By Ellen Traweek, LexisNexis.
In the world of fast-paced business, the legal department is often the last to enjoy the luxury of ‘extra time.’ For solo legal leaders – those who hold the titles, responsibilities, and risks of an entire department – the job can be relentless. Corporate governance, contracts, compliance, intellectual property, policy drafting – each task demands not just legal acumen but also speed, accuracy, and cost-efficiency.
The challenge intensifies when resources are limited. For Jim Pyle, Chief Legal Officer of Final Offer LLC, this was a daily reality. Final Offer, a cutting-edge real estate technology company, operates a platform for on- and pre-market residential listings used by leading brokerages across North America. Innovation and efficiency are core to its DNA, and those values extend beyond its tech offerings to how it manages internal functions – including legal operations.
As the sole legal operator for the company, Pyle needed a way to manage a broad, demanding portfolio without compromising on quality or responsiveness. Traditional legal tools, while powerful, often felt like they were working against him – time-intensive, dependent on manual validation, and not built for the agility a modern tech company demands.
A New Paradigm in Legal Support
Enter Lexis+ AI, the AI-powered legal research, drafting, and advisory tool that has begun to redefine what a lean legal function can accomplish. For Pyle, the transformation was immediate and profound.
Tasks that once consumed hours were compressed into minutes. Legal research – especially the kind that requires authoritative citations – shifted from being a half-day process to something achievable between calls. Drafting contracts, resolutions, and corporate governance documents no longer meant starting with a blank page; instead, he began with an AI-generated first draft, refined through his own expertise.
In Pyle’s words, ‘Lexis+ AI is like having a trusted colleague in my office. It saves me time, enhances my confidence, and ensures I’m always on the right track. As a solo legal department, it’s an indispensable tool.’
The results were more than just incremental gains:
30–50% faster legal task completion, from research to drafting.
Reduced dependence on outside counsel, lowering costs without sacrificing quality.
Greater confidence in legal advice, thanks to linked, authoritative sources like Shepard’s.
Why This Matters Beyond One Company
It’s tempting to view this as a one-off success story – a perfect fit between a particular company’s needs and the capabilities of an advanced AI solution. But in reality, it signals something bigger: a shift in how legal departments, regardless of size, can be structured and operated in the age of AI.
The traditional model assumes that quality legal work is inherently time-intensive, requiring either a robust in-house team or a steady reliance on outside counsel. But the example of Final Offer LLC shows that technology can meaningfully challenge this assumption.
With AI handling the heavy lifting of initial drafting, case law searches, and even idea generation, legal professionals can focus their energy where human judgment is irreplaceable: strategic thinking, nuanced negotiations, and high-stakes decision-making.
The takeaway is not just about ‘doing the same work faster.’ It’s about elevating the role of the legal professional from a reactive problem-solver to a proactive business strategist.
The Future of Legal Efficiency
If AI can boost a solo legal department’s efficiency by 50%, what might it do for a five-person team? Or a corporate legal function embedded in a global enterprise? The potential scales with imagination and adoption.
In a future where legal AI is a core part of the workflow, we can expect:
Accelerated deal-making: When contracts and compliance checks move faster, so does the business.
Smarter resource allocation: Freeing in-house teams from routine tasks so they can focus on high-impact initiatives.
Data-backed decision-making: AI tools that surface legal risks and opportunities before they become urgent.
But the real power lies in integration – not treating AI as an add-on, but as a structural element in how legal services are delivered.
Your Next Step: See the Full Story
The success of Final Offer LLC’s legal transformation isn’t hypothetical – it’s documented. The detailed case study reveals exactly how a solo legal department achieved a 30–50% improvement in efficiency using Lexis+ AI. It breaks down the workflows, the time savings, and the real-world impacts that could be replicated in organizations of any size.
If you’re a legal leader, in-house counsel, or business executive wondering how to modernize your legal operations without ballooning headcount or budgets, this is your blueprint.
Download the full case study now to see how Lexis+ AI can help you:
Cut legal research and drafting time in half.
Reduce reliance on costly outside counsel.
Increase confidence in every decision through authoritative, verifiable insights.
Don’t just imagine what’s possible – see how it’s already being done.
Download the case study today and take the first step toward transforming your legal workflows.
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About the author: Ellen Traweek is Marketing Manager at LexisNexis in the USA.
[ This is a sponsored thought leadership article for AL by LexisNexis. ]
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