While
attending
the
recent
ABA
spring
conference
of
the
General
Practice/Solo,
Young
Lawyers,
and
Law
Practice
Divisions,
I
popped
into
a
presentation
by
Karoline
Buck
and
Emma
Raimi-Zlatic
of
Thomson
Reuters
and
Smokeball,
respectively.
As
many
know,
Thomson
Reuters
and
Smokeball
recently
announced
a
partnership
to
marry
TR
legal
research
and
AI
capabilities
with
Smokeball’s
practice
management
platforms.
What’s
unique
about
the
partnership
is
that
it’s
an
attempt
to
better
reach
small
law
firms
and
solo
lawyers.
According
to
the
Smokeball
press
release
announcing
the
partnership,
“the
partnership
connects
the
business
and
practice
of
law
for
small
to
mid-size
firms…”
The
TR
press
release
echoes
this:
“we’re
giving
legal
professionals
in
small
firms
something
that
hasn’t
existed
in
the
market
until
now.
“
Since
many
conference
attendees
were
from
small
law
firms,
were
themselves
solos,
or
were
young
lawyers
just
starting
out,
it
was
a
good
place
for
TR
and
Smokeball
to
talk
about
their
“law
firm
in
a
box
concept”
which
was
the
title
of
their
presentation.
The
Partnership
Smokeball
has
historically
been
all
about
the
small
law
firms
and
solo
market;
according
to
the
press
release,
its
user
base
is
predominantly
firms
of
between
2
and
30
people
and
solos.
It
offers
a
wide
variety
of
practice
management
tools
and
materials.
Raimi-Zlatic
relayed
that
Smokeball
is
unique
in
that
it
offers
both
state-
and
practice-specific
tools
for
its
customers.
It
also
has
an
automated
time
tracker
tool
that
they
claim
is
unique.
I
have
written
about
this
tool
before:
it
automatically
tracks
and
records
time
which
enables
timekeepers
to
devote
more
energy
to
the
practice
of
law
and
less
to
recording
what
they
are
doing.
Thomson
Reuters,
of
course,
is
a
giant
in
the
legal
tech
industry.
Its
history
goes
back
to
Westlaw
and
its
compilation
of
the
headnotes
that
many
of
us
relied
on
in
doing
research
back
in
the
old
days.
Thomson
Reuters
still
offers
a
digital
version
of
Westlaw,
now
called
Westlaw
Advantage,
Edge,
and
Precision
along
with
its
Practical
Law
Tools
and
its
AI
tool
Co-Counsel
among
others.
Features
and
Benefits
Both
Buck
and
Raimi-Zlatic
stressed
that
the
goal
is
to
enable
the
TR
and
Smokeball
systems
to
talk
to
each
other
“in
a
box.”
The
idea
of
course
is
to
enable
practitioners
to
access
both
the
sophisticated
legal
research
tools
of
TR
and
the
wide
range
of
practice
management
tools
that
Smokeball
offers
so
that
practitioners
can
use
both
systems
side
by
side
and
throughout
cases
and
matters.
It
enables
a
one-stop
place
for
both
needs
to
be
met
instead
of
firms
trying
to
get
both
to
work
with
one
another
on
their
own.
That’s
particularly
a
problem
for
small
law
firms
and
solos
who
don’t
have
the
resources
of
much
bigger
players.
In
addition,
solo
lawyers
and
those
in
small
firms
by
necessity
have
to
spend
a
lot
of
time
on
administrative
matters.
There
is
no
one
else
to
do
it.
But
that
time
isn’t
billable
nor
is
it
for
the
benefit
of
clients.
It’s
a
sinkhole.
By
combining
programs
and
directing
energies
to
these
lawyers,
it
could
be
a
real
benefit
since
it
enables
them
to
be
stronger
on
the
research
side
and
spend
more
time
on
client
work
and
less
on
administrative
matters.
In
doing
so,
the
presenters
stressed
that
the
collective
resources
would
enable
the
small
firm
practitioner
to
better
compete
with
their
larger
brethren.
And
it’s
no
doubt
true
that
large
law
firm
lawyers
often
look
down
on
those
from
smaller
firms.
But
tools
like
this,
in
the
words
of
Raimi-Zlatic,
“level
the
playing
field.”
As
might
be
expected,
it’s
a
work
in
progress.
What’s
Different
The
partnership
is
the
latest
effort
to
better
tie
the
legal
research
and
substantive
side
of
the
business
to
the
administrative
side.
We
saw
this
with
Clio’s
acquisition
of
the
legal
research
provider,
vLex.
We
saw
it
with
the
LexisNexis
“partnership
“with
Harvey
and
with
its
integration
with
the
document
management
provider
NetDocuments.
But
the
difference
here
is
that
TR
and
Smokeball
say
their
partnership
is
purposefully
directed
toward
the
smaller
law
firms.
While
Clio
has
historically
directed
its
product
stack
to
smaller
law
firms,
it
now
has
a
bigger
vision
in
mind
and
is
targeting
Biglaw,
as
I
have
previously
written.
Harvey
has
historically
marketed
to
Biglaw
(although
that
may
be
changing).
The
LexisNexis
partnership
seems
more
geared
to
Biglaw
as
well
as
does
the
integration
with
NetDocuments.
So,
the
TR
and
Smokeball
effort
feels
unique
and
timely
as
smaller
law
firms
are
struggling
to
compete
with
bigger
law
firms
with
more
resources.
If
that’s
truly
what
they
plan
to
do,
I
commend
them
for
it.
Of
course,
there
are
advantages
to
the
partnership
for
both
TR
and
Smokeball.
TR
has
tentacles
in
hundreds
of
law
firms,
law
schools,
and
the
judiciary
circle.
Its
tools
are
offered
to
law
firms
big
and
small.
But
smaller
firms
often
worry
about
the
cost
of
what
TR
offers.
Perhaps
by
combining
with
Smokeball,
it
hopes
the
combined
platforms
will
be
more
palatable
to
small
law.
Smokeball,
on
the
other
hand,
is
a
much
smaller
player.
In
fact,
when
Buck
and
Raimi-Zlatic
polled
the
room,
most
attendees
said
they
were
TR
customers
while
only
one
person
volunteered
they
were
a
Smokeball
customer.
So,
the
partnership
will
introduce
Smokeball
to
a
better-known
brand
and
a
broader
range
of
customers.
Some
Risks
But
as
I
have
discussed
before,
these
kinds
of
combinations
do
pose
some
risks
to
users.
If
you
buy
the
integrated
systems
to
get
both,
leaving
one
or
the
other
later
becomes
time
consuming
and
costly
since
you
have
to
replace
a
platform.
If
the
cost
goes
up
and/or
the
service
goes
down,
you
could
be
left
in
a
tough
spot.
Plus,
it’s
hard
to
know
exactly
what
is
meant
by
the
concept
of
partnership
or
integration,
for
that
matter.
It’s
hard
to
gauge
the
permanence
of
the
arrangement
when
you
have
no
clue
as
to
the
terms.
And
that
permanence
is
important
when
selecting
a
vendor,
especially
one
that’s
going
to
offer
both
legal
and
administrative
platforms.
So
to
some
extent
it’s
buyer
beware.
Ask
questions.
Nevertheless,
a
Step
in
the
Right
Direction
But
given
those
risks,
what
TR
and
Smokeball
are
doing
is
still
commendable.
Solos
and
small
firms
make
up
a
huge
segment
of
the
legal
marketplace.
They
are
frequently
ignored
and
undervalued
by
the
legal
community
and
vendors.
So,
to
see
two
players
offer
something
just
for
them
that
would
empower
them
is
refreshing.
But
for
their
sake,
let’s
just
hope
they
do
what
they
say.
From
being
involved
in
TechShow
where
many
attendees
are
from
small
law,
I
know
they
ask
hard
practical
questions
since
they
are
not
only
buying
the
products,
they
are
the
users
as
well.
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.