As Generative AI continues to evolve, its effect on corporate organizations—and the legal sector more narrowly—is only expected to increase. As organizations navigate this transition, legal functions have a unique dual role to play.
Not only can they play a role as a key guardian to Generative AI's safe introduction into an organization, but they can also drive Generative AI adoption and transformation within the function itself.
On the former, legal functions will work closely with other functions like risk, IT, data and human resources to establish governance and risk frameworks for Generative AI's safe and ethical use. On the latter, legal functions can take a number of actions in readiness.
By putting Generative AI into the hands of lawyers, this will demystify the technology, enabling lawyers to better understand how it can be best applied to meet the needs of their legal teams and the wider business.
Second, legal teams should consider putting in place light-touch functional governance around identifying, evaluating and prioritizing legal use cases to drive transformation across the function.
Third, focus on data hygiene—identifying the data that is critical to solving business problems, and then beginning to centralize and cleanse. This will enable them to unlock Generative AI's insight-rich potential.
Finally, legal functions should consider performing some longer-term planning to ensure they have the right blend of internal skills and external partners to capitalize on Generative AI's potential and continue to operate efficiently against a rapidly changing backdrop.
In conclusion, the integration of Generative AI into legal functions is not just inevitable; it is already underway. For legal functions, staying ahead means embracing these changes, adapting to new roles and continuously learning to leverage AI capabilities. The future promises a more strategic and impactful legal profession, powered by the transformative power of AI.