# McDermott Will & Schulte: From Individual Enablement to Client Ready AI > Source: https://bryter.com/customers/mcdermott-will-schulte-from-individual-enablement-to-client-ready-ai/ **McDermott Will & Schulte, one of the world’s leading law firms, is further integrating AI and automation into its daily practice. Using BEAMON, the firm equips its lawyers with an AI productivity workspace and develops tailored digital solutions that enhance client service and collaboration.** As AI continues to transform industries, clients increasingly expect technology to be an integral part of high-quality legal services. McDermott has made this a key focus, embedding AI and automation into its daily work. ![](https://bryter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dr-thomas-hauss.jpg) _**Dr. Thomas Hauss Partner, Dispute Resolution and Legal Tech** **McDermott Will & Schulte**_ “AI and automation help us manage complexity and streamline routine work, allowing us to focus on the strategic aspects of legal advice,” says **Dr. Thomas Hauss**, Partner and head of the Innovation and LegalTech Team at McDermott. “They not only amplify how we collaborate internally and allow us to deliver high-quality legal advice more efficiently and with greater focus on our clients’ strategic needs. Above all, however, the curated use of suitable AI enables us to offer our clients new, innovative and market-leading products and solutions.” ## **A Law Firm with Global Presence** **[McDermott Will & Schulte](https://www.mwe.com/)** is known for combining precise legal expertise with entrepreneurial thinking to deliver impactful results. Its lawyers are able to support clients in complex legal matters by applying deep industry knowledge in a data-driven and globally connected environment. The firm provides full-service legal advice to companies of all sizes, financial institutions, public-sector entities, and private individuals. With more than 1,750 lawyers across over 20 offices worldwide, McDermott has a strong presence in Germany and part of a global network that advises clients across multiple jurisdictions. ## **Scaling Innovation Across the Firm** At McDermott, the firm is thinking in a two tiered path, from individual experimentation, to defining use cases with measurable ROI that then lead to client-facing and firm-wide impact: ### **Individual Enablement** Lawyers at McDermott use an AI workspace to enhance productivity in tasks such as summarizing materials, drafting documents, and reviewing large volumes of data, while advancing the firm’s AI capabilities. This enables individuals to embed AI in their daily work and become more efficient, more focused, and Always Better. Leveraging technology for repetitive and mundane tasks while focusing more on complex or relevant tasks is the cornerstone to achieving lasting success in the modern legal landscape. > “Integrating technology is an ongoing process,” says **Dr. Thomas Hauss**. “We’re learning continuously and wanted an AI workspace that can grow with us and be extended through end-to-end workflows that help us get the job done.” ![](https://bryter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/helena-wittmund.jpg) _**Helena Wittmund** **Associate, Dispute Resolution and Legal Tech** **McDermott Will & Schulte**_ > “AI is not a magical solution to every problem. AI delivers value only when lawyers understand both its capabilities and its limitations. Using AI tools in our everyday work helps us develop that understanding and apply technology responsibly in a legal context - we see what is possible, where it is still improving, and where human work is paramount. I think one needs to get used to technology on a personal level to be able to gauge possibilities in other areas and use cases.” **Helena Wittmund, Associate at McDermott Will & Schulte **and member of the Innovation and LegalTech Team at McDermott. It is through this firm-wide usage and testing in everyday situations, that teams are able to identify areas that can be automated and developed into practical, value-adding use cases. **BEAMON Assist** provides a secure productivity workspace where legal professionals can collaborate and use AI to support their daily work. It helps with drafting and research and can access internal knowledge, international case law, legislation, as well as content from leading legal publishers. ### **Use Cases and clear impacts** Legal engineers at McDermott use automation to transform standardized processes into digital workflows. This has led to the development of scalable, client-ready solutions available to clients digitally at any time. As part of this approach/in addition, the team collaborates with clients to co-develop new solutions tailored to their specific needs. In parallel, AI can be used for individual enablement: lawyers identify potential use cases and automation ideas in their day-to-day work and propose them to the specialists in the Legal Tech Team. The team then turns those use-case ideas into actual applications that streamline our lawyers or clients in their work. However, these use cases go beyond individual enablement. They address more complex tasks or processes, typically involving multiple stakeholders and significantly larger volumes of data and assets — such as extensive documentation and workflows. But most importantly, they deliver measurable improvements with a clear return on investment. Examples include: ![](https://bryter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dr-philip-uecker.jpg) _**Dr. Philip Uecker** **Associate, Data Privacy and Legal Tech** **McDermott Will & Schulte**_ “I use AI more and more in my daily work,” notes **Philip Uecker**, Associate and senior member of the Innovation and LegalTech Team at McDermott, “but the impact is not always measurable directly. Whereas, for the more sophisticated use cases of our legal engineering team we can often see immediate/substantial impact. By comparing the before and to the after, we can identity a meaningful ROI. Those solutions can not only help us internally, but serve our clients’ needs aswell.” By combining legal expertise with AI-supported workflow automation, the firm translates decades of knowledge into structured, data-informed digital solutions. The result is faster delivery, clearer outcomes, and new ways for clients to access and engage with legal insight. McDermott chose **BEAMON by BRYTER** for both stages, as it combines an AI workspace and rule-based workflow automation in a single ecosystem. ## **Firm-wide innovation: Digital first firm** With the bifold approach of equipping individuals for their AI learning path and focusing on value-creating use cases with clear ROI, McDermott is embedding innovative thinking into everyday work of lawyers. This creates a digital-ready DNA, where the capability to automate and deliver digital solutions is distributed across the entire organization — not confined to specialized teams. The firm mentions “**A Culture of Curiosity and Collaboration”.** The successful adoption of AI is closely linked to a cultural shift within the firm itself. Associates are encouraged to experiment, senior partners champion pilot projects, and collaboration between lawyers and technologists has become a natural part of everyday work. > ![](https://bryter.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/daina-bother-schultze.png) > > _**Daina Böther-Schultze** > **Legal Engineer** > **McDermott Will & Schulte**_ > > “It’s not just about technology; it’s about culture,” notes **Daina Böther-Schultze**, **Legal Engineer** at McDermott. “Curiosity and collaboration are becoming part of our professional DNA. To actively foster this culture, we have just launched our “Prompt Lab”, which is an open forum where we collaboratively develop and refine prompts with our colleagues, share practical experiences, and learn from one another, how to use AI effectively. Insights and best practices are shared across teams, reinforcing a collaborative, firm-wide learning environment.” This mindset helps McDermott attract talents that value innovation and meet the expectations of clients who view technological capability as an essential part of modern legal practice. > “We’re not waiting for the future to arrive,” concludes **Dr. Thomas Hauss**. “We’re building it together with our clients, one intelligent matter at a time.“ ## Meet the Team #### **Dr. Thomas Hauss** **Partner, Dispute Resolution and Legal Tech**, **McDermott Will & Schulte** Dr. Thomas Hauss advises companies and entrepreneurs on drafting, negotiation, implementation, and enforcement of commercial law agreements for over 30 years. He represents clients both in court and in out-of-court dispute resolution in national and international commercial disputes. Dr. Thomas Hauss is renowned for successful, prompt, and creative negotiation, supported where necessary by the strategic use of all procedural tools in arbitration, litigation, and mediation. #### **Dr. Philip Uecker** **Associate, Data Privacy and Legal Tech**, **McDermott Will & Schulte** Dr. Philip Uecker focuses his practice on intellectual property and on data protection and privacy law. He is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E), Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) und Digital Legal Counsel (BUJ certified). Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Philip Uecker worked at a German bank as an in-house lawyer, following roles in the higher education sector as a lecturer and a research assistant. He regularly writes on data protection and privacy topics and lectures at the University of Münster. #### **Helena Wittmund** **Associate, Dispute Resolution and Legal Tech**, **McDermott Will & Schulte** Helena Wittmund focuses her practice on litigation and legal tech. During her legal clerkship, she worked as a trainee lawyer and research assistant at two global commercial law firms in the areas of corporate law/M&A and litigation and at McDermott in the legal tech area. She completed the elective part of her legal clerkship at a German legal tech software company. #### **Daina Böther-Schultze** **Legal Engineer**, **McDermott Will & Schulte** Daina Böther-Schultze, LL.M., is a Legal Tech Engineer specializing in Artificial Intelligence. Her passion for legal technology deepened during her LL.M. studies, where she expanded her expertise at the intersection of law and technology. In addition to her professional role, Daina Böther-Schultze is actively engaged with the Legal Tech Lab Cologne and regularly publishes on developments in legal tech and innovation.