The
12th
annual
Relativity
Fest
kicked
off
this
week
in
Chicago
before
over
1,800
attendees.
Lots
of
announcements,
the
most
significant
of
which
was
that
starting
in
early
2026,
the
Relativity
aiR
for
Review
and
aiR
for
Privilege
products
will
be
included
in
the
standard
Relativity
One
package
and
pricing.
The
accompanying
press
release
announcing
the
change
describes
these
tools
as
“generative
AI
solutions
for
legal
review.”
In
other
words,
what
were
previously
only
obtainable
by
paying
a
separate
and
additional
charge
will
now
essentially
be
free
for
Relativity
customers.
Why
Is
This
Important?
This
is
important
because
so
many
vendors
try
to
create
AI
programs
and
then
charge
separately
for
them
to
generate
revenue.
Many
of
these
products
are
already
expensive
and
adding
an
AI
surcharge
can
place
them
out
of
reach
for
many
practitioners.
And
the
idea
that
there
are
separate
charges
for
the
state-of-the-art
products
feels
like
nickel
and
diming
that
does
little
more
than
breed
mistrust.
Yet
these
products
can
save
thousands
of
dollars
and
countless
hours
and
are
valuable.
Many
AI
tools
do
little
more
than
make
the
rich
richer,
providing
an
advantage
to
the
large
firms
that
can
afford
state-of-the-art
tools.
Offering
the
review
and
privilege
review
tools
as
part
of
the
standard
package
levels
the
playing
field.
It
also
makes
for
better
results
when
both
sides
have
access
to
the
same
tools.
Phil
Saunders,
the
Relativity
CEO,
put
it
this
way:
“We
believe
generative
AI
is
the
undeniable
future
of
review,
and
we’re
making
it
easy
for
all
RelativityOne
customers
to
experience
the
platform.”
In
some
respects,
the
decision
reflects
the
culture
of
the
company
and
in
particular
the
philosophy
of
Saunders
who
has
been
in
that
position
for
almost
three
years.
Unlike
many
of
those
in
C-suites
of
legal
tech
companies,
Saunders
is
refreshingly
honest.
He’s
self-deprecating.
He’s
humble
but
confident.
He’s
the
kind
of
CEO
who
goes
to
the
somewhat
drab
hotel
gym
to
work
out
with
everyone
else
instead
of
being
chauffeured
to
someplace
fancy
with
his
entourage.
You
know
the
kind
of
guy
you
want
to
have
a
beer
with?
That’s
Saunders.
Some
Honesty
For
a
Change
Consistent
with
his
style
and
philosophy,
Saunders
made
a
number
of
revealing
and
candid
comments
in
the
Keynote
and
afterwards
in
a
press
conference.
For
example,
one
of
the
tools
announced
recently
by
Relativity
is
aiR
Strategy,
which
helps
users
create
case
strategies.
When
asked
why
that
tool
was
also
not
being
bundled
in
the
standard
package,
his
response
was
interesting:
frankly,
he
admitted
that
the
product
is
not
quite
ready
yet.
It’s
not
a
“real-time,
best-in-class”
offering.
Interesting
and
honest:
bundling
aiR
Strategy
will
apparently
be
discussed
only
when
the
product
is
ready.
When
asked
about
future
mergers
and
acquisitions,
Saunders
also
answered
honestly
that
the
company
had
not
been
good
at
integrating
acquired
companies
in
the
past.
He
also
noted
that
a
lack
of
a
culture
fit
just
fuels
disruption.
So,
says
Saunders,
Relativity
just
hasn’t
been
ready
for
more
acquisitions.
Saunders
also
raised
the
question
of
the
importance
of
(or
perhaps
lack
of
importance)
of
focusing
too
much
on
revenue:
“just
because
something
builds
revenue
doesn’t
mean
it’s
going
to
serve
the
customers
well…
we
have
to
get
over
the
reality
that
revenue
is
like
heroin,
it’s
addictive.”
Saunders
also
addressed
the
relationship
of
Relativity
with
its
partners.
He
firmly
planted
a
flag:
Relativity
partners
can’t
take
a
Relativity
product
and
mark
it
up.
“It’s
not
serving
the
end
customer
by
marking
up
a
platform
5X
to
maintain
the
margins
they
once
had
in
the
human
review
business
and
then
doing
a
bunch
of
consulting
services
and
charging
$800
an
hour.”
Relationships
with
partners
can
often
be
touchy:
it’s
like
the
relationship
between
franchisors
and
franchisees
that
I’m
familiar
with
from
practicing
law.
They
need
each
other
but
if
the
franchisor
doesn’t
make
sure
the
franchisee
offers
the
products
fairly
and
honestly,
everyone
gets
hurt.
It’s
the
same
here,
so
it’s
good
to
see
Saunders
make
Relativity’s
stance
clear.
Saunders
was
also
asked
if
the
recently
announced
Relativity
Rel
Labs
program,
an
investment
program
that
would
support
legal
tech
startups,
might
partner
with
or
invest
in
some
socially
oriented
AI
tools.
Another
honest
answer:
“that’s
a
really
good
question,
we
haven’t
thought
of
it.”
As
Saunders
put
it,
“if
we
don’t
know
something,
we
own
it.”
Company
Culture
Concluding
the
press
conference,
Saunders
summed
up
in
a
few
words
what
he
thinks
the
culture
of
Relativity
is
or
should
be.
First,
it
approaches
things
with
“radical
candor”
where
ideas
and
for
that
matter,
failures,
are
discussed
openly
and
robustly.
It
strives
to
be
“humble
but
hungry.”
Platitudes?
Maybe.
But
if
bundling
key
tools
without
charging
extra
for
them
is
any
indication,
this
culture
may
be
real.
Plus,
by
the
way,
says
Saunders,
radical
candor
lets
him
swear
a
lot.
Why
This
Approach
Works
I
don’t
work
for
Relativity.
I’m
not
there
day
to
day.
I
don’t
use
their
products.
But
in
an
era
when
many
tech
vendors
overpromise
underperforming
products
or
announce
products
that
will
be
offered
later,
offer
enhancements
that
don’t
do
much
new,
or
offer
products
as
add-ons
to
their
central
core
products,
Saunders’s
honesty
and
transparency
is
refreshing.
As
with
most
customer
relationships,
at
the
end
of
the
day,
it
needs
to
be
about
trust.
Honesty
and
transparency
generate
trust.
Doing
the
right
thing
like
including
key
programs
in
the
standard
platform
says
a
lot.
Particularly
in
a
business
where
relationships
between
legal
service
providers
and
their
clients
hinge
almost
entirely
on
trust.
If
only
other
vendors
followed
suit,
they
might
be
become
trusted
allies
instead
of
just
vendors.
Stephen
Embry
is
a
lawyer,
speaker,
blogger,
and
writer.
He
publishes TechLaw
Crossroads,
a
blog
devoted
to
the
examination
of
the
tension
between
technology,
the
law,
and
the
practice
of
law.