Following their panel at Lawyers Weekly’s inaugural AI Innovate event, iManage legal product manager Jenny Hotchin and legal industry expert Madeleine Porter spoke with Lawyers Weekly about the tailored AI strategies and solutions they see increasingly implemented across the legal profession. They also explored the key drives behind this implementation and shared their insights on the future role of AI in the industry.

Strategic conversations about implementation

Initially, law firms took a cautious approach to AI, experimenting with isolated solutions or specific tools. However, Hotchin has observed a shift in this approach, with firms now engaging in more targeted discussions on how AI can be strategically deployed across their entire workforce.

“In law firms, there’s been a shift from playing and dipping the toe in the water with AI and looking at sort of discrete solutions to a more serious and strategic conversation,” Hotchin said.

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Specifically, Hotchin noted that one key area of focus in these discussions around AI implementation is the risk of accidental disclosure of confidential information, underscoring the need for robust solutions to mitigate this risk.

“One of the things that we’ve seen, especially with enterprise AI, is you apply these AI services across information, and then you’ve accidentally disclosed confidential information.

“So in the profession where we work with sensitive information [we] can’t be in that scenario. So we’re definitely seeing a focus on information security, respecting the security, making sure processing and everything else meets those security standards and then respecting the controls over bringing back to our world the controls over those documents,” Hotchin said.

Hotchin highlighted that in this new era of AI, firms are no longer focusing solely on implementing standalone tools but are increasingly adopting a more comprehensive, long-term strategy that considers the bigger picture.

“The other thing that’s changed is understanding how the different pieces of the puzzle come together again. This kind of concept of looking at discrete things and then at the end-to-end workflow,” Hotchin said.

“We’re changing from a conversation [saying] this is how you can use generative AI and knowledge. This is how you can use generative AI in web products, and this is how you can use generative AI elsewhere. When you join the dots, then it gets exciting, and I think that’s how I’d summarise the real trend.”

The driving forces behind AI implementation

Given the inherent competitiveness within the legal profession, Porter noted that law firms are experiencing a strong sense of “fear of missing out” (FOMO) when it comes to AI implementation and adoption.

She shared how many firms are eager to not only keep pace with their competitors but surpass them in terms of how and what AI solutions they incorporate into their practices.

Hotchin said: “You’ve got these people who are competitive, interested and intelligent and want to do the very greatest and most exciting work. Of course, they’re going to want the latest tech to support them.”

Porter also explained that a key driver behind law firms’ adoption of AI is external pressure, particularly from clients. As clients become more informed about the potential of AI, she discussed how they are increasingly seeking tailored AI solutions as part of the legal services they receive.

“Clients are asking them, what are you doing with AI? Some clients are asking for very, very tailored AI solutions as part of their matter. So if they’re unable to deliver that and meet their client’s expectations [and] their client requests, they’ll just go to another law firm willing to,” Porter said.

The demand for AI is not only driven by clients but also by internal factors within law firms, with Porter noting that competition to attract and retain top talent is a key factor in accelerating the adoption of AI within the legal profession.

“It’s a talent retention piece as well, and it’s an attractive tool. So if you’re a law firm and you want to attract the latest grads or the best grads, they’re going to be looking at your tech stack to say, what have you got?

“Oh, well, this firm uses this amazing AI tool. I know this has great capabilities. If I go with them, my life will actually be easier because I’ve seen the results in practice. So it’s going to be competitive from that angle as well,” Porter said.

The road ahead

Looking ahead, it is clear that AI will continue to drive significant transformation in the legal profession, with Porter observing that such a profound change has not occurred before.

“It’s going to transform the legal profession, and the legal profession has not had this fundamental shake-up hundreds of years ago; we’ve practised law the same way,” Porter said.

She explained that the implementation of such transformative technology within the legal profession would “revolutionise how we practise, how we structure our days, the workflows, how we bill”.

However, Porter emphasised that the core principles of practising law will remain unchanged and will continue as usual.

“Obviously, the fundamental aspects of practising law will not change, such as the duty of confidentiality, your fiduciary obligations, all those ethical and professional rules and considerations. That’s going to stay the same. But it’s a million-dollar question. The way we practise law will change,” Porter said.

Reflecting on the future of AI in the legal profession, Hotchin noted that the coming year will be pivotal for law firms aiming to move beyond the hype and focus on harnessing the tangible value AI can offer.

“I hope it’s the year that we get rid of some of the hype and the bullshit. I hope it’s the year that we start to really think about how technology can help the end user,” Hotchin said.

“I am excited for next year in the sense that different pieces of the puzzle are coming together to really deliver some value, and it’s less about playing and more about having a more sort of serious strategic approach to this.”