{"id":289007,"date":"2026-01-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyjus.com\/?p=289007"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:33:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:33:19","slug":"how-a-boutique-firm-competes-with-big-law-dunning-vallejo-and-macdonald-cuts-research-time-by-70-with-jus-mundi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyjus.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/how-a-boutique-firm-competes-with-big-law-dunning-vallejo-and-macdonald-cuts-research-time-by-70-with-jus-mundi\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Boutique Firm Competes with Big Law: Dunning Vallejo and MacDonald Cuts Research Time by 70% with Jus Mundi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In conversation with <strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jusconnect.com\/en\/p\/damian-vallejo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Dami\u00e1n Vallejo<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dvmlaw.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Dunning Vallejo &amp; MacDonald LLP<\/a> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dami\u00e1n Vallejo of Dunning Vallejo &amp; MacDonald for Jus AI\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T0vTd0KzRxQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c<em>If I had to describe the value that Jus AI brings to a firm like ours in one sentence, I would probably use a word which is efficiency\u2014and that translates not only in efficiency for us in terms of the time we spend working on matters but also translates into efficiencies for the clients we represent.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><strong>Dami\u00e1n Vallejo<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><br>Partner, Dunning Vallejo &amp; MacDonald LLP<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Results at a Glance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table alignwide\"><table class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Metric<\/th><th>Result<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Research Speed<\/td><td>50-70% time reduction<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Early Case Assessment<\/td><td>From days to hours<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Hearing Preparation<\/td><td>Cross-examination prep reduced from 5-10 hours to 2-3 hours<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Client Response Time<\/td><td>48-hour tribunal deadline met with hours to spare<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Primary Benefit<\/td><td>Leveling the playing field against larger firms<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Dunning Vallejo and MacDonald<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dunning Vallejo and MacDonald (DV&amp;M)<\/strong> is a New York-based boutique law firm founded in 2019. The firm focuses on business transactions and business disputes, handling both litigation and arbitration at the international and domestic levels. With a practice that spans investor-state arbitration, commercial arbitration, and complex business disputes, the firm has built expertise across multiple industries, including financial disputes, construction, energy, and business divorce matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><strong><strong>Dami\u00e1n<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> Vallejo<\/strong>, Partner at the firm, leads a nimble team that works with high-net-worth individuals, family offices, private equity funds, non-public companies, and government entities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Opportunity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Small Firm Challenge<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Before Jus AI, we had a few challenges doing legal research primarily because we are a young firm,&#8221; Dami\u00e1n explains. &#8220;We have a very nimble team, so we don&#8217;t have a large structure. We had to deploy a lot of the resources that we had both in terms of human capital and the time that the attorneys could spend doing legal research.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For DV&amp;M, hours spent on research meant less time for high-value work, business development, or attorney mentoring\u2014opportunity costs that added up quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>The International Arbitration Data Gap<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">International arbitration presents unique research obstacles that general legal research tools can&#8217;t address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em>&#8220;Another challenge we had before Jus AI is the fact that there were no products available in the market that were specifically focused for international arbitration,&#8221; <em>Dami\u00e1n<\/em> notes. &#8220;A lot of the information is confidential. The decisions tend to be confidential. And a lot of the pleadings and briefs submitted in those cases tend to be also confidential.&#8221;<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This made identifying useful data incredibly time-consuming\u2014a significant disadvantage when competing against larger firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Solution: Arbitration-Specialized AI<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After evaluating multiple options, DV&amp;M chose <a href=\"https:\/\/jusmundi.com\/en\/jus-ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Jus AI<\/a> for three critical reasons: user-friendliness, exceptional client service, and access to specialized international arbitration data unavailable elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Built for International Arbitration<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike generic legal research tools, Jus AI&#8217;s specialized focus on international arbitration proved transformative. The platform provides access to a database specifically curated for international work\u2014including confidential decisions and pleadings that are difficult to locate through other means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Other products don&#8217;t have the data that we need for international arbitration,&#8221; <em>Dami\u00e1n<\/em> emphasizes. &#8220;They might be more disputes generic, but Jus AI has access to a database that is specifically focused for international arbitration and international work.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Responsive Partnership<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a small firm where every hour counts, the quality of client service matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;I can&#8217;t think of any instance in which one of us has emailed you guys at Jus Mundi and we haven&#8217;t gotten a response within a matter of a few hours,&#8221; <em>Dami\u00e1n<\/em> says.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This responsiveness means the team can resolve questions quickly and keep matters moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Intuitive and Fast<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critical for a lean practice where attorneys need to be productive from day one with any new tool, Jus AI\u2019s user-friendliness meant immediate adoption across the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>50-70% Faster Research<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Jus AI has really improved our research capabilities not only from a depth perspective but also from an efficiency perspective. In many cases\u2014or most cases, I&#8217;d say\u2014it&#8217;s saving us 50 to 70% of the time we would usually deploy or spend doing legal research.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Meeting Impossible Deadlines<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the tribunal granted just 48 hours to respond to an opposing party&#8217;s petition, Jus AI made the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Before Jus AI, it would have probably taken us 20 to 30 hours to conduct the research we needed,&#8221; <em>Dami\u00e1n<\/em> recalls. &#8220;Because of Jus AI, we spent a couple hours tweaking the prompt, and then within two hours and 15 minutes or less, we had the research we needed.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This freed up time to focus on strategy and persuasive writing\u2014the high-value work that wins cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Faster Client Intake and Case Assessment<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;We are now able to conduct legal research and come up with a legal theory or theories for the case in a much more cost-efficient manner,&#8221; <em>Dami\u00e1n<\/em> explains. &#8220;This translates into potentially getting engaged by that specific client much quicker.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early case assessment accelerated dramatically. When potential clients want answers quickly about case strength and legal theories, Jus AI delivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Enhanced Hearing Performance<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a recent arbitration hearing with daily witness transcripts, Jus AI helped identify testimony inconsistencies overnight for next-day cross-examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previously, this manual analysis required 5-10 hours late into the night. With Jus AI, the timeline compressed to 2-3 hours, freeing up time to develop additional questions for the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Leveling the Playing Field<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;We tend to have in front of us larger firms where they might have more manpower. By using Jus AI and leveraging the efficiency that the tool is bringing to us, we are able to go head-to-head against much larger teams\u2014which also translates into cost efficiency for our client base.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clients get boutique economics with big firm capabilities\u2014a compelling value proposition made possible by technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Game-Changing for the Practice<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;I would probably define it as one of the most efficient products our firm has implemented over the past six years, which is the life of our firm. I think it has been game-changing for the kind of practice that we have.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ready to see how Jus AI can transform your arbitration practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Book a personalized demo today and experience the speed, accuracy, and confidence that leading firms like Dunning Vallejo and MacDonald LLP rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-fe48e5de wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/jusmundi.com\/en\/register\/jus-ai-demo\">Book a Demo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jusmundi.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"318\" src=\"https:\/\/dailyjus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-288139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daily.jusconnect.com\/~www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/daily.jusconnect.com\/~www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-300x37.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daily.jusconnect.com\/~www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-1024x127.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/daily.jusconnect.com\/~www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-768x95.jpg 768w, https:\/\/daily.jusconnect.com\/~www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-1536x191.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/daily.jusconnect.com\/~www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Group-905-2048x254.jpg 2048w, 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