B&D Lawyers Drive Innovation with AI “Hackathon”

At B&D, we take a deliberate approach to innovation – leveraging our position of leadership in environmental law to develop new tools and approaches for the future. The April launch of our Innovation Delivery Team (IDT) reflects that same commitment: a cross-functional group focused on moving innovation from concept to execution. The IDT’s mission is to deliver measurable improvements across legal practice, client service delivery, and firm operations.

As one of its first initiatives, IDT organized and launched an AI “Hackathon” at our recent all-attorney retreat. Designed to go beyond idea generation and towards early prototyping, the Hackathon drew on the collective insights and expertise of our 170 lawyers. It challenged them to define and build AI-driven solutions that tailor to B&D’s unique environmental practice, enhance client service, and improve how we operate as a firm.

The Hackathon champion team focused on using AI to streamline complex billing review and compliance workflows, aiming to improve consistency, reduce administrative rework, and free up more time for substantive work. Additional teams developed a range of thoughtful, practical concepts that the IDT will continue to assess, including ideas to strengthen client relationships and business development, preserve and reuse firm knowledge, improve billing narratives, and expand access to institutional wisdom.

More important than any single solution was the mindset: we’re not waiting for AI to reshape the industry—we’re actively building our AI capabilities in ways most relevant to our environmental regulatory and litigation practices to drive meaningful results for clients. And while AI can be a force multiplier, it does not replace the human expertise and judgment we’ve been cultivating for more than 50 years as The Environmental Law Firm.

At B&D, innovation is intentional, responsible, and closely aligned with client needs. The AI Hackathon reflects this approach in action, underscoring the firm’s continued focus on supporting clients in a rapidly evolving landscape.