Rewriting the Arbitration Playbook

From Hong Kong to Paris to Seoul, Filip Nordlund has seen arbitration from every angle - across major institutions, global law firms, and domestic practices.

But despite its global reach, arbitration has been slower than other areas of law to adopt AI.

“AI hasn’t yet been utilised in arbitration to the same extent, because you don’t have the end-to-end solutions you see in corporate practice, where a task can be handled almost entirely by AI. In disputes, the work has to be broken down into distinct processes. But arbitration is actually a great fit for AI - you just have to be brave enough to think about it differently.”

From Chaos to Clarity

Ask where AI helps most in arbitration, and Filip’s answer is simple: the fundamentals. Timelines, witness statements, proofing - the time-consuming, meticulous work that holds every case together.

Clients don’t often deliver tidy evidence. Building a chronology once meant weeks of manual review, only to discover missing documents deep into the process. Now, with Legora, entire data sets can be uploaded and organised in hours, with gaps revealed instantly.

Discovery shifts from guesswork to precision. And the final stretch - proofreading - becomes faster and cleaner, freeing lawyers to focus on argument and strategy.

This can change the game for Arbitration lawyers. As Filip explained:

“At the moment, arbitration lawyers spend so much time getting to the exciting part of the job - developing strategy and doing advocacy. If AI can put together your timeline, factual narrative and rough first draft, you have more time to start moulding your narrative for your case.”

Seeing the Difference

Much of Filip’s work involves sitting down with arbitration teams and showing how their work can look different. In a typical demo, he uploads a case file - such as a construction dispute, which is famously document-heavy, with tens of thousands of files to reconcile - that would once have taken days or weeks to review. 

Within minutes, the material is organised into a clear chronology, with every event linked to its source. Missing periods in the record appear instantly, and cross-references update automatically.

For Filip, these sessions are the clearest proof of progress.

“Meeting with lawyers and showing them how AI can actually improve their day-to-day work, as someone who has been in their shoes, is the best part of the job. It’s an amazing feeling knowing you’re making a real difference.” 

Why Legora

The most important thing is that behind the technology being built are people like Filip - lawyers who understand arbitration and how firms actually work.

That collaboration-first mindset is what defines Legora.

“The level of service is what truly sets Legora apart from its competitors. While others deliver tools, Legora builds relationships. When a firm hits a wall - a complex workflow, a tricky prompt - we are happy to sit down and solve it together. Fifteen minutes of collaboration can save days of trial and error.”

The Next Phase: Live Hearings

AI has already transformed the day-to-day work of arbitration lawyers.  A new frontier, Filip believes, could one day unfold inside the hearing room itself. He imagines a future where systems could assist lawyers in real time.

“Imagine a live integration where, as someone is speaking, Legora or a Legal AI system is simultaneously reviewing the entire case file - checking whether a statement is true, false, or contradictory. The same in cross-examination: if a witness says something, does it conflict with their earlier statement? Or with what their party said in submissions? Having that in real time would be a tremendous change.”

For now, that remains a potential vision rather than a product. But it’s easy to see where things are heading - the tools lawyers use to prepare could increasingly support them in the hearing room as well.

Skills for the Next Generation

For younger lawyers adapting to this new world, this evolution is an opening - a chance to focus on the skills that will define the next era of practice.

“For junior associates, AI isn’t just about efficiency - it’s about opportunity. When routine work takes less time, you can focus on the high-value skills that matter most: analysis, advocacy, and developing client relationships.”

It’s clear that those lawyers who learn to work confidently with these tools will set the standard for the modern arbitration practice.