Your LEAP or Actionstep Subscription Already Includes AI. Are You Using It?
LEAP and Actionstep both ship built in AI features that many Australian law firms have not activated. Here is what they do and how to set them up.
There is a good chance your firm is paying for AI features it has never turned on. Both LEAP and Actionstep have shipped significant AI capabilities in 2025 and 2026, and in our experience, most subscribers either do not know these features exist or tried them once without proper setup and moved on.
Before you spend money on a third party AI tool, it is worth understanding what you already have.
What LEAP includes
LEAP has rolled out three AI features that are available to current subscribers.
LawY is a conversational AI assistant built into the LEAP interface. You can ask it questions about matters, request summaries of documents, and get plain language explanations of legal concepts. It works within the LEAP environment, so it has access to your matter data without you needing to copy and paste information into an external tool.
Matter AI provides contextual AI assistance within individual matters. It can analyse documents attached to a matter, identify key clauses, flag potential issues, and summarise lengthy correspondence chains. The key difference from a generic AI tool is that Matter AI understands the structure of a LEAP matter. It knows which documents are relevant and how they relate to each other.
Generator is an AI powered document generation tool. Rather than starting from a blank template, Generator can produce first drafts based on matter data and your instructions. It pulls in client details, matter specifics, and relevant precedents automatically.
What Actionstep includes
Actionstep has shipped two AI features that are included in current subscriptions.
Trace is an AI work item assistant that helps lawyers manage tasks within matters. It can suggest next steps, identify overdue items, and provide context aware prompts based on the type of matter and its current stage. Trace sits inside the Actionstep workflow engine, so its suggestions are relevant to how your firm actually works.
Scout is an AI powered document search and analysis tool. It can search across your entire document library using natural language queries, not just filename or metadata matches, but actual content analysis. Ask Scout to find all documents mentioning a specific clause type across all your property matters, and it will return results that a standard search would miss.
Why most firms have not activated these features
We see three common reasons when we work with firms that are not using their built in AI features.
They did not know the features existed. LEAP and Actionstep have both been rolling out AI capabilities incrementally. If you are not reading every product update email (and most people are not) it is easy to miss that your subscription now includes tools it did not have six months ago.
They tried once without proper setup. Someone on the team opened the AI feature, typed in a vague prompt, got a mediocre result, and concluded it was not useful. This is like judging a car's performance based on a cold start in first gear. Without configuration and practice area specific prompts, these tools underperform significantly.
The team was not trained. Even when the features are activated, adoption stalls if the team does not understand how to use them effectively. Lawyers are busy. They will not experiment with a new tool unless someone shows them how it fits into their existing workflow and demonstrates a clear time saving.
What proper setup looks like
Getting value from built in AI features requires four steps, and skipping any of them usually leads to abandonment.
Configuration comes first. This means enabling the features in your admin settings, setting appropriate permissions, and configuring which practice areas and matter types the AI should prioritise. Default settings are rarely optimal for any specific firm.
Practice area prompts are the difference between generic AI output and genuinely useful results. A family law firm needs different prompt templates than a commercial property firm. Setting up prompts that reflect your practice areas, your document types, and your preferred writing style turns the AI from a novelty into a practical tool.
Training sessions need to be hands on and role specific. A partner needs to see how AI helps with matter oversight and client communication. A junior lawyer needs to see how it speeds up research and first draft work. A legal secretary needs to see how it handles document assembly and correspondence. One generic demo does not cover it.
Follow up within two to four weeks is essential. This is where you identify who is using the tools, who has stopped, and why. Common blockers include prompts that need adjustment, workflow steps that feel awkward, or simple confusion about what the tool can and cannot do. A short check in resolves most of these issues before they become permanent barriers.
Why this matters more than buying a new tool
Third party AI tools have their place, but they come with costs that built in features do not. You need to evaluate the tool, negotiate a contract, integrate it with your existing systems, manage another vendor relationship, and train the team on yet another interface. If your built in AI features can deliver 80% of the value at zero additional cost, that is the obvious starting point.
There is also a data security argument. Built in AI features operate within your practice management system's existing security and permissions framework. Client data stays inside the system your firm has already assessed and approved. Third party tools introduce a new data processing relationship that needs its own privacy assessment and, depending on the tool, may involve data leaving Australian jurisdiction.
ServiceScaler's access as a LEAP and Actionstep partner
As a certified LEAP and Actionstep partner, ServiceScaler has access to partner level training materials, configuration guides, and support channels that are not available to general IT consultants. This means we can configure these features based on documented best practices from the vendors themselves, not guesswork.
We also see how these features perform across multiple firms and practice areas, which gives us a practical understanding of what works and what does not in real world use.
Next step
We can audit what your subscription includes and configure what you are not using. This covers feature activation, practice area prompt setup, team training, and a follow up session to ensure adoption sticks. Contact us for a quote. The scope depends on your firm size and practice areas, so we will tailor it to what you actually need.