With the launch of GenIA-L, Sdu has launched the first reliable generative AI application for lawyers and tax specialists in the Netherlands. Unlike other public AI tools such as ChatGPT, GenIA-L does provide reliable answers with source attribution for the profession. This saves a lot of time and efficiency.
Parent company Lefebvre Sarrut, European leader in legal and tax knowledge, already successfully launched GenIA-L in the Spanish and French markets last year. The tool was co-developed with and tested by hundreds of lawyers, tax experts and in-house AI experts and is fed with legal and tax documents and sources. After its launch in the Netherlands, Sdu will further develop the AI tool together with five so-called launching partners.
GenIA-L makes information searches by legal and tax professionals faster, simpler and more powerful. They immediately get a complete answer to a research question, based on reliable sources, and thus get to the heart of the matter faster. AI reduces the chances of missing something in the process. ''There is a huge workload and staff shortage in this profession. The old-fashioned search just takes a lot of time. We are taking a big step forward in that, so that you can go through the search process more easily," say Rechtsorde manager Niels Bergers and NDFR product manager Evelien Verhage of Sdu.
When using more generic AI tools such as ChatGPT, lawyers and tax specialists risk being misled by incorrect and incomplete information, Sdu previously discovered. Generic Gen-AI products search all sources, not just legally or tax-relevant databases and documents. Because source acknowledgement is missing, it cannot be verified whether the information found is 100 per cent reliable or useful.
Information from GenIA-L is based on validated legal sources, so it is reliable and usable for lawyers and tax specialists. The information and arguments shown are based on current legal sources from Sdu's leading legal databases such as Rechtsorde, OpMaat and NDFR. ,,We actually tried to solve all the drawbacks of the generic AI tools in GenIA-L. Among other things, with us you can see a source citation, which is important for lawyers and tax specialists. Also, the tool only relies on reliable sources, written by editors or coming from government agencies. General tools also include all kinds of blogs and even made-up texts in their answers. Because the source is missing, you then cannot be sure whether it is correct information," say Bergers and Verhage.
GenIA-L was launched on 31 January. Over the next six months, Sdu will further develop the product together with five offices. Three from the tax sector: Visser & Visser, HLB Witlox Van den Boomen and Mazars. And two from the legal field: Houthoff and AKD. Together with their lawyers and tax experts, and with their own AI experts, they are determining what else GenIA-L should be able to do to make legal-tax work processes more efficient. ,,We strongly believe in the powerful interaction between AI and the legal professional. Who gets help from a smart digital, research assistant, who helps solve complex cases, has up-to-date knowledge of Dutch law and applies this knowledge directly," Bergers and Verhage explain.
