Roundtable discussion on AI in the legal profession: answers and insights
Roundtable discussion on AI in the legal profession
Recently, Tredion and Epona organised a roundtable discussion, where representatives from various law firms came together to discuss the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal sector. It was a meeting with discussions, new insights and shared concerns about integrating AI into daily practice. In this report you will find a representation of the main topics covered.
The conversation was opened by Jan van Wijgerden from Tredion. He drew everyone’s attention to the growing role of technology within law firms. The move to working in the cloud is now a reality for most firms, which theoretically makes them ready to integrate AI. But as the whole table concludes: “AI offers benefits, but also concerns and challenges”.
"It is crucial to stay curious and wait for products that actually add value."
AI in the legal profession
Actually applying AI in practice turns out to be a lot more complex than it seems on paper.
The firms in attendance agreed that AI has enormous potential to make work easier and design work differently. Only, the biggest challenge lies in connecting AI with internal data and external sources from key publishers. The question of how to deal with AI and data security is crucial. Jan (Tredion) asked the group whether firms are worried about the security issues surrounding AI. This led to a lively discussion.
Ask the right questions of AI vendors
Bart van Wanroij (Epona) highlighted the risks of using external AI tools without asking the right questions. Due to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), firms import their valuable data into AI tools, mostly from startups, without a second thought. “This is often done without asking the right questions. As a result, you start renting back your own data, so to speak.” He stressed the need to ask critical questions of AI vendors: how is anonymisation handled, where is the data stored and is it shared with third parties? The table is aware that sensitive data must remain secure – so probably in-house – and the firm’s knowledge should not simply be transferred to external parties without clear agreements.
The conversation shifted to the impact of AI on the role of junior staff and interns. If AI takes over tasks traditionally performed by junior lawyers, what does this mean for their training and development? For this reason, Van Traa Advocaten and VDT Advocaten have set up small working groups to further investigate this impact, among other things. The group agreed that the skills needed in the future are changing. Data scientists and people who are good at asking the right questions of AI tools are becoming increasingly important. Bart and Jan added that hiring data scientists within law firms is not a bad idea.
Communicating AI strategy to clients
Another key issue was how firms communicate their AI strategy to clients. At the table, an example was given of a firm that recently received a question from a large client about its AI strategy and its impact on pricing. This shows that clients are already far along in their expectations around AI – and working with it – and want to know how their legal partners are implementing this. So it is essential for firms to be proactive and have a clear AI strategy.
"The cost won't necessarily go down, because processing AI's responses isn't exactly cheap either."
Jan highlighted AI’s ability to speed up business processes, for example by making correspondence and searches more efficient. While AI speeds up processes and handles large amounts of data, it does not necessarily mean cost reductions. “The cost won’t necessarily go down, because processing AI’s responses isn’t exactly cheap either”, according to VDK Advocaten.
Allen & Overy was cited as an example of a firm investing heavily in AI to gain competitive advantage. This puts pressure on smaller firms that do not have the same financial strength. How are they handling this? At the table, there is agreement that small to medium-sized firms should at least do the following: set up a working club, prepare a strategic plan and conduct thorough market research. And, above all, talk a lot with other firms and IT partners who are working on the development and application of AI on a daily basis. It is important to explore the market well, select the right resources, apply them step by step and adjust where necessary. This prevents hasty decisions that could lead to costly mistakes.
Prompt library Epona365
Epona showed how it is already practically adding AI to its DMS software. Bart demonstrated the prompt library within Epona365. This library contains tested prompts and queries developed by its own prompt engineers. These can be supplemented by own prompts and those of firms. This highlights the importance of sharing knowledge and discovering the possibilities and limitations of AI together. Bart and Jan discuss with attendees that, as specialists, they scrutinise AI tools from various vendors on a daily basis. In the future, Epona will offer relevant AI tools securely through its platform and Tredion is happy to advise firms on the AI applications that really add value.
As the conversation went on, the firms discussed the need to ask the right questions when selecting AI applications. There are currently thousands of AI startups, hundreds of which focus on the legal sector. Choosing the right party is a challenge in itself. Which AI solution offers the best anonymisation? Which one has the best security? How do you contractually deal with these parties? The market is very dynamic, and making the right choice is essential to minimise risk. Because, what if you work with an AI tool for two months and a much better one emerges on the market in the meantime?
Another key issue was how AI will change lawyers’ jobs. The table noted that AI can take over tasks that are currently time-consuming, such as processing large amounts of data. This leads to shorter process lead times, but does not automatically mean lower costs. Processing and interpreting AI results also takes time, money and expertise.
The overall conclusion of this table is that it is important to be curious and keep experimenting with AI, while proceeding with caution and thinking carefully about the implications of this technology.
Conclusion
The roundtable discussion provided valuable insights on AI in the legal profession. Balancing benefits and challenges remains a key issue.
Whitepaper ‘’Artificial Intelligence & Document Management Systemen”
This article is part of the campaign ”Artificial Intelligence & Document Management Systems,” in which we discuss the opportunities and challenges for legal professionals. A whitepaper also accompanies this campaign. In this whitepaper, we discuss the benefits and challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for document management within the legal industry. We explore how AI is being used to automate tasks and gain valuable insights into office operations. We also cover the legal impact of AI and provide guidance on how to deal with these aspects. Packed with practical tips, of course!