Artificial intelligence is the 'new normal' for law firms

Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to radically change the way that law firms do business. Over the past few years, many have been grappling with the 'new normal' of clients demanding more value, transparency and costs certainty for lower prices. While some firms may have hoped that these pressures would disappear once we emerged from the global recession, those with foresight recognised that the market changes were here to stay and would soon become the 'old normal'.

The 'new normal' of artificial intelligence has now arrived and is already revolutionising legal services. Berwin Leighton Paisner has built a 'contract robot' with RAVN which is able to complete 100 days of legal work within less than two seconds. Riverview Law is developing through its subsidiary, CliXLEX, 'virtual assistants' for in-house counsel. Dentons is developing an IBM Watson-powered app which can read legal documents, gather evidence, draw inferences and return evidence-based answers.

This is just the first wave of advances; other law firms are currently developing their own AI-enabled tools to improve client services. The first firms to successfully deploy their innovations will undoubtedly have a strong competitive advantage. But, their
first-mover advantage will not hold for long; over
the next five years, the technology will become
more affordable and mainstream. Indeed, the UK's magic-circle firms are expected to be using AI in the next 12 to 18 months.

Clearly, what will set law firms apart in future will be how they use artificial intelligence. To leverage it effectively, firms will need to have: business processes and cultures that encourage creativity and innovation; a deep understanding of clients' evolving needs and objectives; and the ability to combine that creativity and client knowledge to develop outstanding AI-powered client services.

A senior corporate partner at a global law firm recently told me the advances in AI are 'terrifying' and that he is glad retirement is looming. But, lawyers of all ages should be excited by the endless possibilities of AI, not afraid of it. Sophisticated as the technology is, AI lacks the human capacity for insight, instinct and intuition. It also has limited decision-making abilities - it can provide data-based analysis and learn from its experiences, but it cannot yet substitute the wisdom of seasoned partners.

Now, more than ever before, law firms need their senior partners to leverage their deep understanding of clients and industry. Without that expert knowledge, firms will struggle to create competitive and targeted clients services which are underpinned by innovative AI tools. It's up to each senior partner to look to the future and to consider how they can leverage technology to achieve their full professional potential. Excuses and refusals to use new technology should no longer be tolerated by the partnership.

The possibilities of AI are endless - it's up to you to decide how to use it.

Until next time,