How we work
How we use AI to give better advice, faster
Bratby Law uses a practice system we built for our own work. The system does the reading, assembling and checking that a larger firm gives to junior lawyers, so specialist advice can reach you sooner and cost less. Rob Bratby decides and signs off every piece of written advice.
Typical first response
Within one working day
Turnaround on written advice depends on the matter, and we agree it with you at the outset.
How AI makes our advice faster and cheaper
The system does the research and checking, so Rob Bratby, a solicitor with more than 30 years in practice in telecoms, data protection and payments regulation, works from prepared research.
Faster
The system assembles your matter history, the relevant legislation and the regulator’s guidance before work starts, so Rob reviews prepared research instead of commissioning it. We typically reply within one working day.
Checked
Before written advice goes out, each cited provision and case is checked against the primary text, and anything that cannot be checked is marked as unverified. The same checks apply to every matter.
Fees
Most of our work is on a fixed fee or a retainer. The system does research that a larger firm would give to associates and charge for, so a fixed fee from us can be lower than a larger firm’s quote for the same advice.
What the system does, and what protects your information
Each feature below is in use today. A label on each shows whether it is built into the system, depends on our contracts with providers, or describes how Rob works.
Built into the system
Briefed before work starts
The system opens each working session with your matter record, contacts, deadlines and recent history, and lists anything it has not loaded.
Built into the system
Checked against the source
The system checks citations against legislation.gov.uk, the National Archives case law service and our libraries of material published by Ofcom, the Information Commission and its predecessor, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator. It marks anything it cannot check as unverified and does not fill the gap from memory.
Built into the system
Our own specialist legal wiki
More than 2,000 reference notes on telecoms, data protection and payments regulation, and the competition, corporate and commercial law around them. Notes cite their primary sources, and we review them on a rolling basis. The system starts from the wiki, then checks the primary text.
Built into the system
A skill for each kind of task
The system has more than 50 task-specific skills, each with its own checklist, covering regulatory research, contract review, data protection impact assessments, legitimate interest assessments, privacy notices and regulator submissions.
Built into the system
Large document sets handled quickly
On transactions, investigations and responses to regulators, the system builds chronologies, source registers and comparison grids across a whole document set, with each entry tied to the page it came from. You get the full picture sooner, and every point can be traced.
Built into the system
Documents from the other side screened
We can screen Word and PDF files from a counterparty for hidden or disguised text before we rely on them, so the text we rely on is the text you see.
Built into the system
Your matter kept apart
The system opens each working session on one client and one matter, and keeps its matter records and filing to that matter. Rob’s own review is the final control.
In our contracts
Business terms, no training
Every AI service that works on your matter is on business terms, under a data processing agreement and a duty of confidentiality. None may use your information to train its models.
How Rob works
A solicitor approves what goes out
Rob reviews and approves every piece of written advice, and every email that gives advice or goes to a regulator, before it is sent. The written advice is his, under his professional duties as a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
How AI works on a matter, step by step
At each stage of a matter, the system and Rob Bratby each have a defined part.
| Step | The system | Rob Bratby |
|---|---|---|
| 1. You instruct us | Opens a record for the matter and screens the other parties against public sanctions lists. | Checks for conflicts, agrees the scope and a fixed fee or retainer with you, and sends terms of business that explain our use of AI. |
| 2. Work opens | Binds the session to your matter alone and assembles a briefing from the matter record and its history. | Reads the briefing and corrects it before any work starts. |
| 3. Research and drafting | Runs the skill written for the task, starting from our legal wiki and the primary-source libraries. | Decides the analysis. Where it helps, asks a second AI model from a different provider to test the reasoning. |
| 4. Checking | Checks each cited provision and case against the primary text and marks anything it cannot check as unverified. | Reads the advice and the key sources. |
| 5. Delivery | Files the advice to your matter in our document management system and logs the session. | Approves and sends the written advice. |
The providers we use
We chose each provider for its contract terms as much as its technology. Each is our processor under a written agreement.
| Provider | What we use it for | Terms | Transfer safeguard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude, our main AI model | Commercial Terms and data processing addendum; no training on client material | EU standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum |
| OpenAI | Independent second review | Business Terms and data processing addendum; no training on client material | EU standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum |
| Workspace and Gemini (paid tier) | Paid Gemini API terms and the Data Processing Addendum for Products Where Google is a Data Processor; no use of prompts or responses to improve Google’s products | UK extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework | |
| Microsoft | Email, document management and Teams meeting transcription | Microsoft 365 Business Premium under the Microsoft Products and Services Data Protection Addendum; no use of your data for advertising | EU standard contractual clauses with the UK International Data Transfer Addendum; Microsoft is also certified to the UK extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework |
| Supabase | Matter register and activity log | Supabase Data Processing Addendum | Data held in London; EU standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum cover any support access from outside the UK |
| Others | Meeting notes, e-signature, billing and hosting | Listed by name in our privacy notice |
What to ask any firm that uses AI
| Topic | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Training on your information | The AI services that work on your matter are on business terms that bar training on client material. |
| Who checks the law | The system re-reads the primary source, and Rob reads and signs off the advice. |
| Cost | AI can lower the fee. The system does research that a larger firm would give to junior lawyers and charge for, and we price most work as a fixed fee or retainer. |
| Data leaving the UK | Each transfer has a documented safeguard, shown in the provider table above and in our privacy notice. |
| Opting out | Under our terms of business you can tell us you would prefer us not to use AI tools on your matter, and we will agree with you what that means for scope, timing and fee. |
Frequently asked questions
Does AI write my advice?
Rob decides what every piece of written advice says, and it goes out under his name and his professional responsibility. The system does the research, first drafting and checking.
How do you price work?
Most matters are on a fixed fee or a monthly retainer, agreed before work starts. The system does the research that a larger firm would give to associates, so our fees can be lower than a larger firm’s quote for the same advice.
Will you connect AI to my own systems?
We will do so only with your consent. Under our terms of business we may use AI on documents you send us; connecting a tool to your own systems is a separate decision for you to make.
Which AI does Bratby Law use?
Our main AI model is Anthropic’s Claude, used under Anthropic’s Commercial Terms. OpenAI and Google provide an independent second review on business terms. The provider table above lists each one with its contract and transfer safeguard.
Is my confidential information safe when you use AI?
The AI services that work on your matter are on business terms, under a data processing agreement and a duty of confidentiality, and none may use your information to train its models. Each working session opens on your matter alone, and Rob reviews every piece of written advice before it is sent.
Further reading
Rob Bratby has written about how he built the system, and why the method matters more than the model.
- AI in legal practice: what I tried, what broke, and what I built
- How the sausage is made, and why “AI-native” is the new snake oil
- When regulators regulate themselves: the UK judiciary and the ICO on AI use
If you are building AI into your own products, see our AI and automated decision-making practice.
Start with a call to scope the work
We offer Direct Legal Advice, Specialist Co-counsel and Fractional General Counsel in telecoms, data protection and payments regulation.