Legal tech vendors are plying law firms with all sorts of data analytics software, and large firms have been incorporating big data into their operations, but there is still plenty of confusion by attorneys about how the emerging technologies work or what they do.

Alston & Bird is taking a different approach. It has formed a unique, broad-based partnership with Georgia State University’s new Legal Analytics Lab to develop artificial intelligence programs for the firm from the ground up. The goal is to help the firm’s lawyers and staff become more educated about existing software applications for legal data and to develop new applications that serve firm and client needs.