Technology

Avoid A Reactionary, Band-Aid Approach To AI In Law

Lawyers’ reluctance to embrace AI, coupled with its ever-evolving and unpredictable nature, can leave many vulnerable to a fear-based, reactionary mindset that is untenable in the long term.

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Band Aids

For decades, many lawyers I know embraced technical education programs and CLEs to better understand technology-related legal concerns. Now, however, AI seems to have thrown some for a loop.

“I’ve always felt that AI is too difficult and data-sciency to grasp. It’s all so algorithm-icky!” a lawyer recently told me.

AI can seem complex, but it’s not as intimidating as it appears, I promise.

Another lawyer said, “I don’t have time to learn about AI. Besides, the ethical implications and potential errors that AI might introduce are insurmountable right now.”

We can mitigate the associated risks by embracing AI responsibly and implementing proper oversight procedures.  

Lawyers’ reluctance to embrace AI, coupled with its ever-evolving and unpredictable nature, can leave many vulnerable to a fear-based, reactionary mindset that is untenable in the long term. When AI can vastly improve accuracy and efficiency in legal research, contract analysis, predicting case outcomes, drafting documents, and more, lawyers owe it to themselves and their clients to do better.

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It’s True: AI Is Inherently Dynamic And Ever-Evolving

AI’s many impacts are far from certain. Its black-box nature is especially problematic in the legal profession, which values transparency, accountability, predictability, and sound reasoning. 

Nevertheless, 93% of companies plan to increase their AI investments in 2024, mainly to improve customer experience, automation and efficiency, and overall business operations, according to a Lucidworks survey of over 6,000 employees involved in AI technology decision-making. 

Numerous survey results confirm that most businesses are on board with AI. Still, lawyers hesitate. According to a LexisNexis report, just 15% of 3,752 lawyers surveyed use generative AI for legal purposes. Because generative AI is new, that number wouldn’t be so bad if an ACC and Lowenstein Sandler survey of 165 U.S. in-house legal professionals hadn’t found that: 

  • 64% of in-house legal professionals haven’t used artificial intelligence for legal tasks,
  • 43% have no confidence or only slight confidence in their understanding of AI, 
  • only 25% received any training related to AI, and
  • more than half said they don’t have plans for such training.

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(Emphasis all mine!)

The hesitation to embrace AI, coupled with AI’s constantly changing and unpredictable nature, can all too easily lead to a reactionary, short-sighted approach to AI in law. Quick fixes and patchwork solutions cobbled together in haste are incredibly ineffective for AI tools and issues. Uninformed decisions made on the fly typically fail to address the real risks and opportunities AI presents.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A proactive, comprehensive approach to AI can improve all stakeholders’ outcomes.

AI Is A Tool To Supervise, Not Fear

Reluctance can stem from fear of AI replacing lawyers entirely. In reality, AI is a tool that can enhance lawyers’ capabilities rather than replace them. Lawyers don’t need to learn how to engineer AI. Rather, lawyers must supervise its use and collaborate with other professionals to: 

  • Understand the broader context and repercussions of incorporating AI into various use cases.
  • Evaluate the influence of AI on legal operations, client and employee relations, and society. 
  • Weigh the ethical, societal, and financial aspects of adopting AI systems. 
  • Strike the optimal balance between technological innovation and adherence to the law. 

In other words, you’re called on to complete activities you’re likely already well attuned to performing.

Skepticism Is An Asset

A degree of skepticism is healthy. A cautious approach helps you critically evaluate the benefits and limitations of AI before adopting it. Your due diligence can help you align AI’s integration with your highest professional and ethical standards and: 

  • anticipate potential legal dilemmas, risks, and challenges tied to AI deployment,
  • design strategies that preemptively address these issues, preventing legal complications, and
  • promote a forward-thinking approach in your organization to pinpoint and resolve legal and ethical AI-related concerns before more significant issues arise.

Are You Ready To Explore The Possibilities That AI Offers? 

It may be easier than you initially think. Let’s dive into this AI journey together and see where it takes us!

How do you think AI could help you do your job better? Are you prepared to make the strategic and tactical decisions necessary to implement AI in your law firm or legal department?

Olga MackOlga V. Mack is a Fellow at CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and a Generative AI Editor at law.MIT. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat, Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security, and  Blockchain Value: Transforming Business Models, Society, and Communities. She is working on three books: Visual IQ for Lawyers (ABA 2024), The Rise of Product Lawyers: An Analytical Framework to Systematically Advise Your Clients Throughout the Product Lifecycle (Globe Law and Business 2024), and Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data (Globe Law and Business 2024). You can follow Olga on LinkedIn and Twitter @olgavmack.

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