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Baker McKenzie has become the latest large law firm to start using artificial intelligence (AI) software in an attempt to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

The legal giant, which earlier this week announced a record high gross revenue figure for its most recent fiscal year, will use a machine learning tool developed by U.S. contract analytics company eBrevia to handle transactional due diligence in North America, Europe and Asia.

Baker McKenzie tax partner and global executive committee member Erik Scheer in Amsterdam said that AI allows firms to better utilize their lawyers.

We are applying a broad range of artificial intelligence tools for due diligence, contracts, and e-discovery, where these technologies can ensure market-leading efficiency, Scheer said. Innovation doesn't happen overnight we are always learning more and adapting as we go. Clients expect us not just to keep up, but to set the pace.

Scheer chairs Baker McKenzie's innovation committee, which was launched earlier this year with a remit to reimagine the business of law. The firm is collaborating with Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Peer Insight in order to apply design thinking essentially seeking innovative solutions to client needs to its operations globally.

Baker McKenzie chair Paul Rawlinson, who last year assumed leadership of the 4,607-lawyer firm, which ditched an ampersand from its name in January, said that the legal industry is right in the middle of a period of technology-related change.

Being truly innovative means listening to clients and understanding the challenges they face, so we can adapt and make sure the service we provide fits not just for today's technological challenges but also for the future, Rawlinson said.

Baker McKenzie has initially rolled out eBrevia's AI software across its offices in Berlin, Chicago, D sseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Munich, Singapore, Toronto and Vienna. But in a statement, the firm added that plans are already underway to extend the reach of the program. Other users of eBrevia's software include Am Law 200 firm Day Pitney and New York-based financial information and media giant Thomson Reuters Corp.

Machine learning technology is growing in popularity throughout Big Law. Cravath, Swaine & Moore signed a deal last month with British software company Luminance, which is part-owned by Magic Circle firm Slaughter and May, a London-based outfit that frequently works with Cravath on cross-border transactions.

Other firms to have teamed up in recent years with AI software providers such as Kira Systems, Luminance and ROSS Intelligence include Baker & Hostetler, Clifford Chance, Dentons, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Travers Smith, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.