A small Brighton law firm is taking on one of Britain’s biggest retail banks in a $20 million (£14.75m) High Court battle, using artificial intelligence to cut costs and challenge legal heavyweights.
Helix Law is representing US software provider Arkeyo LLC in its claim against Metro Bank, which is accused of breaching copyright and licensing agreements linked to the bank’s in-branch coin counting machines, known as ‘Magic Money Machines’. Metro Bank has instructed City firm Eversheds Sutherland to defend the case, with the next hearing set for 17 September.
Alex Cook, partner at Helix Law, said the case represented a pivotal moment for smaller firms.
“By breaching their agreement with our client, Metro Bank has not only caused financial damage, but severely damaged its own reputation and trust among its customers,” he said. “More widely, we see this as a David and Goliath moment for our industry. Taking on a major retail bank on behalf of a much smaller client shows what is possible when you combine legal expertise with the latest technology.”
Arkeyo alleges that Metro Bank replicated its coin-counting technology without permission after their partnership, which ran between 2010 and 2016, came to an end. Helix Law is also pursuing mediation later this year.
Helix Law says it has been able to drive the case forward thanks to technology that slashed disclosure costs from an initial estimate of £350,000 to £100,000 – a fraction of the £557,000 budgeted by Metro Bank’s legal team.
“The cost savings are game-changing,” Cook said. “They have enabled a small software company to continue its fight against a much larger giant. As an independent firm ourselves, we understand how challenging access to this type of justice can be.”
Helix estimates its approach typically saves clients up to 60 per cent on comparable cases by deploying legal AI tools and other technologies not yet widely adopted by larger firms. These systems can process vast document sets and court bundles quickly, highlighting deficiencies and anomalies that would otherwise require large review teams.
Cook added: “During our disclosure review process we identified deficiencies in Metro Bank’s submissions, which will be addressed at the High Court later this year. Without our cutting-edge software, or a huge legal team, this might have gone unnoticed.”
He suggested that traditional law firms have been slow to adopt similar tools because of the impact on billing models. “But change is coming,” he said, “and smaller firms are at the forefront of it.”
