How U.S. law firm Fredrikson & Byron centralized and improved management of outside counsel guidelines with Intapp Terms

Using a manual, paper-based process to manage and comply with every client’s outside counsel guidelines (OCGs) is both inefficient and risky. That’s why Fredrikson & Byron chose Intapp Terms to digitize and centralize management of its clients’ OCGs. The firm is achieving additional efficiency in managing client requirements thanks to their early adoption of Intapp Assist’s new generative AI feature, Ask Intapp — an app conveniently embedded in Microsoft Teams.

Fredrikson & Byron is a leading Midwest law firm working collaboratively to help businesses achieve their goals regionally, nationally and globally. With a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet,” its attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients and operate as business advisors and strategic partners as well as legal counselors. The firm’s 300+ attorneys are based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, Mankato, St. Paul, Saltillo, Mexico, and Shanghai, China.

Intapp Terms accelerates OCG review

With Intapp Assist for Terms, Fredrikson can now review and distribute key terms more quickly after receiving OCGs from a new client. “The AI takes an initial pass at categorizing each of the obligations,” explains Carly Numrich, the firm’s Risk Counsel. “I then go through and review everything and confirm the categorization is done how I want it.”

With client commitments categorized in Intapp Terms, all stakeholders can easily review and approve the guidelines applicable to them.

The AI takes an initial pass at categorizing each of the obligations, I then go through and review everything and confirm the categorization is done how I want it.

CARLY NUMRICH, RISK COUNSEL, FREDRIKSON

Centralization of OCGs enables rapid responses to data security issues

In the event Fredrikson ever has a need to quickly pull information across all, or many, of its OCGS, the firm will be able to rapidly respond thanks to Intapp Terms. Through the software, the firm can view the security requirements of each client and act accordingly. “I can pull all of those terms very fast — much faster than before — and help the firm respond in a way that’s compliant with those terms,” says Numrich.

Intapp Assist for Terms offers firm professionals immediate answers about client commitments

Fredrikson staff can also quickly get answers to questions about client terms using Intapp Assist for Terms’ new generative AI feature, Ask Intapp. “Our staff no longer have to go into Intapp Terms and search for the right terms document, or contact me with a question,” explains Numrich. “Now they’re able to just pull up Ask Intapp in Microsoft Teams and ask it terms questions, such as, ‘What are my payment terms with this client?’ And Ask Intapp provides the answer. This is a much more streamlined process.”

Taking a look at the entire Intapp Intelligent Cloud, we were intrigued by a lot of the possibilities for integration across the various products — including the ability to integrate Intapp Time and Intapp Terms, and thereby surface outside counsel guidelines at the point of time entry.

BRENT EICHTEN, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, FREDRIKSON

Early adopters influence Intapp Assist for Terms features

As part of the Intapp Assist for Terms early adopter program, Fredrikson shared product feedback and feature requests with Intapp R&D. “The Intapp product team did a fantastic job making improvements based on our feedback, further refining Intapp Assist for Terms so that it can give us the information we want,” says Numrich.

“We’re very engaged with the product team, and it’s been invaluable to have that interaction,” adds Brent Eichten, the Chief Information Officer at Fredrikson. “We’re able to connect with them and influence the features of the product.”

Intapp Terms and Intapp Time make billing terms compliance faster and easier

Another reason Fredrikson selected Intapp Terms was the ability to use it in combination with Intapp Time. “Taking a look at the entire Intapp Intelligent Cloud, we were intrigued by a lot of the possibilities for integration across the various products — including the ability to integrate Intapp Time and Intapp Terms, and thereby surface outside counsel guidelines at the point of time entry,” says Eichten. Thanks to the integration between Intapp Terms and Intapp Time, client billing requirements and restrictions captured in Intapp Terms will automatically surface as alerts in Intapp Time — for example, reminding lawyers not to block-bill for a client. This feature simplifies compliance with financial terms and enables firms to minimize billing disputes. “Once we get Intapp Compliant Time set up, that’ll help a lot with gaining efficiency, billing correctly, and not having bills get reduced or rejected,” says Numrich.

Executive Summary

Fredrikson & Byron — a law firm based in Minneapolis, with additional offices in the Midwest as well as overseas — has built a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet” by bringing business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to its work with clients, and by operating as business advisors and strategic partners as well as legal counselors.

Challenges

  • Trying to manage OCGs using a manual, paper-based approach
  • Lack of centralized application for storing OCGs

Solutions

Successes

  • Fredrikson gained an efficient, digital process for reviewing client obligations.
  • Fredrikson can easily review OCGs relating to a wide variety of key terms and quickly respond to questions from staff, lawyers, and clients.
  • With Intapp Assist for Terms’ generative AI feature, Ask Intapp, staff can get immediate answers to questions about terms of business or documents stored in Intapp Terms — directly in Microsoft Teams.
  • As participants in the early adopter program for Intapp Assist for Terms, Fredrikson shared feedback influencing the feature functionality and capabilities of Ask Intapp.
  • Fredrikson plans to use Intapp Terms along with Intapp Time to ensure billing terms compliance at the point of time entry.