We all know it’s coming. Some might let others go first. Some might still be telling themselves it won’t disrupt their business because they are special. But, deep down, everyone knows that they will have to put generative AI (Gen AI) into the hands of all of their lawyers if they are to continue to deliver truly excellent client service.

So, when that moment comes, how do you make it a success? When we decided to sign up to be the first UK firm to make Thomson Reuters’ CoCounsel available to the whole firm, we had to answer that question.

Choosing the right tool

When it comes to the ‘buy vs build’ debate, the key question for most firms should be “Can we win?”. In this fast paced environment at the forefront of technological change, how many firms can say they have the expertise and resources to produce a product that can keep up with the rapid pace of change? Whilst we have built our own solutions for narrow use cases, we concluded we needed to back a different horse when it came to who would win the race to build the best legal Gen AI tool for use across our business.

Early experiments in 2023 taught us that whilst some people want to become expert prompt engineers, most want a structured tool which sacrifices some flexibility in exchange for simplicity.

A key selection principle was minimising the number of tools we need. Just getting people to remember the names of new tools is hard enough. We therefore needed something which could help all of our practice areas across a broad range of tasks, was well integrated with our existing legal technology stack and had access to UK proprietary legal knowledge so that our legal research was integrated.

Creating the right conditions

Ideas spread like fires. If you want a fire to spread rather than burning out to a disappointing pile of embers, you need to create the right environment. In a law firm, your fuel is people who are excited by the prospect of change and who feel they have the permission to try something different. But fuel needs oxygen to burn. That oxygen comes in the form of the right messaging, from the right people, at the right times. You need to build awareness of Gen AI and its potential over time. Who says what is important too. It is crucial for senior leaders to express their genuine enthusiasm whilst emphasising that Gen AI will augment, not replace.

A gradual roll out of a solution can be counterproductive. Doing so introduces fire breaks. You want to be in a position where a spark of excitement can pass from one person to the next and ignite a new fire. If someone needs to wait for the next phase or go through a central approvals process, enthusiasm dampens and the moment will be lost.

You also don’t want the fire to burn out of control. If it isn’t used properly, Gen AI can cause genuine problems for clients and the firm. It is therefore critical that you only use enterprise grade solutions and have a clear AI policy. This should make clear that outputs must be verified and critically analysed by someone with the right skills and experience. It should also emphasise the criticality of information security and data protection, ensuring that any new Gen AI solutions are subject to robust review processes which evolve as the regulatory environment develops.

Keeping it burning

Your big launch is far from the end of the process. You need to start lots of little fires and keep them burning. We’ve found that, however good your launch, it is the little conversations in small groups that really drive awareness and adoption.

You also shouldn’t assume that you can know all the ways Gen AI will be used. The low barriers to entry provided by a natural language interface and the applicability to novel work, upends the traditional approach to identifying and testing use cases. Give it to the people who know what they do best and see what they use it for. Learn from that and share it. Firms who can trigger a perpetual learning cycle will win in the end.

Always remember who you are doing this for. Clients are keen to be involved in conversations about how you are using AI and bringing them with you on the journey is really important. Discuss with them what you are doing and why. You’ll almost certainly learn from each other.

Conclusion

Change is rarely easy and the integration of Gen AI into how all of your people work will be no different. That doesn’t mean, though, that it can’t be a fun and exciting time. Your clients can benefit from a better service, your people can benefit from better ways of working and your business can benefit by gaining a competitive edge. That sounds like a prize worth winning to me.

Sam Dixon is chief innovation officer and a partner at Womble Bond Dickinson