Chapman Tripp, New Zealand’s leading full-service commercial law firm, has selected Luminance to provide artificial intelligence technology for due diligence for domestic and international M&A transactions.

Luminance, founded by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge, uses machine learning technology to speed up contract review processes, such as M&A due diligence, without sacrificing accuracy. The system sorts, clusters and classifies an entire data room, presenting it in an intuitive visualisation dashboard, giving lawyers immediate insight and prioritising their review. Luminance’s unique ability to detect anomalies ensures that even subtle differences between contracts, which may pose a risk to a transaction, are highlighted to the M&A team at the very beginning of the review process.

Chapman Tripp, ranked number one for M&A volume in New Zealand for 2017, chose Luminance after considering other artificial intelligence products.

“Chapman Tripp is committed to innovation and investing in cutting-edge technology,' said Bruce McClintock, partner and head of Chapman Tripp’s technology and innovation business, Zeren.

“Luminance is a great fit for Chapman Tripp and Zeren. It will not only allow us to improve our efficiency in the document review aspects of due diligence but also provide huge advantages in the project management aspects of managing large scale multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions. We are very excited by the opportunities we can see to deploy Luminance in our business and pass benefits on to our clients.'

“We are very pleased to welcome New Zealand’s most prestigious law firm to the growing list of satisfied Luminance customers,' said Emily Foges, CEO of Luminance. “The firm sees the huge benefits of the technology and are really engaged with the efficiencies that Luminance brings, especially compared to alternative due diligence solutions they explored.'

Luminance launched in September 2016 and is currently live in 15 countries, having completed over 200 client transactions globally. The platform is also used by Gilbert +Tobin and Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Australia, along with other international firms such as Wong Partnership and Slaughter and May.

About Chapman Tripp

Chapman Tripp is New Zealand’s leading full-service commercial law firm with a truly national presence, with 53 partners and 175 lawyers across offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The firm’s lawyers are recognised leaders in corporate and commercial, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, banking and finance, restructuring and insolvency, litigation and dispute resolution, employment, government and public law, intellectual property, telecommunications, real estate and construction, energy and natural resources, and tax law.