Organizations around the world are embracing the benefits of technology and artificial intelligence to enable better outcomes for their business and many are even placing digitalization at the core of their corporate strategy. The law department simply cannot be an outlier on this digitalization journey, or it will risk falling out of step and misalignment with the organization, thereby impacting the overall perception of the function. So, if you have not already explored how AI can support your department, it may be time to evaluate options. We invite you to consider these top tips below before you take the plunge on any new technology.

1) Solution for the problem 

The onset of legal technology and even AI has driven a perception that technology can be a cure-all solution for the many operational challenges that may exist across the law department. Unfortunately, it is not that simple! Before you even begin to understand how AI can benefit your function, you need to understand the problem(s) you are trying to solve. Are senior resources spending far too much time on low risk/low complexity contracts, like NDAs? Do you manually review contracts for certain clauses? Understanding the problems that exist across the department not only provides you with a clear picture as to the greatest pain points, but it also helps to establish an appetite for change and transformation. Take some time to canvass the legal team and even key internal stakeholders to understand exactly where the biggest pain points/bottlenecks may be which might be limiting optimal delivery of legal services. 

2) Optimize processes 

Once you have identified a pain point and determined that it may be worth an investment of time and resources based on its potential ROI, you will want to take some time to understand the existing processes around that problem and understand how they can be streamlined. What are the current steps involved with this work process? Can extra steps be removed? Failure to walk through this important phase will simply mean you have taken the time and resources to accelerate an inefficient process. It is helpful to understand where steps can be eliminated to ultimately reduce time spent on a particular task, before considering how tech can support. 

3) Understanding how AI works 

Over the past few weeks, we have seen that ChatGPT has taken things to another level in terms of generative AI capability but, in doing so, has also brought some of the ethical AI questions back into the spotlight. Whilst the answers it gives can be delivered so quickly and elegantly it sometimes appears almost magical, there are many reported cases of the AI making mistakes, either from its answers directly or by misunderstanding source material. This leads us to ask ourselves where the training dataset came from, and of which biases do we need to be mindful? If you are thinking of using a similar tool to this in your legal function to make recommendations to business users, a lot of consideration and testing must be undertaken to make sure it relays your source material correctly! 

4) Change management

Anytime you suggest that there could be a change in the way someone works, there can be immediate resistance and fear that either things will become more complicated, that they will have to learn something new, or that they will no longer be seen as adding value or relevant. The reality is that by leveraging technology, you should begin to take the repetitive and monotonous tasks out of the day job, freeing your team up to do more interesting and strategic work. Before approaching any transformation project, be sure to communicate up front what your intentions are and how the team will be (positively!) impacted.

5) Monitor and adjust 

Once you have implemented your chosen technology, it is important to diarize check-ins at least once or twice a year to review the impact. For example, if you decide to automate some agreements so the business can use them autonomously, how frequently are they used, by which teams, does this method save time/effort etc.? Alternatively, if you wanted to implement an internally-facing chatbot, has this related to a reduction in legal queries with no corresponding increase in negative risk outcomes? Whilst ROI may not always be too straightforward to capture, it is always worth keeping an eye out for ways of figuring out if the solution is continuing to deliver the expected benefits. 

Conclusion

While AI can seem like a very compelling option to explore because of the many possible ways to save attorney time and ultimately money, it is important to focus on the problem you are trying to solve, rather than focusing on the tool. Most law departments do not consider evaluating and implementing any AI solution until they have a more structured and robust technology roadmap and strategy for piloting AI. As the Association of Corporate Counsel has set out in its guide "Maturity Model for the Operations of a Legal Department"¹, this would typically fall into the category of an advanced technology management approach. If you are unsure where to begin, consult with an expert and keep in mind that perhaps there might be a technology solution that already exists within your enterprise suite that you can leverage.

This article was written by JoAnne Wakeford, Chief Client Officer, Dentons In-House Solutions and Joe Cohen, Head of Innovation, Dentons UKIME.

1. Association of Corporate Counsel, Legal Operations Maturity Model, Technology Management | Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) ↩