Rules-based guidance through software developed by a law firm

Emerson Electric Co.’s legal department often needs advice about shipping regulations. One of its law firms, Bryan Cave, developed software that runs on its website. The program asks the Emerson Electric lawyers who use it a number of questions about the regulatory situation and then produces either an answer or a suggestion that the attorney call Bryan Cave for further advice.

As described in InsideCounsel, June 2007 at 63, the law firm has developed such rules-based software to give advice on other areas, such as insider trading (See my post of March 24, 2005 on if-then, rule-based document assembly software.). The article ends with a broad statement: “Many other firms are offering their clients similar KM solutions, often at no cost to the client.”