Lexis Create+: Transforming Legal Drafting in Microsoft 365

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Microsoft 365 users in the legal sphere—get ready for a digital revolution. LexisNexis, a global leader in legal research and technology solutions, has officially launched Lexis Create+, a cutting-edge drafting tool integrated seamlessly into the Microsoft 365 environment. Released across the UK, Canada, and the USA, this innovation stands as a beacon for legal professionals who strive for both efficiency and precision in their work.
And here’s the kicker: this tool leverages the fruits of LexisNexis’ recent acquisition of Henchman, a name already familiar to legal tech enthusiasts. If you're curious about how your everyday Microsoft Word experience can transform into a powerhouse of legal drafting, buckle up—this deep dive is for you.

What Is Lexis Create+ and How Does It Work?

Imagine Microsoft Word infused with the power of artificial intelligence, trusted legal content, advanced document management integrations, and your organization’s collective knowledge. That’s Lexis Create+ in a nutshell—an all-in-one drafting assistant designed for lawyers by lawyers (and some seriously smart engineers).
Here’s how it levels up your legal drafting game:

1. Intelligent Document Management System (DMS) Integration

Lexis Create+ begins where most legal tech tools stumble—streamlining access to internal documents. Whether your past work or team’s clauses are buried in iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint, or even friendly-to-the-cloud alternatives like Google Drive, this tool helps you surface everything you need, faster than ever before.
It relies on proprietary technology to integrate these disparate document systems, meaning you can:
  • Locate past clauses or definitions with minimal effort.
  • Reuse legal text intelligently, no matter how your firm tags or saves files.
This feature isn’t just a convenience; it’s a game changer. Legal professionals end up wasting countless hours hunting for "that one clause we used last year"—hours that could be spent strategizing on case-critical tasks.

2. Seamless Access to Trusted Content

No more bouncing between subscription resources, databases, and your Word document. With Lexis Create+, exclusive LexisNexis content is embedded directly into your Microsoft Word environment. Need a cite for a legal precedent? Or a bit of interpretation help analyzing case law? You can now draft, reference, and cite all in one motion without breaking your workflow.

3. Generative AI at Your Fingertips

Here’s the headline-grabber: the integration of Lexis+ AI within Create+.
This AI functionality turbocharges your drafting process with features like:
  • Summarizing complex case laws.
  • Generating high-quality draft documents.
  • Answering precise and detailed legal queries without premature Googling or manual research.
AI is no longer a buzzword here—it’s a productivity multiplier embedded where you actually work. Essentially, it transforms your Word drafting screen into a sandbox where mundane tasks like proofreading meet sophisticated capabilities like generative text creation and summarization.

Why Should You Care? The Real-World Benefits

For legal professionals, time isn’t just money—it’s opportunity. Lexis Create+ aims to reclaim those minutes lost toggling between applications, fumbling through folders, or second-guessing whether that summary you copy-pasted last week meets industry standards.

Summing Up the "Why" in Three Points:

  • Efficiency Redefined: Minimize time hunting for resources and engaging in repetitive tasks. With DMS and AI tools embedded, you can spend more time on actual lawyering.
  • Data Privacy and Security Ensured: One major professional concern of modern-day tools involving AI is how well they manage data confidentiality. Lexis Create+ has built-in encryption and strong permission-mirroring functions that uphold legal confidentiality standards.
  • Stay Ahead of the Curve: As legal technology rapidly evolves, staying stuck in decades-old processes isn't a good look. Tools like Lexis Create+ help legal practitioners future-proof their workflows.

Why Henchman’s Integration Matters

Henchman, acquired by LexisNexis, brought in indispensable proprietary technologies that paved the path for this marvel. For context: Henchman’s tools already specialized in elevating clause-search within legal documents—a function that precedes drafting. Integrating this robust foundation with AI-powered drafting in Create+ essentially turns Word into a lawyer's personal think tank.
Is it a stretch to say this acquisition is proving its weight in gold? Probably not. After all, the mantra for modern-day legal work is simple: work smarter, not harder.

Microsoft 365: The Perfect Legal Tech Playground

There’s no denying it—Microsoft Word and the Office 365 ecosystem have already solidified their place as the de facto landscape for legal professionals. From client communications to contract creation, Word is the industry workhorse.
By placing Lexis Create+ squarely in the Microsoft 365 environment, LexisNexis eliminates hurdles that come with tool adoption (like learning new software or flipping to another UI). It’s a pairing as natural as peanut butter and jelly—or maybe, for legal nerds, footnotes and proper citation formatting.

Challenges: AI and the Legal Profession

Let’s address the elephant in the room: the legal industry’s cautious stance on AI. While tools like ChatGPT and now, Lexis+, are capable of producing drafts and summaries, they pose inherent questions:
  • How reliable is AI-generated legal content?
  • Who’s responsible for inaccuracies that might surface when AI misses the subtle nuances in laws or clauses?
The makers of Create+ seem hyper-aware of this. By integrating trusted LexisNexis materials alongside AI models, they’re hedging against these risks, providing lawyers with a cross-validated drafting experience.

Final Thoughts: A New Chapter in Legal Drafting

Lexis Create+ represents a significant leap, merging personalized drafting, document discovery, and generative AI into a single platform. In an industry steeped in tradition but driven by precision and detail, such tools act not as replacements but as enhancements.
For legal professionals trying to justify yet another tool in an already-crowded tech stack, Lexis Create+ may offer the breath of fresh air that your Word drafting projects badly needed. Whether it’s the ease of finding past clauses or the sheer thrill of AI smoothing out the brain-twisting job of legal drafting, this release seems worth its hype.
Want our advice? Give Create+ a whirl—and maybe become 'that attorney' whose workflows are so ahead of their time, others need binoculars to catch up.

Source: Artificial Lawyer https://www.artificiallawyer.com/2025/01/27/lexis-leverages-henchman-to-launch-create-in-ms-365/
 


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