Less than a decade ago, sustained uncertainty was relatively infrequent and periodic in nature. However, in recent years it has been a common occurrence, from the global financial crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing regulatory changes around the world. Today, uncertainty is no longer an occasional disruption – it has become the status quo.
Yet despite this shift, only a small number of in-house teams report being very confident in their ability to identify and manage emerging risks, according to a recent survey conducted by Dentons. This is a striking revelation that underscores just how much ground legal departments still need to cover. Legal departments are navigating an increasingly complex landscape where shifting trade dynamics, rapid technological advances and mounting compliance requirements are defining their everyday.
As a result of this complexity, legal leaders are not standing still – they cannot afford to. Across industries, in-house teams are being asked to remain agile in the face of disruption. Preparedness is no longer an option; it is a competitive advantage. Preparedness today is about building capabilities, structures and relationships before they are needed to manage risk.
For some legal teams, proactive risk management means staying ahead of disruption by strengthening expertise, identifying emerging exposures early, enhancing controls and educating the broader business on evolving risks. Leading teams are focusing on clear ownership around decision-making so that there is clarity around who owns the decision – which is critical when the stakes are high.
It also means having the right external partners and resources in place before a crisis arises. When your back is against the wall, you want a partner who will be in the trenches with you, understands all the moving pieces and has a clear vision of what success looks like.
One of the clearest opportunities for in-house teams to shift towards preparedness is to fully embrace AI.
AI beyond the buzz
AI is no longer a buzzword for future consideration. It has become a fundamental competency, with AI literacy and governance becoming a critical skill set that lawyers need to develop. More and more organisations are moving from AI ideation to operationalisation, using it as an efficiency enabler to deliver faster and sharper results.
Leaders who take the time to understand AI’s capabilities will be better positioned to manage growing workloads and increasing complexity, particularly if resources are going to be continuously stretched. The legal teams that adopt AI thoughtfully can redirect their energy toward the strategic, high-value work that matters most.
At the same time, the risk argument is equally compelling: without a proactive and responsible approach to AI, leaders risk having their team members turn to unvetted tools and shortcuts that can misinform or expose confidential information. The question is not how to avoid AI, it’s how to use it smartly and embrace it. Many in-house leaders are investing in upskilling and training their people on thoughtful use of AI, even creating working groups to share best practices.
Ultimately, combining a mature mindset with AI readiness is becoming one of the defining differentiators of modern legal departments, and it is increasingly urgent for legal teams to align their approach and embrace AI thoughtfully and deliberately. Technology, however, is only one part of the preparedness equation.
Business remains profoundly human
Even as AI reshapes the way legal teams operate, business remains deeply human, and having those established relationships is critical. In fact, as technology becomes more embedded in day-to-day work, the human element becomes even more valuable, not less. The lawyers who will be most successful are those who can skillfully read the room, who can put themselves into other people’s shoes and see issues from both sides of the table, build trust, navigate difficult conversations, and demonstrate emotional intelligence. AI can process information at scale and speed, but it cannot steady a room in a moment of crisis.
For in-house counsel, aligning with stakeholders and staying close to their changing business priorities is essential when managing risk, including enabling revenue growth and overseeing high-stakes disputes. That requires more than technical expertise or legal judgement alone. It demands strong communication skills and the ability to build collaborative relationships across the organisation.
The ability to have difficult conversations about business pressures and align on the problem you are trying to solve, is a critical leadership skill. These are deeply human capabilities, and they require intentional development. In-house leaders consistently tell us that developing these skills on their teams is a priority, and they are leaning into their law firms to help support them with that – many are also building their own internal learning and development frameworks.
The ready will lead
As lawyers, our profession is grounded in our ability to anticipate, prepare and transform complexity into clarity. As leaders, that responsibility has never felt more urgent – or more meaningful. The gap between where legal teams are and where they need to be is real, and closing it requires intentional action.
Preparedness is about thinking through the options in advance and has become a critical differentiator. Legal teams that develop agile teams, strengthen internal relationships, harness emerging technologies such as AI and build robust risk management capabilities are not just better positioned to respond; they are positioned to shape what comes next.
Kate Barton is global CEO at Dentons.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
