As legal operators gather for the annual Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) meeting in Las Vegas, one ex-in-house counsel is sensing a waning enthusiasm for artifical intelligence at the event. Former Kia Motors America counsel, Casey Flaherty, who is also primary author of  Unless You Ask: A Guide For Law Departments To Get More From Their External Relationships,  has commented on Above the Law: 'The tide seems to have turned slightly on AI. People here are nonplussed about the prospects. "Hype" is the watchword. Lots of explanations that they have to look at AI because of the expectations of 'magic' and 'easy buttons' from their superiors. But not much in the way of optimism.' 

Real-world

Mr Flaherty, who is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and consults with both in-house departments and law firms on strategic sourcing, process improvement and technology implementation, goes on to say:  'This strikes me as approaching a productive place where we can talk about immediate, real-world, if narrow, applications. And there are a number of companies here doing just that. The pre-disillusionment of their audience may be a positive because the buyers aren't going to be disappointed when the system solves one problem instead of every problem.'

Las Vegas

The event, which is taking place in Las Vegas, gathers together around 1000 legal operators and suppliers across the US. It recently launched a branch in the UK, as reported in The Global Legal Post.