Tom Dunlop, CEO & Founder at Summize is an achieved business and expertise lawyer, Tom’s expertise with reviewing contracts was the catalyst that led to Summize. Previous to this, he labored as a World Authorized Director for a number of fast-growth expertise firms.
Summize is remodeling Contract Lifecycle Administration (CLM) by enabling whole companies—not simply authorized groups—to work quicker and smarter with contracts. The platform integrates straight into extensively used instruments like Microsoft Phrase, Groups, Slack, Outlook, and Gmail, assembly customers the place they already work. With an intuitive person expertise, professional implementation, and highly effective AI, Summize simplifies and accelerates the contract course of from finish to finish. Centered on driving business-wide CLM adoption, Summize is redefining how contracts are managed, reviewed, and executed throughout organizations.
What impressed you to create Summize? Had been there particular challenges you confronted as a Common Counsel that led you to develop an AI-powered authorized answer?
There’s a couple of issues that impressed me. Beforehand, as a World Authorized Director, I’d be there with my highlighter marker and printouts, reviewing contracts and attempting to create summaries of every one. There have been additionally groups of very demanding salespeople who wanted consideration and understandably needed to get offers finished. There was clearly a necessity for automating duties. I used to be working in a really excessive progress tech surroundings, so when it got here to innovation, I had an entrepreneurial mindset. Everybody round me was additionally continually looking out for higher methods of doing issues, too. This stuff all coming collectively had been the catalyst for me creating and beginning Summize.
How has Summize developed since its founding in 2018? What had been some key milestones alongside the best way?
We had been a generic summarization software at first, so it was a giant step ahead once we determined to concentrate on the authorized business, and particularly, in-house counsel. Subsequent was once we reached our purpose of making a holistic answer that might function a touchpoint for each contraction interplay – which additionally led to the widening of our performance. The third milestone was once we started embedding our intelligence in different instruments inflicting adoption to actually take off. Then there was our growth into the U.S. and the fast progress that adopted.
Alongside the best way we achieved rather a lot. We had been first-to-market with Phrase Add-In and AI performance. We had been first-to-market with Groups and Slack chatbots that would work together with authorized and create contracts. And, we’ll be first-to-market with extra capabilities within the very close to future. We’re continually evolving.
What units Summize aside from different Contract Lifecycle Administration (CLM) options in the marketplace?
Our distinctive promoting level is our embedded method versus an all-in-one CLM platform. Basically, these are the choices, and we really feel an embedded expertise by way of present and acquainted instruments is extra highly effective and facilitates adoption. Our use of synthetic intelligence (AI) and pure language processing (NLP) can also be a differentiator. Its capability to streamline processes and scale back guide effort is driving new ranges of value effectivity for authorized groups.
What industries or authorized capabilities are presently main in AI adoption, and which of them are lagging behind?
In-house counsel at expertise and software program firms usually tend to undertake AI as a result of excessive quantity of offers and concentrate on effectivity. Whenever you’re in additional commercially centered environments, eradicating blockers to hurry deal processes is essential. We’re seeing adoption throughout all authorized capabilities. Nevertheless, because the voice of a enterprise, normal in-house groups can truly be a barrier to AI. They should approve options and that may gradual adoption amongst customers and throughout wider enterprise capabilities. However bigger business groups which might be very deal centered know there’s fast productiveness good points and financial savings, so that they’re adopting AI quicker.
How do you see AI remodeling authorized work past contract evaluation? What different authorized duties may AI streamline?
Contracts are the system of document for any enterprise transaction, delivering all of the related relationship knowledge, starting from who you’re contracting with to particular obligations to termination particulars. Accessing that data and making it usable is what we’re doing with issues like contract evaluation and summarization. Put AI on the again of that and you may drive knowledge pushes between programs and workflow orchestration throughout numerous elements of the enterprise. That opens the door to a world of functions. It would sound far-fetched, however AI may even remodel the authorized service mannequin itself someday, enabling corporations to cost based mostly on the information they ship and never time.
In accordance with Summize’s recent survey, 89% of in-house authorized professionals use AI instruments, but issues stay round privateness and safety (45%), restricted understanding or coaching (37%), and an absence of clear use instances (31%). How can authorized groups transfer past preliminary AI adoption to make sure they’re utilizing it securely and successfully as a trusted accomplice of their workflows?
They should perceive how AI works, what to look out for from a safety standpoint, and the way knowledge interacts with an AI mannequin. It’s a must to guarantee they’re utilizing it securely and successfully as a trusted accomplice in workflows. This requires coaching and clear AI insurance policies. Group members also needs to perceive how AI will affect the function of normal counsel over the subsequent 5 years. As soon as they’ve this information, they’ll be capable of apply what they’ve realized to develop even better use instances and spur additional adoption,
How do you assume AI-powered instruments like Summize will change the function of Common Counsels and in-house authorized groups over the subsequent 5 years?
I believe it’s going to free them from decrease worth, excessive quantity duties, permitting them to concentrate on the correct sort of labor. It can additionally allow Common Counsels to scale their information, in addition to their experiences, throughout authorized groups and the enterprise itself. And along with being relieved of time-consuming, guide duties, leaders will know that such jobs are being finished to their requirements.
Do you assume regulatory frameworks must evolve to higher govern using AI in authorized tech?
Regulatory frameworks might want to specify the info utilized by language fashions (LLMs). What’s extra, fashions may very well be required to make use of verified content material, which might shift the main focus from knowledge quantity to high quality and relevance. General, I do assume we’ll see regulatory frameworks evolve, and fashions do higher at understanding the info it makes use of earlier than rendering a solution.
What function do integrations (e.g., with Microsoft Phrase, Groups, Slack) play in making AI-driven authorized instruments extra accessible and user-friendly?
Shifting ahead, it’ll be crucial to have AI embedded in person workflows and experiences. The query is, how do you do it and make it straightforward for customers? Integrations with Phrase, Groups and Slack are essentially necessary as a result of persons are already utilizing and adopting these instruments every day, making it the best entry level to begin a question.
Integrations with on a regular basis instruments will guarantee AI-driven authorized instruments are extra accessible and user-friendly.
What’s subsequent for Summize? Are there any upcoming options or expansions we needs to be wanting ahead to?
We simply launched our next-gen AI-Powered CLM with clever brokers to speed up opinions and unlock contract insights that makes use of agenetic AI to deal with duties from redlining to evaluate. We additionally broadened our chatbot’s performance to work together with different knowledge units. These are only a couple issues now we have deliberate and we’re wanting ahead to introducing different highly effective CLM developments.
Thanks for the good interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to Summize.