Welcome to Straight Talk, our series where Wolters Kluwer’s Ken Crutchfield, Vice President and General Manager of Legal Markets, and Jennifer McIver, Associate Director of Legal Operations and Industry Insights, discuss how generative AI is impacting law firms.
We begin this series by asking Jennifer and Ken to reveal what attorneys really think of generative AI—how they’re using it today, how they’re managing the technology’s hype cycle, and more. Here’s what they had to say.
How are attorneys using generative AI today?
Ken: With generative AI, firms are interested in several things. One is how to make the best use of investments in large language models (LLM). Generative AI tools know a lot about language, and they're very good at manipulating existing content, including summarizing a document, making it shorter, and translating it. Those are all things an LLM does very well, especially when it comes to creating first drafts or accelerating research.
Firms are also using it like a sparring partner or a brainstorm idea generator. They might ask ChatGPT, “How do I respond to this request from a judge? How do I argue against this?” We all know that hallucinations are a big challenge, but if the technology gives an absurd answer, the attorney can figure that out pretty quickly. But even when it’s inaccurate, the AI may also spawn an idea that adds to the creativity of what an attorney is trying to do.
Finally, in-house counsel are using generative AI to extract data and accelerate work that might otherwise be done manually, and that still requires human review, like extracting elements from various clauses in a contract.
Jen: This is where things get interesting, Ken. You mentioned law firms, and I think that that's a really great place to start.
There are similarities between in-house counsel and law firms, but I think there's also a little bit of difference. Law firms almost have an advantage because they're practicing law. So, they're looking holistically at how they can advance their practice or how they can be competitive.
When you move to in-house attorneys, I find there's a divide. For instance, a technology company that already uses or plans to embrace AI will likely have an in-house legal team that’s testing and seeing success with using generative AI.
Then, there are in-house legal teams representing organizations that aren’t using generative AI and don’t have the technical resources or capacity to investigate and implement that technology. Those legal teams are feeling the pressure of possibly being left behind. It’s those legal teams that, more than ever, should be looking to their law firms to partner and explore generative AI options.
What’s the hype versus reality for generative AI in legal?
Jen: I’ve heard from both in-house and outside counsel that they want to try generative AI but realize they might need to work on their data first. So, I feel like the hype is slowing down because folks are realizing that implementing generative AI is not instantaneous. I think use and adoption are going to pick up very quickly once in-house legal teams centralize their data and find a few use cases that show value.
Ken: Getting your data right is very important, but so is knowing the limitations of the technology. Both of those will become more apparent over time.
Let’s use self-driving autonomous vehicles as an example. There's been a lot of hype about self-driving cars, but the reality is you still must sit in the car and have your hands close to the steering wheel, if not on the car, to make sure that the car does what it's supposed to do. The technology will only go so far until it’s necessary to have a human involved.
Are attorneys pushing for generative AI or taking it slow?
Ken: A lot of firms are being pushed into generative AI by their competition. For instance, I was speaking with a firm recently that was asked to do something with machine learning. They had the capability to do it, but another firm that was being asked did not. When they found out the first firm had the tools, the second firm said, “Oh, we'll get the technology in next week.”
Jen: In-house teams are going slow. They're being deliberate when picking use cases and recognizing that AI is a tool in their toolbox—the technology part of people, processes, and technology. Generative AI is providing solutions and opportunities that we haven't seen before when it comes to the ability to deliver quicker responses and complete tasks.
Parting words for organizations considering implementing generative AI?
Jen: Take baby steps. You can't just ignore it, but going all in may challenge adoption and the overall value. So, find small use cases that you can use to deliver value and build on those. Identify a defined use case and examples of expected ROI. Bite it off in smaller chunks, show value, and build on it.
Ken: I think those are good points, Jen. I’d also add that it's going to be important that people and firms are ready for generative AI and that attorneys start to think about it. Because while we’re just at the beginning of the generative AI revolution, the bar is already being raised, and it will continue to just get higher.
