nested logic into documents, and generate multiple sets of documents or decisions. Through Gavel, Wilson Sonsini can build both expert systems and advanced document automation solutions.

So far, the firm has automated at least ten different legal areas, with plans for more. These projects range from basic NDAs to M&A documents, including:

• A Merger bot that guides users through questions to populate documents required for creating a merger subsidiary
• A bot that walks users through drafting board consents and approving option grants
• Tools to generate SAFE agreements
• Systems for creating a suite of documents for hiring employees or independent contractors
• A Termination bot to guide clients through necessary disclosures when terminating employees

Summer associates also developed bots that go beyond document generation to make legal decisions. For instance, one team built a “CFIUS bot” that determines whether a transaction falls under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

“In order to automate something, you really have to understand it from soup to nuts,” said David Wang, Wilson Sonsini’s Chief Innovation Officer. “Ultimately, the most important thing in all of this is actually changing cultural norms and behaviors for lawyers.”

At the end of the summer, the firm is showcasing this initial suite of legal tools to the broader organization. Following the presentations, stakeholders will provide feedback and continue to refine and expand the tools. Maintenance and ongoing updates are essential for the success of legal tech initiatives, especially given the constantly evolving landscape of legal regulations.

Instead of the traditional summer brief-writing requirement, summer associates worked directly in Gavel’s “Builder” platform—which requires no coding knowledge—to automate these document drafting processes. Gavel’s team of engineers and former lawyers, including CEO Dorna Moini, herself a former Big Law associate, provided guidance and inspiration along the way. "We're really excited about how well the summer associates dove into the substantive law and how complex and functional the tools they built are," said Moini.

The program will give summer associates a reason to work with experienced lawyers, said David Wang, Wilson Sonsini’s chief innovation officer. But it is also an effort to build early believers in the firm’s efficiency efforts.

“In order to automate something, you really have to understand it from soup to nuts,” Wang said. “Ultimately, the most important thing in all of this is actually changing cultural norms and behaviors for lawyers.”

Bloomberg also covered the program last week.

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