BEN BARTON, CALL YOUR OFFICE: Start-Up Takes Aim at BigLaw:

Could the armies of lawyers needed to close billion-dollar deals soon be a thing of the past?
That’s what Invoke Capital, the London-based venture firm run by former Autonomy Plc Chief Executive Officer Mike Lynch, is betting with its latest project financing. Invoke said Wednesday that it’s making an investment in Luminance, a U.K. startup using artificial intelligence to process legal documents and automate due diligence in mergers and acquisitions.

Plus:

Over the last several decades, the bulk of the dislocation wrought by globalized finance capitalism and technological innovation has been concentrated on less-skilled workers, who have faced downward wage pressure from automation and outsourcing, while sectors like law, banking, and consulting have reaped a disproportionate share of the benefits. But as computer technology continues to cross new frontiers, even high-skilled professional jobs may be affected.

Big law firms are especially overdue for disruption. Hourly rates for corporate clients have been soaring, raising prices for consumer goods. And the cartel-like American Bar Association has actively shielded firms from competition at the public’s expense. Enter algorithms, exit lawyers: The next stage of the information revolution may end up looking more egalitarian than the last.

Well, that’s what my colleague Ben Barton has been writing about. I’m somewhat less optimistic than him about how things will turn out for lawyers, though I certainly hope he’s right.