Law firms are recognising GenAI's potential to enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and offer innovative solutions. As GenAI evolves, the legal sector must understand its impact and make informed decisions about its integration into internal ways of working and processes.
The potential uses of GenAI in the legal industry are extensive and varied and depend entirely on the work a firm does and the problem that GenAI is tasked with solving. The following were identified as the leading use cases when Am Law 100 firms were surveyed at the start of 2024:
- E-discovery: GenAI can significantly improve the efficiency of e-discovery by automating the summarisation and analysis of large volumes of documents. Unlike traditional AI, which focuses on identifying specific keywords or phrases, GenAI can generate insights from unstructured data, making the discovery process faster and more comprehensive.
- Legal research: GenAI can be a powerful tool for legal research, providing attorneys with nuanced, generated summaries of case law, regulations, and relevant documents. By leveraging natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, GenAI can move beyond simple keyword searches, offering a deeper understanding of legal texts and case histories.
- Summarising documents and generating transcripts: GenAI can quickly produce summaries of lengthy legal documents or meeting transcripts, allowing attorneys to focus on more high-value tasks. This can be particularly useful in litigation preparation, contract negotiations, or client consultations.
- Drafting marketing materials and attorney bios: GenAI can assist in drafting marketing content, including bios for pitch decks or promotional materials. This not only reduces the time spent on routine marketing tasks but also ensures consistency across documents, maintaining a firm’s branding and messaging.
GenAI implementation considerations: Buy vs. build and change management
When it comes to implementing GenAI solutions, law firms face the strategic decision of whether to buy off-the-shelf solutions or build custom tools in-house. This decision will depend on factors such as cost, scalability, and how specialised the GenAI solution needs to be.
Global law firm Clifford Chance announced earlier this year that it was strategically partnering with Microsoft to deploy Copilot across the organisation, which can streamline the use of AI. Similarly, companies like LexisNexis have developed GenAI tools tailored for legal professionals, offering pre-built solutions that are ready to use.
Before making any decisions about the direction you want to go in, assess the current use of GenAI across the firm and prioritise possible untapped opportunities to expand its use. Once uses are identified, implementing GenAI requires careful process mapping and change management, as like any major technological shift, adopting GenAI necessitates a rethinking of existing workflows, processes, and business models. AI implementation must be closely aligned with the firm’s long-term goals, and this involves detailed planning, staff training, and change management strategies to ensure a smooth transition. Clarasys’ approach is then to spin up proofs of concepts for these prioritised AI use cases, to rapidly test, iterate, and scale.
The legal industry is primed for transformation through GenAI, with many law firms already progressing on this journey to deliver substantial benefits for optimising internal processes. However, successfully adopting AI will require firms to not only focus on technology but also on governance, training, and strategic partnerships. By developing robust policies and operating models, law firms can harness the power of AI while ensuring they remain competitive and compliant.
If you would like to discuss GenAI use within your company and understand how we can help, please get in touch.
