AI has arrived in the legal industry.
Even though firms are at various stages of adoption and implementation across the industry, there is enough understanding of what the technology can do that clients are beginning to expect that the efficiency benefits of AI will be passed on to them in the form of lower legal fees.
Whilst many see this as a crisis point for an industry built upon the billable hour, it also presents an opportunity for firms to break out from the status quo and win more clients from those too slow to adapt.
The key for doing so is to have the willingness and ability to grasp the opportunity.
Willingness: what do we want
What a firm wants to do is ultimately determined by the firm’s culture.
If leadership generally treats external changes as an opportunity rather than a threat then this mindset will likely flow down through an organisation and mean that the firm is likely to lean into the unknown, knowing that others will be too and therefore it makes sense to get ahead of curve.
As a litmus test: in late 2023, did your firm seek out a secure environment for lawyers to use AI, or ban the use of ChatGPT?
In any case, firms today still have a choice about what they want to do regarding their use of AI.
If the firm is happy to watch how things develop and keep up with the pack, then it most likely makes sense to either make a conscious decision to not use AI, or look at using off-the-shelf AI products like Copilot, CoCounsel, Harvey.
Ability: can we do it
It might seem trite, but to differentiate, you need to do something different.
Firms might decide that they want to do something differentiated for their clients, however if they don’t have the means, then nothing will get off the ground.
Using AI in law firms is not binary, and there are a multitude of approaches firms can take as to how they use the technology.
These can be broadly categorised as:
- Buy: off-the-shelf products
- Build: solutions in-house
The trade off is usually the ease/ inflexibility of getting something with an off-the-shelf product vs the ability to do something fit-for-purpose which comes at the cost of laboriously building in-house.
However there’s also the Modify path. In our case, we offer our clients the best of both worlds - a foundational platform that gives the ease of off-the-shelf, designed in a way to be modified to bespoke needs 10x faster/ cheaper than building in-house.
To do something differentiated, firms need the ability to create fit-for-purpose solutions which can only come from an in-house development team, or partnering with an organisation that can execute with them.
Said another way, if you want your use of AI to be a differentiating factor in your clients’ minds you need a way to do something other firms can’t.
Methodology: how do we do it
Assuming that your firm is both willing and able to do something other law firms can’t then the next step is having a mechanism to execute.Running AI projects is a new domain for most law firms, and many will either need to create functions, or expand existing LegalOps skill sets to accommodate.
In our experience, the best way to start is:
- Identify a workflow fit for AI augmentation: e.g. helping lawyers review large volumes of documents, rather than simply ‘use a chatbot’
- Get internal resource/ buy-in for experimentation: set expectations that the value is in discovering how to effectively work with the technology, rather than requiring a definite ROI immediately
- Ensure you have a flexible, secure AI environment: you’ll want the ability to modify general tooling to cater for your firm’s unique expertise
For the first time, partnering with legal AI experts would likely be helpful, but in any case, once an initial project has been done, firms will benefit from having an ongoing internal team/ partner who can triage ideas, quickly build POCs and ultimately take them through to production.
If a firm has a large development team at the forefront of AI advancements then this can be done in-house, though also through a partner, such as Curvestone.
If you’d like to set up a call about how we could help your law firm start developing ideas in order for you to stand out from your competitors, then reach out to set up a call with us.
Conclusion
The arrival of AI doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the legal industry, but it does present a window where law firms can displace (or be displaced by) others using the technology to their advantage.
In order to be differentiated, firms need to have the willingness and ability to do something different which, realistically, only comes from having the combination of tools/ expertise that others don’t i.e. the Modify or Build path.
In terms of what to focus on, read our next article: Follow the money: where to focus your law firm’s AI efforts
For firms without an in-house development team at the forefront of AI advancements, Curvestone’s WorkflowGPT platform + support services helps law firms develop unique and fit-for-purpose AI solutions without requiring an internal development team. To learn more, set up a call with us here.
