Portuguese startup launches AI system that saves lawyers' time
ByTheLaw, a Portuguese legaltech, has built an AI knowledge system based on the needs of Sérvulo & Associados. It automatically organizes internal legal knowledge-opinions, contracts, minutes-into a structured, searchable base. Lawyers can pull reliable information in minutes, freeing time for higher-value work. The company says it saves about 63 hours per user per year.
The product came out of eight months of on-site work inside Sérvulo & Associados. The core issue they found was familiar: knowledge spread across folders, inboxes, and shared drives. The new system turns fragmented files into a single source your team can trust.
How it works (in plain terms)
- Centralizes internal opinions, contracts, and minutes into one knowledge base.
- Applies AI to organize and index content so answers are findable in minutes.
- Converts scattered materials into a structured, searchable asset.
"Lawyers don't need another search engine; they need a knowledge base they can trust. Generative AI is only useful if it is fed with quality data," says ByTheLaw CEO André Dionísio.
Who's using it now
ByTheLaw reports 1,100 active users across private practice and public administration:
- Sérvulo & Associados
- P&A Legal
- Pilot with CMS
- Municipality of Coimbra (official site)
- Regional Government of Madeira (testing)
Why this matters for your practice
- Time back: less hunting through folders, email threads, and legacy drives.
- Consistency: reuse vetted work product instead of rewriting from scratch.
- Faster onboarding: new lawyers find past work fast and learn how the firm argues.
- Lower risk: fewer mistakes from outdated drafts or inconsistent language.
Questions to ask before adopting
- Data security and access: where is data stored, and who sees which matters?
- Integration: does it connect with your DMS, email, and collaboration tools?
- Governance: how are updates, retention, and matter closures handled?
- Auditability: does it show citations back to the source documents?
- ROI: what targets will you track (e.g., hours saved per lawyer per year)?
Bottom line: if a knowledge system reliably returns accurate, firm-approved work in minutes, the time savings add up fast-especially at scale.
If you're planning AI upskilling for your team, browse practical options by role here: AI courses by job.
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