1
00:00:01,228 --> 00:00:05,827
Welcome to Reinventing Professionals,
a podcast hosted by industry analyst
2
00:00:05,888 --> 00:00:10,788
Ari Kaplan, which shares ideas,
guidance, and perspectives from market
3
00:00:10,797 --> 00:00:14,757
leaders shaping the next generation
of legal and professional services.
4
00:00:16,057 --> 00:00:19,947
This is Ari Kaplan at RelFest London 2026.
5
00:00:22,217 --> 00:00:25,367
My name is Phil Saunders, and
I am the CEO of Relativity.
6
00:00:25,757 --> 00:00:26,537
And proud to be here.
7
00:00:26,657 --> 00:00:31,457
Can you share a little bit about
what Relativity is trying to convey
8
00:00:31,457 --> 00:00:32,497
at this year's RelFest London?
9
00:00:34,197 --> 00:00:36,617
Thanks, Ari, and pleasure
to chat with you once again.
10
00:00:36,617 --> 00:00:37,927
It's always enjoyable.
11
00:00:38,757 --> 00:00:43,747
The keynote covered a wide variety of
topics, but what I tried to accomplish
12
00:00:43,757 --> 00:00:49,237
was to get grounded because there's so
much taking place, not just in the legal
13
00:00:49,347 --> 00:00:51,227
tech market, but in the wider macro.
14
00:00:51,887 --> 00:00:57,197
For me , getting grounded with our
community, who rely so much on what we're
15
00:00:57,197 --> 00:01:01,787
doing and how we're thinking, that if we
could create a level of trust in what we
16
00:01:01,787 --> 00:01:07,137
agree on, we can then leap together and
tackle all the opportunities that are out
17
00:01:07,137 --> 00:01:10,187
there and manage as best we can the risks.
18
00:01:10,257 --> 00:01:11,627
That was really my focus.
19
00:01:11,987 --> 00:01:18,087
To explore those topics closely with our
audience, to build that level of baseline
20
00:01:18,137 --> 00:01:22,847
so that when Chris and his team would
talk about all the wonderful new offerings
21
00:01:23,057 --> 00:01:28,347
and surface areas and ways to engage with
Relativity, that there was a baseline
22
00:01:28,387 --> 00:01:29,867
and scaffolding that we can leap from.
23
00:01:30,317 --> 00:01:34,550
You said innovating and evolving is
not as important as transforming.
24
00:01:36,110 --> 00:01:39,360
I did say that ' because evolution
is something that naturally
25
00:01:39,430 --> 00:01:41,900
occurs over a period of time.
26
00:01:42,460 --> 00:01:44,240
Transformation is purposeful.
27
00:01:44,650 --> 00:01:46,900
It's more disruptive in a moment of time.
28
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,480
When I think about Relativity over
its past 25 years, and when I think
29
00:01:51,490 --> 00:01:55,830
about Relativity today and where
we're going, simple evolution and/or
30
00:01:55,870 --> 00:01:58,960
iteration is simply not enough.
31
00:01:59,410 --> 00:02:02,550
We need to be able to look at what's
taking place and understand, is
32
00:02:02,610 --> 00:02:06,560
iteration going to get us there, or
do we have to stop and positively
33
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,260
disrupt how we're doing work?
34
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,420
When we look at Relativity in our
platform, we could have continued to just
35
00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:18,510
bolt on cool AI things or decide we're
gonna completely transform and disrupt the
36
00:02:18,510 --> 00:02:21,560
core and make an end-to-end AI platform.
37
00:02:23,762 --> 00:02:27,032
My name is Chris Brown, and I'm the
chief product officer at Relativity.
38
00:02:28,662 --> 00:02:31,112
You just announced the
acquisition of Gavel.
39
00:02:31,172 --> 00:02:32,142
Congratulations.
40
00:02:32,222 --> 00:02:35,412
How does that improve
the Relativity ecosystem?
41
00:02:36,152 --> 00:02:38,922
We were really excited about
this acquisition at Gavel, and
42
00:02:38,922 --> 00:02:41,972
it's a quick and long view of
where we see the business going.
43
00:02:41,972 --> 00:02:46,182
The guiding strategy the last
couple years is meeting legal
44
00:02:46,182 --> 00:02:47,502
practitioners where they are.
45
00:02:47,972 --> 00:02:51,442
They, of course, are inside RelativityOne,
but they are now starting to engage
46
00:02:51,442 --> 00:02:55,052
in multiple surfaces as well, and
one of them is Microsoft Word.
47
00:02:55,292 --> 00:02:59,492
When you think about all the setup we
did on legal data intelligence use cases
48
00:02:59,492 --> 00:03:02,772
and the work you do to organize data,
discover the truth, and act on it, we
49
00:03:02,772 --> 00:03:06,582
often think about examining trigger
data and evidence, but if you're deep
50
00:03:06,582 --> 00:03:11,202
inside our platform, you know we're also
generating a lot of work product so over
51
00:03:11,202 --> 00:03:14,992
time, that work product is becoming quite
substantial, particularly our products
52
00:03:14,992 --> 00:03:17,182
like aiR for Case Strategy and aiR Assist.
53
00:03:17,512 --> 00:03:21,472
They're now allowing lawyers in the
platform to pull together deposition
54
00:03:21,482 --> 00:03:24,472
outlines, do witness summaries,
to a bunch of other things that
55
00:03:24,502 --> 00:03:26,152
ultimately get exported to Word.
56
00:03:26,482 --> 00:03:30,492
We really wanted to continue the
experience to the lawyers, not exporting,
57
00:03:30,492 --> 00:03:34,892
but opening in Word, and inside of that
Word experience, be able to ask questions
58
00:03:34,892 --> 00:03:39,182
still of the data to refine those outlines
or those documents or those references,
59
00:03:39,952 --> 00:03:44,132
redline with potentially their boss
heading into that deposition specifically,
60
00:03:44,502 --> 00:03:45,912
and then have those things synced back.
61
00:03:46,132 --> 00:03:49,092
Over time, at our scale, there's just
so many work products being built.
62
00:03:49,532 --> 00:03:50,902
We wanted to extend that system of action.
63
00:03:50,902 --> 00:03:55,262
That's number one why we're excited
about Gavel and a longer term
64
00:03:55,722 --> 00:03:57,132
vision, they're also a great team.
65
00:03:57,502 --> 00:04:01,532
The way they built a very small
budding business, product-led growth,
66
00:04:01,612 --> 00:04:05,032
earning one lawyer at a time into
the platform really excited us,
67
00:04:05,032 --> 00:04:07,632
and they're technically extremely
sharp, so they're just a great fit.
68
00:04:08,462 --> 00:04:14,962
In your keynote discussion, you talked
about integrations and the success of aiR.
69
00:04:15,272 --> 00:04:19,572
Relativity became successful because
it was able to create a way for
70
00:04:19,572 --> 00:04:22,732
people to build on it, embrace
it, and use it in their own way.
71
00:04:22,922 --> 00:04:26,722
How is this new era
continuing on that vision?
72
00:04:27,322 --> 00:04:31,582
What we're seeing in the market is that
aiR is basically the new way to solve
73
00:04:31,682 --> 00:04:34,082
most use cases in incredible ways.
74
00:04:34,082 --> 00:04:39,042
One of the themes that really go back to
Andrew Sieja is this theme of openness,
75
00:04:39,132 --> 00:04:43,542
and this notion the platform itself
has to be able to be tapped into by the
76
00:04:43,542 --> 00:04:47,212
practitioners with their own expertise
and extend it, whether that's through
77
00:04:47,232 --> 00:04:50,512
coding, knowledge sharing, through
anything else they bring to bear.
78
00:04:50,512 --> 00:04:54,752
This week we announced custom analyses
for aiR, and that was chiefly one of
79
00:04:54,752 --> 00:04:58,832
the motions to extend the platform
and allow any practitioner to bring in
80
00:04:58,842 --> 00:05:03,222
their expertise and get results in a
way that's scaled through Relativity.
81
00:05:03,222 --> 00:05:07,452
A lot of what we do in aiR is unblock
adoption of different parts of the
82
00:05:07,452 --> 00:05:12,292
platform, unleashing the full community
of practitioners is a major milestone.
83
00:05:12,622 --> 00:05:16,702
And today I showed a preview of where this
is going for practitioners and lawyers.
84
00:05:16,752 --> 00:05:20,292
You could have an advanced
practitioner build a custom analysis.
85
00:05:20,342 --> 00:05:23,602
Soon they'll be able to publish that
skill for other people to participate
86
00:05:23,602 --> 00:05:25,682
and use later in the platform.
87
00:05:25,682 --> 00:05:28,462
It's also a way of harvesting
their capabilities and offering
88
00:05:28,462 --> 00:05:29,742
it to more folks on their team.
89
00:05:30,492 --> 00:05:31,632
My name is Adam Weiss.
90
00:05:31,642 --> 00:05:35,322
I'm the chief administrative officer
and chief legal officer of Relativity.
91
00:05:37,402 --> 00:05:41,712
The concept of governance, of a
shifting regulatory environment
92
00:05:41,712 --> 00:05:43,882
came up in several presentations.
93
00:05:43,932 --> 00:05:46,762
You're the chief legal
officer of the company.
94
00:05:47,112 --> 00:05:52,212
How do you see a differentiation in
the way Relativity is used in Europe
95
00:05:52,222 --> 00:05:54,162
versus in the US or even in Australia?
96
00:05:54,702 --> 00:05:58,472
The beauty of what we do is there
is differentiation, and we're able
97
00:05:58,472 --> 00:06:02,982
to accommodate that differentiation
by geography, by jurisdiction, but
98
00:06:02,982 --> 00:06:06,972
there's also a lot of similarities,
and whether you come to a session at
99
00:06:06,972 --> 00:06:12,122
RelFest London or RelFest Sydney or
RelFest Chicago, a lot of the topics,
100
00:06:12,212 --> 00:06:15,542
a lot of the speakers, a lot of the
information is going to be very similar.
101
00:06:15,862 --> 00:06:20,642
While laws do vary from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction, Relativity as the AI
102
00:06:20,642 --> 00:06:24,512
platform for legal data intelligence
is able to accommodate the whole range
103
00:06:24,752 --> 00:06:29,362
of matters that one might experience or
deal with in a particular jurisdiction.
104
00:06:30,032 --> 00:06:33,712
Particularly this market in
London, UK, and EMEA, governance
105
00:06:33,722 --> 00:06:35,572
and defensibility really matters.
106
00:06:35,822 --> 00:06:38,052
It's been part of the
platform since the onset.
107
00:06:38,082 --> 00:06:41,402
What we're seeing is with people
bringing more AI to use, they want
108
00:06:41,402 --> 00:06:44,982
it to be transparent, auditable,
validated and defensible.
109
00:06:45,302 --> 00:06:48,152
They understand that at different
parts in managing legal matters,
110
00:06:48,572 --> 00:06:52,162
that's essential to delivering
the results and getting the ROI.
111
00:06:52,162 --> 00:06:55,912
From a product perspective, we're
building governance, audit trails, the
112
00:06:55,912 --> 00:06:58,172
ways you validate into the platform.
113
00:06:58,272 --> 00:07:01,732
It's something we'll continue to
invest in and the market demands.
114
00:07:01,807 --> 00:07:02,597
I'm Georgia Foster.
115
00:07:02,597 --> 00:07:06,237
The managing director and the vice
president of sales for international.
116
00:07:06,237 --> 00:07:10,167
That encompasses EMEA and APAC region,
so bringing all the goodness from the
117
00:07:10,167 --> 00:07:11,847
US out to the international markets.
118
00:07:12,547 --> 00:07:15,257
What was your objective for
this year's RelFest London?
119
00:07:15,887 --> 00:07:19,047
Every year the objective is to
bring the community together at all
120
00:07:19,047 --> 00:07:23,347
different levels and types of work,
and certainly we see that again today.
121
00:07:23,677 --> 00:07:28,617
We've exceeded capacity in most rooms,
and there were 70 people standing outside
122
00:07:28,617 --> 00:07:30,047
the keynote, which was phenomenal.
123
00:07:30,107 --> 00:07:35,517
Second was making sure that those
that are starting to look at what AI
124
00:07:35,517 --> 00:07:39,377
works best for them and correctly,
that they're understanding, unpacking,
125
00:07:39,377 --> 00:07:43,047
and alleviating some of the noise
that exists today in terms of how to
126
00:07:43,047 --> 00:07:47,807
run defensible workflows in a robust
system and how they do it correctly.
127
00:07:47,837 --> 00:07:52,157
The objective is as it always is to
celebrate our customers, to recognize
128
00:07:52,187 --> 00:07:58,017
them, to help them see what's coming down
the pike, to hear from them, and to share
129
00:07:58,017 --> 00:08:00,237
best practices as we all rise together.
130
00:08:00,377 --> 00:08:05,127
That's really what we do at Fest, whether
it's in Chicago, London, or in Sydney.
131
00:08:05,127 --> 00:08:08,227
We cannot ignore the elephant in
the room, which is AI, and the
132
00:08:08,307 --> 00:08:10,277
pace of innovation and change.
133
00:08:10,637 --> 00:08:12,887
Our customers and our
partners are very excited.
134
00:08:13,267 --> 00:08:15,587
There's probably a little
bit of anxiety as well.
135
00:08:15,587 --> 00:08:18,857
But everybody is leaning into this
change, and I think well-prepared.
136
00:08:19,207 --> 00:08:24,957
We're on this journey together, and
the focus on AI, and certainly our AI
137
00:08:24,957 --> 00:08:28,187
platform for legal data intelligence,
is more acute than it's ever been.
138
00:08:28,315 --> 00:08:31,005
Have you achieved your objective
for this year's Rel Fest?
139
00:08:31,055 --> 00:08:35,265
We used to have major announcements
on the stage at Chicago Fest, and we
140
00:08:35,265 --> 00:08:39,215
can't wait for October anymore because
the innovation's coming out so fast.
141
00:08:39,745 --> 00:08:45,325
For Fest London to be announcing such
major innovation and products to come, and
142
00:08:45,325 --> 00:08:48,575
just looking around at all the familiar
faces and excellent people that make
143
00:08:48,575 --> 00:08:50,195
this community, really happy with it.
144
00:08:50,965 --> 00:08:54,475
David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel and
Legal Education Director at Relativity.
145
00:08:55,405 --> 00:08:59,105
You hosted several panels
at RelFest London this year.
146
00:08:59,495 --> 00:09:03,185
What were some of the key takeaways
from the perspectives that were shared?
147
00:09:04,005 --> 00:09:08,005
We did one with the International Legal
Technology Association, where we did a
148
00:09:08,005 --> 00:09:13,105
roundup of various AI data law issues, and
today we had the research data session,
149
00:09:13,165 --> 00:09:16,475
and we discussed some of the research data
we're doing, including some of the data
150
00:09:16,475 --> 00:09:18,085
that you and I have done over the years.
151
00:09:18,425 --> 00:09:21,581
One of the big issues was whether
or not to disclose your use of
152
00:09:21,581 --> 00:09:25,811
any type of AI, and the data are
showing that up to a third are not.
153
00:09:26,121 --> 00:09:28,691
But, the audience here in the
United Kingdom was definitely
154
00:09:28,701 --> 00:09:32,511
full disclosure, probably because
there is guidance here in the UK.
155
00:09:32,561 --> 00:09:36,521
What's the hope for what people will
take from RelFest London when they
156
00:09:36,521 --> 00:09:38,461
leave and go back to their teams?
157
00:09:39,261 --> 00:09:44,171
Usable action that you can take, whether
it's from case law, the practice guidance,
158
00:09:44,171 --> 00:09:47,521
the technical exhibits, the vendors that
you see here, it's something you can
159
00:09:47,521 --> 00:09:49,481
take back and use on your job tomorrow.
160
00:09:49,731 --> 00:09:51,171
If we can do that, we've done our job.
161
00:09:52,381 --> 00:09:54,791
This market is particularly unique.
162
00:09:55,021 --> 00:09:57,541
It's not just the UK, even
though the event is here.
163
00:09:57,601 --> 00:10:01,311
There are countries all across EMEA that
we work with that are grappling with
164
00:10:01,331 --> 00:10:05,781
different policy changes and requirements
and regulations, and coming together
165
00:10:05,781 --> 00:10:09,341
and trying to work through some of that
in addition with the technology is key.
166
00:10:09,596 --> 00:10:13,006
Kristin Traylor, Senior
Director, AI Transformation and
167
00:10:13,006 --> 00:10:14,826
Law Firm Strategy, Relativity
168
00:10:15,986 --> 00:10:17,626
Great panel at RelFest London.
169
00:10:18,376 --> 00:10:22,216
What was the focus for that discussion?
170
00:10:22,656 --> 00:10:26,086
To help the industry understand
that we're way past pilots.
171
00:10:26,146 --> 00:10:29,546
We're at the point where we can
start to standardize on how we're
172
00:10:29,546 --> 00:10:34,776
using generative AI in review, in
disclosure, in investigations, helping
173
00:10:34,776 --> 00:10:39,276
people understand that there are
ways to validate and understand what
174
00:10:39,276 --> 00:10:43,326
the technology is doing, how it's
working, and to use it in live matters.
175
00:10:43,610 --> 00:10:49,670
What's different about Rel Fest
London versus Rel Fest Sydney or the
176
00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,540
traditional Relativity Fest in Chicago?
177
00:10:53,150 --> 00:10:56,750
I see it as an opportunity
for rolling thunder.
178
00:10:56,970 --> 00:11:00,950
Almost like if you compare it to
the old way of development in a
179
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:06,020
waterfall method versus a very clear
AI native, agentic, agile manner.
180
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:11,510
These are stories that we are rolling
out, and we began in Australia
181
00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:14,590
with the beginning of the year
talking about where we're going.
182
00:11:14,610 --> 00:11:19,250
But it was really the first chapter
of a couple of chapters to follow
183
00:11:19,290 --> 00:11:23,920
about the further transformation that
we're making inside our business.
184
00:11:24,030 --> 00:11:29,140
Chris and his team, in the next week
and over the past 30 days, have released
185
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:36,030
three innovation offerings right inside
RelOne that weren't there at Fest Sydney.
186
00:11:36,170 --> 00:11:41,220
That's an example of this chapter after
chapter showing that innovation at speed.
187
00:11:41,343 --> 00:11:45,583
What I find fascinating with our employee
base throughout the world, is there is
188
00:11:45,583 --> 00:11:49,883
a common bond that binds relativians,
no matter their age, country, first
189
00:11:49,883 --> 00:11:55,253
language, religion, or culture, and that
is our commitment to organizing data,
190
00:11:55,253 --> 00:11:59,293
discovering the truth, and acting on
it, and by doing so, pursuing justice.
191
00:11:59,703 --> 00:12:01,363
That is shared by all relativians.
192
00:12:01,923 --> 00:12:05,733
Similarly, that's shared by our customers,
no matter where they're located.
193
00:12:05,743 --> 00:12:09,673
So their needs may vary based on how
big they are, whether they're a law
194
00:12:09,673 --> 00:12:15,353
firm or a corporation or a governmental
entity or a legal service provider.
195
00:12:15,693 --> 00:12:18,723
But there are also a lot of
the same shared challenges,
196
00:12:18,763 --> 00:12:19,783
no matter where they are.
197
00:12:19,783 --> 00:12:22,763
One of the things I love most
about RelFest is getting that
198
00:12:22,763 --> 00:12:24,823
commonality, that similar spirit.
199
00:12:25,233 --> 00:12:28,653
No matter where one is in the world,
we're all doing the same important work.
200
00:12:28,747 --> 00:12:31,557
Did you anticipate last year that
you'd be having these conversations
201
00:12:31,577 --> 00:12:33,972
this year, and what do you think
we'll be talking about next year?
202
00:12:34,061 --> 00:12:38,811
There are no crystal balls
to ponder upon or to look at.
203
00:12:38,861 --> 00:12:44,081
A year ago, if you would have asked
me we'd be this far accelerated as a
204
00:12:44,091 --> 00:12:49,151
market in terms of adoption of AI, I
probably would have questioned that.
205
00:12:49,741 --> 00:12:51,871
If I could go back in time, I'd
say there'd be more testing.
206
00:12:52,261 --> 00:12:55,411
What we have acknowledged is
that we're way beyond testing.
207
00:12:55,941 --> 00:13:01,071
There's full up deployment of a variety
of tools, which is really wonderful
208
00:13:01,551 --> 00:13:03,781
and candidly daunting at the same time.
209
00:13:04,421 --> 00:13:10,211
If we did our job right in the keynote,
it was this balancing of opportunity
210
00:13:10,571 --> 00:13:12,371
and risk in the world we live in.
211
00:13:12,491 --> 00:13:18,531
We want to enable our community with
the best tech and the best AI in the
212
00:13:18,531 --> 00:13:23,501
form of aiR for our clients in a very
trusted, disciplined environment.
213
00:13:24,661 --> 00:13:28,621
We're very thoughtful about the governance
required to do that and it's that balance.
214
00:13:28,621 --> 00:13:30,991
In the keynote, I called
it the readiness gap.
215
00:13:31,401 --> 00:13:36,471
Part of the power of the AI platform
for legal data intelligence is to
216
00:13:36,521 --> 00:13:39,781
contain risk so our customers can
take advantage of the opportunity.
217
00:13:39,877 --> 00:13:45,357
This is Ari Kaplan at RelFest London
2026, speaking with Phil Saunders,
218
00:13:45,407 --> 00:13:50,742
Chris Brown , Adam Weiss, Kristin
Traylor, Georgia Foster David Horrigan.
219
00:13:50,837 --> 00:13:52,527
Chris Phil thank you thank you very much
220
00:13:52,577 --> 00:13:53,307
Adam, what a privilege.
221
00:13:53,307 --> 00:13:53,957
Thank you so much.
222
00:13:54,057 --> 00:13:54,647
Thank you, Ari.
223
00:13:54,657 --> 00:13:55,197
Appreciate it.
224
00:13:55,339 --> 00:13:56,199
Kristin, thanks so much.
225
00:13:56,489 --> 00:13:56,959
Thank you.
226
00:13:57,519 --> 00:13:58,629
David, it's a privilege to collaborate.
227
00:13:58,629 --> 00:13:59,259
Great to talk to you.
228
00:13:59,459 --> 00:14:00,969
Ari, great working with you as always.
229
00:14:01,148 --> 00:14:02,098
Georgia, congratulations.
230
00:14:02,108 --> 00:14:02,488
Thank you.
231
00:14:02,668 --> 00:14:03,438
Thanks again for coming.
232
00:14:04,189 --> 00:14:07,759
Thank you for listening to the
Reinventing Professionals podcast.
233
00:14:08,299 --> 00:14:14,839
Visit reinventingprofessionals.com or
arikaplanadvisors.com to learn more.
00:00:01,228 --> 00:00:05,827
Welcome to Reinventing Professionals,
a podcast hosted by industry analyst
2
00:00:05,888 --> 00:00:10,788
Ari Kaplan, which shares ideas,
guidance, and perspectives from market
3
00:00:10,797 --> 00:00:14,757
leaders shaping the next generation
of legal and professional services.
4
00:00:16,057 --> 00:00:19,947
This is Ari Kaplan at RelFest London 2026.
5
00:00:22,217 --> 00:00:25,367
My name is Phil Saunders, and
I am the CEO of Relativity.
6
00:00:25,757 --> 00:00:26,537
And proud to be here.
7
00:00:26,657 --> 00:00:31,457
Can you share a little bit about
what Relativity is trying to convey
8
00:00:31,457 --> 00:00:32,497
at this year's RelFest London?
9
00:00:34,197 --> 00:00:36,617
Thanks, Ari, and pleasure
to chat with you once again.
10
00:00:36,617 --> 00:00:37,927
It's always enjoyable.
11
00:00:38,757 --> 00:00:43,747
The keynote covered a wide variety of
topics, but what I tried to accomplish
12
00:00:43,757 --> 00:00:49,237
was to get grounded because there's so
much taking place, not just in the legal
13
00:00:49,347 --> 00:00:51,227
tech market, but in the wider macro.
14
00:00:51,887 --> 00:00:57,197
For me , getting grounded with our
community, who rely so much on what we're
15
00:00:57,197 --> 00:01:01,787
doing and how we're thinking, that if we
could create a level of trust in what we
16
00:01:01,787 --> 00:01:07,137
agree on, we can then leap together and
tackle all the opportunities that are out
17
00:01:07,137 --> 00:01:10,187
there and manage as best we can the risks.
18
00:01:10,257 --> 00:01:11,627
That was really my focus.
19
00:01:11,987 --> 00:01:18,087
To explore those topics closely with our
audience, to build that level of baseline
20
00:01:18,137 --> 00:01:22,847
so that when Chris and his team would
talk about all the wonderful new offerings
21
00:01:23,057 --> 00:01:28,347
and surface areas and ways to engage with
Relativity, that there was a baseline
22
00:01:28,387 --> 00:01:29,867
and scaffolding that we can leap from.
23
00:01:30,317 --> 00:01:34,550
You said innovating and evolving is
not as important as transforming.
24
00:01:36,110 --> 00:01:39,360
I did say that ' because evolution
is something that naturally
25
00:01:39,430 --> 00:01:41,900
occurs over a period of time.
26
00:01:42,460 --> 00:01:44,240
Transformation is purposeful.
27
00:01:44,650 --> 00:01:46,900
It's more disruptive in a moment of time.
28
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,480
When I think about Relativity over
its past 25 years, and when I think
29
00:01:51,490 --> 00:01:55,830
about Relativity today and where
we're going, simple evolution and/or
30
00:01:55,870 --> 00:01:58,960
iteration is simply not enough.
31
00:01:59,410 --> 00:02:02,550
We need to be able to look at what's
taking place and understand, is
32
00:02:02,610 --> 00:02:06,560
iteration going to get us there, or
do we have to stop and positively
33
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,260
disrupt how we're doing work?
34
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,420
When we look at Relativity in our
platform, we could have continued to just
35
00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:18,510
bolt on cool AI things or decide we're
gonna completely transform and disrupt the
36
00:02:18,510 --> 00:02:21,560
core and make an end-to-end AI platform.
37
00:02:23,762 --> 00:02:27,032
My name is Chris Brown, and I'm the
chief product officer at Relativity.
38
00:02:28,662 --> 00:02:31,112
You just announced the
acquisition of Gavel.
39
00:02:31,172 --> 00:02:32,142
Congratulations.
40
00:02:32,222 --> 00:02:35,412
How does that improve
the Relativity ecosystem?
41
00:02:36,152 --> 00:02:38,922
We were really excited about
this acquisition at Gavel, and
42
00:02:38,922 --> 00:02:41,972
it's a quick and long view of
where we see the business going.
43
00:02:41,972 --> 00:02:46,182
The guiding strategy the last
couple years is meeting legal
44
00:02:46,182 --> 00:02:47,502
practitioners where they are.
45
00:02:47,972 --> 00:02:51,442
They, of course, are inside RelativityOne,
but they are now starting to engage
46
00:02:51,442 --> 00:02:55,052
in multiple surfaces as well, and
one of them is Microsoft Word.
47
00:02:55,292 --> 00:02:59,492
When you think about all the setup we
did on legal data intelligence use cases
48
00:02:59,492 --> 00:03:02,772
and the work you do to organize data,
discover the truth, and act on it, we
49
00:03:02,772 --> 00:03:06,582
often think about examining trigger
data and evidence, but if you're deep
50
00:03:06,582 --> 00:03:11,202
inside our platform, you know we're also
generating a lot of work product so over
51
00:03:11,202 --> 00:03:14,992
time, that work product is becoming quite
substantial, particularly our products
52
00:03:14,992 --> 00:03:17,182
like aiR for Case Strategy and aiR Assist.
53
00:03:17,512 --> 00:03:21,472
They're now allowing lawyers in the
platform to pull together deposition
54
00:03:21,482 --> 00:03:24,472
outlines, do witness summaries,
to a bunch of other things that
55
00:03:24,502 --> 00:03:26,152
ultimately get exported to Word.
56
00:03:26,482 --> 00:03:30,492
We really wanted to continue the
experience to the lawyers, not exporting,
57
00:03:30,492 --> 00:03:34,892
but opening in Word, and inside of that
Word experience, be able to ask questions
58
00:03:34,892 --> 00:03:39,182
still of the data to refine those outlines
or those documents or those references,
59
00:03:39,952 --> 00:03:44,132
redline with potentially their boss
heading into that deposition specifically,
60
00:03:44,502 --> 00:03:45,912
and then have those things synced back.
61
00:03:46,132 --> 00:03:49,092
Over time, at our scale, there's just
so many work products being built.
62
00:03:49,532 --> 00:03:50,902
We wanted to extend that system of action.
63
00:03:50,902 --> 00:03:55,262
That's number one why we're excited
about Gavel and a longer term
64
00:03:55,722 --> 00:03:57,132
vision, they're also a great team.
65
00:03:57,502 --> 00:04:01,532
The way they built a very small
budding business, product-led growth,
66
00:04:01,612 --> 00:04:05,032
earning one lawyer at a time into
the platform really excited us,
67
00:04:05,032 --> 00:04:07,632
and they're technically extremely
sharp, so they're just a great fit.
68
00:04:08,462 --> 00:04:14,962
In your keynote discussion, you talked
about integrations and the success of aiR.
69
00:04:15,272 --> 00:04:19,572
Relativity became successful because
it was able to create a way for
70
00:04:19,572 --> 00:04:22,732
people to build on it, embrace
it, and use it in their own way.
71
00:04:22,922 --> 00:04:26,722
How is this new era
continuing on that vision?
72
00:04:27,322 --> 00:04:31,582
What we're seeing in the market is that
aiR is basically the new way to solve
73
00:04:31,682 --> 00:04:34,082
most use cases in incredible ways.
74
00:04:34,082 --> 00:04:39,042
One of the themes that really go back to
Andrew Sieja is this theme of openness,
75
00:04:39,132 --> 00:04:43,542
and this notion the platform itself
has to be able to be tapped into by the
76
00:04:43,542 --> 00:04:47,212
practitioners with their own expertise
and extend it, whether that's through
77
00:04:47,232 --> 00:04:50,512
coding, knowledge sharing, through
anything else they bring to bear.
78
00:04:50,512 --> 00:04:54,752
This week we announced custom analyses
for aiR, and that was chiefly one of
79
00:04:54,752 --> 00:04:58,832
the motions to extend the platform
and allow any practitioner to bring in
80
00:04:58,842 --> 00:05:03,222
their expertise and get results in a
way that's scaled through Relativity.
81
00:05:03,222 --> 00:05:07,452
A lot of what we do in aiR is unblock
adoption of different parts of the
82
00:05:07,452 --> 00:05:12,292
platform, unleashing the full community
of practitioners is a major milestone.
83
00:05:12,622 --> 00:05:16,702
And today I showed a preview of where this
is going for practitioners and lawyers.
84
00:05:16,752 --> 00:05:20,292
You could have an advanced
practitioner build a custom analysis.
85
00:05:20,342 --> 00:05:23,602
Soon they'll be able to publish that
skill for other people to participate
86
00:05:23,602 --> 00:05:25,682
and use later in the platform.
87
00:05:25,682 --> 00:05:28,462
It's also a way of harvesting
their capabilities and offering
88
00:05:28,462 --> 00:05:29,742
it to more folks on their team.
89
00:05:30,492 --> 00:05:31,632
My name is Adam Weiss.
90
00:05:31,642 --> 00:05:35,322
I'm the chief administrative officer
and chief legal officer of Relativity.
91
00:05:37,402 --> 00:05:41,712
The concept of governance, of a
shifting regulatory environment
92
00:05:41,712 --> 00:05:43,882
came up in several presentations.
93
00:05:43,932 --> 00:05:46,762
You're the chief legal
officer of the company.
94
00:05:47,112 --> 00:05:52,212
How do you see a differentiation in
the way Relativity is used in Europe
95
00:05:52,222 --> 00:05:54,162
versus in the US or even in Australia?
96
00:05:54,702 --> 00:05:58,472
The beauty of what we do is there
is differentiation, and we're able
97
00:05:58,472 --> 00:06:02,982
to accommodate that differentiation
by geography, by jurisdiction, but
98
00:06:02,982 --> 00:06:06,972
there's also a lot of similarities,
and whether you come to a session at
99
00:06:06,972 --> 00:06:12,122
RelFest London or RelFest Sydney or
RelFest Chicago, a lot of the topics,
100
00:06:12,212 --> 00:06:15,542
a lot of the speakers, a lot of the
information is going to be very similar.
101
00:06:15,862 --> 00:06:20,642
While laws do vary from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction, Relativity as the AI
102
00:06:20,642 --> 00:06:24,512
platform for legal data intelligence
is able to accommodate the whole range
103
00:06:24,752 --> 00:06:29,362
of matters that one might experience or
deal with in a particular jurisdiction.
104
00:06:30,032 --> 00:06:33,712
Particularly this market in
London, UK, and EMEA, governance
105
00:06:33,722 --> 00:06:35,572
and defensibility really matters.
106
00:06:35,822 --> 00:06:38,052
It's been part of the
platform since the onset.
107
00:06:38,082 --> 00:06:41,402
What we're seeing is with people
bringing more AI to use, they want
108
00:06:41,402 --> 00:06:44,982
it to be transparent, auditable,
validated and defensible.
109
00:06:45,302 --> 00:06:48,152
They understand that at different
parts in managing legal matters,
110
00:06:48,572 --> 00:06:52,162
that's essential to delivering
the results and getting the ROI.
111
00:06:52,162 --> 00:06:55,912
From a product perspective, we're
building governance, audit trails, the
112
00:06:55,912 --> 00:06:58,172
ways you validate into the platform.
113
00:06:58,272 --> 00:07:01,732
It's something we'll continue to
invest in and the market demands.
114
00:07:01,807 --> 00:07:02,597
I'm Georgia Foster.
115
00:07:02,597 --> 00:07:06,237
The managing director and the vice
president of sales for international.
116
00:07:06,237 --> 00:07:10,167
That encompasses EMEA and APAC region,
so bringing all the goodness from the
117
00:07:10,167 --> 00:07:11,847
US out to the international markets.
118
00:07:12,547 --> 00:07:15,257
What was your objective for
this year's RelFest London?
119
00:07:15,887 --> 00:07:19,047
Every year the objective is to
bring the community together at all
120
00:07:19,047 --> 00:07:23,347
different levels and types of work,
and certainly we see that again today.
121
00:07:23,677 --> 00:07:28,617
We've exceeded capacity in most rooms,
and there were 70 people standing outside
122
00:07:28,617 --> 00:07:30,047
the keynote, which was phenomenal.
123
00:07:30,107 --> 00:07:35,517
Second was making sure that those
that are starting to look at what AI
124
00:07:35,517 --> 00:07:39,377
works best for them and correctly,
that they're understanding, unpacking,
125
00:07:39,377 --> 00:07:43,047
and alleviating some of the noise
that exists today in terms of how to
126
00:07:43,047 --> 00:07:47,807
run defensible workflows in a robust
system and how they do it correctly.
127
00:07:47,837 --> 00:07:52,157
The objective is as it always is to
celebrate our customers, to recognize
128
00:07:52,187 --> 00:07:58,017
them, to help them see what's coming down
the pike, to hear from them, and to share
129
00:07:58,017 --> 00:08:00,237
best practices as we all rise together.
130
00:08:00,377 --> 00:08:05,127
That's really what we do at Fest, whether
it's in Chicago, London, or in Sydney.
131
00:08:05,127 --> 00:08:08,227
We cannot ignore the elephant in
the room, which is AI, and the
132
00:08:08,307 --> 00:08:10,277
pace of innovation and change.
133
00:08:10,637 --> 00:08:12,887
Our customers and our
partners are very excited.
134
00:08:13,267 --> 00:08:15,587
There's probably a little
bit of anxiety as well.
135
00:08:15,587 --> 00:08:18,857
But everybody is leaning into this
change, and I think well-prepared.
136
00:08:19,207 --> 00:08:24,957
We're on this journey together, and
the focus on AI, and certainly our AI
137
00:08:24,957 --> 00:08:28,187
platform for legal data intelligence,
is more acute than it's ever been.
138
00:08:28,315 --> 00:08:31,005
Have you achieved your objective
for this year's Rel Fest?
139
00:08:31,055 --> 00:08:35,265
We used to have major announcements
on the stage at Chicago Fest, and we
140
00:08:35,265 --> 00:08:39,215
can't wait for October anymore because
the innovation's coming out so fast.
141
00:08:39,745 --> 00:08:45,325
For Fest London to be announcing such
major innovation and products to come, and
142
00:08:45,325 --> 00:08:48,575
just looking around at all the familiar
faces and excellent people that make
143
00:08:48,575 --> 00:08:50,195
this community, really happy with it.
144
00:08:50,965 --> 00:08:54,475
David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel and
Legal Education Director at Relativity.
145
00:08:55,405 --> 00:08:59,105
You hosted several panels
at RelFest London this year.
146
00:08:59,495 --> 00:09:03,185
What were some of the key takeaways
from the perspectives that were shared?
147
00:09:04,005 --> 00:09:08,005
We did one with the International Legal
Technology Association, where we did a
148
00:09:08,005 --> 00:09:13,105
roundup of various AI data law issues, and
today we had the research data session,
149
00:09:13,165 --> 00:09:16,475
and we discussed some of the research data
we're doing, including some of the data
150
00:09:16,475 --> 00:09:18,085
that you and I have done over the years.
151
00:09:18,425 --> 00:09:21,581
One of the big issues was whether
or not to disclose your use of
152
00:09:21,581 --> 00:09:25,811
any type of AI, and the data are
showing that up to a third are not.
153
00:09:26,121 --> 00:09:28,691
But, the audience here in the
United Kingdom was definitely
154
00:09:28,701 --> 00:09:32,511
full disclosure, probably because
there is guidance here in the UK.
155
00:09:32,561 --> 00:09:36,521
What's the hope for what people will
take from RelFest London when they
156
00:09:36,521 --> 00:09:38,461
leave and go back to their teams?
157
00:09:39,261 --> 00:09:44,171
Usable action that you can take, whether
it's from case law, the practice guidance,
158
00:09:44,171 --> 00:09:47,521
the technical exhibits, the vendors that
you see here, it's something you can
159
00:09:47,521 --> 00:09:49,481
take back and use on your job tomorrow.
160
00:09:49,731 --> 00:09:51,171
If we can do that, we've done our job.
161
00:09:52,381 --> 00:09:54,791
This market is particularly unique.
162
00:09:55,021 --> 00:09:57,541
It's not just the UK, even
though the event is here.
163
00:09:57,601 --> 00:10:01,311
There are countries all across EMEA that
we work with that are grappling with
164
00:10:01,331 --> 00:10:05,781
different policy changes and requirements
and regulations, and coming together
165
00:10:05,781 --> 00:10:09,341
and trying to work through some of that
in addition with the technology is key.
166
00:10:09,596 --> 00:10:13,006
Kristin Traylor, Senior
Director, AI Transformation and
167
00:10:13,006 --> 00:10:14,826
Law Firm Strategy, Relativity
168
00:10:15,986 --> 00:10:17,626
Great panel at RelFest London.
169
00:10:18,376 --> 00:10:22,216
What was the focus for that discussion?
170
00:10:22,656 --> 00:10:26,086
To help the industry understand
that we're way past pilots.
171
00:10:26,146 --> 00:10:29,546
We're at the point where we can
start to standardize on how we're
172
00:10:29,546 --> 00:10:34,776
using generative AI in review, in
disclosure, in investigations, helping
173
00:10:34,776 --> 00:10:39,276
people understand that there are
ways to validate and understand what
174
00:10:39,276 --> 00:10:43,326
the technology is doing, how it's
working, and to use it in live matters.
175
00:10:43,610 --> 00:10:49,670
What's different about Rel Fest
London versus Rel Fest Sydney or the
176
00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,540
traditional Relativity Fest in Chicago?
177
00:10:53,150 --> 00:10:56,750
I see it as an opportunity
for rolling thunder.
178
00:10:56,970 --> 00:11:00,950
Almost like if you compare it to
the old way of development in a
179
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:06,020
waterfall method versus a very clear
AI native, agentic, agile manner.
180
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:11,510
These are stories that we are rolling
out, and we began in Australia
181
00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:14,590
with the beginning of the year
talking about where we're going.
182
00:11:14,610 --> 00:11:19,250
But it was really the first chapter
of a couple of chapters to follow
183
00:11:19,290 --> 00:11:23,920
about the further transformation that
we're making inside our business.
184
00:11:24,030 --> 00:11:29,140
Chris and his team, in the next week
and over the past 30 days, have released
185
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:36,030
three innovation offerings right inside
RelOne that weren't there at Fest Sydney.
186
00:11:36,170 --> 00:11:41,220
That's an example of this chapter after
chapter showing that innovation at speed.
187
00:11:41,343 --> 00:11:45,583
What I find fascinating with our employee
base throughout the world, is there is
188
00:11:45,583 --> 00:11:49,883
a common bond that binds relativians,
no matter their age, country, first
189
00:11:49,883 --> 00:11:55,253
language, religion, or culture, and that
is our commitment to organizing data,
190
00:11:55,253 --> 00:11:59,293
discovering the truth, and acting on
it, and by doing so, pursuing justice.
191
00:11:59,703 --> 00:12:01,363
That is shared by all relativians.
192
00:12:01,923 --> 00:12:05,733
Similarly, that's shared by our customers,
no matter where they're located.
193
00:12:05,743 --> 00:12:09,673
So their needs may vary based on how
big they are, whether they're a law
194
00:12:09,673 --> 00:12:15,353
firm or a corporation or a governmental
entity or a legal service provider.
195
00:12:15,693 --> 00:12:18,723
But there are also a lot of
the same shared challenges,
196
00:12:18,763 --> 00:12:19,783
no matter where they are.
197
00:12:19,783 --> 00:12:22,763
One of the things I love most
about RelFest is getting that
198
00:12:22,763 --> 00:12:24,823
commonality, that similar spirit.
199
00:12:25,233 --> 00:12:28,653
No matter where one is in the world,
we're all doing the same important work.
200
00:12:28,747 --> 00:12:31,557
Did you anticipate last year that
you'd be having these conversations
201
00:12:31,577 --> 00:12:33,972
this year, and what do you think
we'll be talking about next year?
202
00:12:34,061 --> 00:12:38,811
There are no crystal balls
to ponder upon or to look at.
203
00:12:38,861 --> 00:12:44,081
A year ago, if you would have asked
me we'd be this far accelerated as a
204
00:12:44,091 --> 00:12:49,151
market in terms of adoption of AI, I
probably would have questioned that.
205
00:12:49,741 --> 00:12:51,871
If I could go back in time, I'd
say there'd be more testing.
206
00:12:52,261 --> 00:12:55,411
What we have acknowledged is
that we're way beyond testing.
207
00:12:55,941 --> 00:13:01,071
There's full up deployment of a variety
of tools, which is really wonderful
208
00:13:01,551 --> 00:13:03,781
and candidly daunting at the same time.
209
00:13:04,421 --> 00:13:10,211
If we did our job right in the keynote,
it was this balancing of opportunity
210
00:13:10,571 --> 00:13:12,371
and risk in the world we live in.
211
00:13:12,491 --> 00:13:18,531
We want to enable our community with
the best tech and the best AI in the
212
00:13:18,531 --> 00:13:23,501
form of aiR for our clients in a very
trusted, disciplined environment.
213
00:13:24,661 --> 00:13:28,621
We're very thoughtful about the governance
required to do that and it's that balance.
214
00:13:28,621 --> 00:13:30,991
In the keynote, I called
it the readiness gap.
215
00:13:31,401 --> 00:13:36,471
Part of the power of the AI platform
for legal data intelligence is to
216
00:13:36,521 --> 00:13:39,781
contain risk so our customers can
take advantage of the opportunity.
217
00:13:39,877 --> 00:13:45,357
This is Ari Kaplan at RelFest London
2026, speaking with Phil Saunders,
218
00:13:45,407 --> 00:13:50,742
Chris Brown , Adam Weiss, Kristin
Traylor, Georgia Foster David Horrigan.
219
00:13:50,837 --> 00:13:52,527
Chris Phil thank you thank you very much
220
00:13:52,577 --> 00:13:53,307
Adam, what a privilege.
221
00:13:53,307 --> 00:13:53,957
Thank you so much.
222
00:13:54,057 --> 00:13:54,647
Thank you, Ari.
223
00:13:54,657 --> 00:13:55,197
Appreciate it.
224
00:13:55,339 --> 00:13:56,199
Kristin, thanks so much.
225
00:13:56,489 --> 00:13:56,959
Thank you.
226
00:13:57,519 --> 00:13:58,629
David, it's a privilege to collaborate.
227
00:13:58,629 --> 00:13:59,259
Great to talk to you.
228
00:13:59,459 --> 00:14:00,969
Ari, great working with you as always.
229
00:14:01,148 --> 00:14:02,098
Georgia, congratulations.
230
00:14:02,108 --> 00:14:02,488
Thank you.
231
00:14:02,668 --> 00:14:03,438
Thanks again for coming.
232
00:14:04,189 --> 00:14:07,759
Thank you for listening to the
Reinventing Professionals podcast.
233
00:14:08,299 --> 00:14:14,839
Visit reinventingprofessionals.com or
arikaplanadvisors.com to learn more.