How leading maritime law firm Cusack & Co is innovating triage with Josef

When someone says “maritime law” do you think of pirates? Us too… but we’re ready to stand corrected.

Introducing Alison Cusack, Principal Lawyer of maritime law firm Cusack & Co. Alison is fully equipped to clarify–or expertly triage–should you have any shipping-related questions. Perhaps you’re looking to make a claim on some precious missing cargo? 

With Josef, her firm has found a way to navigate the infinite possibilities that can arise when sailing the world’s choppy seas. 

“The surprising thing about maritime law is how much of the world you gain insight into. I know when there’s a typhoon happening in Japan, when there’s a drought in Queensland, when it’s bumper grain season for exporting, when there are sanctions in Russia or a tariff change in India. I know when Durban is flooding and when marine pilots in Shanghai have covid,” explains Alison. 

When faced with the prospect of intaking data from across the world, Alison knew automation was her best bet. Clients’ needs vary hugely, so using Josef, the electrical engineer turned maritime lawyer created a templated process fit for all enquires.

Like any well-to-do lawyer, Alison’s workload is rather substantial. 

“I work on both front and back end matters. Reviewing standard trading terms and conditions, working on process, preemptive recovery. Reactive work as well, that involves responding to urgent issues and making quick decisions,” she explains. 

Having the information to make those decisions is therefore paramount. Retrieving the information? Not as straightforward as you might hope. 

“I get a high volume of what I call client “email vomit” – loads of information that hasn’t been sifted through to determine what is highly relevant,” Alison notes. 

To mitigate this, Cusack & Co got to building. 

“Hi there! I’m here to help you with your damaged cargo assessment.” The reassuring first words of “CLAM: Cargo Liability Assessment (Marine)” bot, Alison’s powerful triage bot. 

CLAM collects all forms of client data, ranging from claimant, shipment, and damage information to details specific to each cargo’s recovery process. Clients can quickly submit vessel names, voyage numbers, upload commercial invoices, etc. all via one singular bot. 

Upon automating, Alison is able to effortlessly apply her expertise on a one-to-many basis, thus spending less time on repetitive admin, freeing up more time for further complex work. 

“With Josef, I can put all of my learnings into the bot because I know what I need,” explains Alison. 

The bot’s output is pretty handy too, distilling all of her clients’ data into one automated PDF. 

“When I receive a claim, I’m like ‘Oh wow, a complete file! Fantastic'”.

User-friendly 

Josef’s no-code automation has proven to be a simple yet effective way to share knowledge and services at times that suit her clients best. Building the bot also happened to be a total breeze.

“It’s user-friendly and delivers information in the way that I want to see it. The process is great for the user and the outcomes are great for me,” Alison notes.

Saves time

If you invest the time up-front, you receive it back in droves. With Josef, Alison can do her job without even lifting a finger. Her bot collects the exact information required and frees up valuable time for more complex tasks. 

Shares knowledge

Not all clients know what they need to provide in order to submit a credible claim. With CLAM, Alison can highlight & retrieve exactly what’s required.

“What the bot does is it trains the client. It makes them realise “Oh you need this information?”. I’m essentially directing them on how to retrieve and present documentation for a claim without me having to do anything.”

Job done!