Five ways to get ahead with AI in 2025
Many law firms are intrigued by the potential of AI but concerned about risking compliance breaches, customer trust issues or even litigation. We explore why firms should be looking to master AI – and how an understanding of AI technology and strategy can help manage these risks and unlock benefits.
1. Being a lawyer just got a lot more interesting
With the rapid advancement of AI, the legal sector is becoming increasingly dynamic and complex. Lawyers now have the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge technology, addressing new legal challenges that arise from AI implementation within departments and firms.
This includes navigating intellectual property concerns, ensuring data privacy and managing compliance risks associated with new regulations which are being rolled out globally – such as the EU AI Act – as well as professional guidance, practice notes and expectations.
Embracing AI can also position in-house lawyers as crucial advisors on strategic use of technology within their organisations.
2. Harnessing the power
The right generative AI tools offer immense potential to streamline legal processes and enhance decision-making. With access to huge amounts of data inside AI platforms, lawyers can use these powerful tools to help automate routine tasks, such as contract review, content creation and legal research, freeing up time for more strategic activities.
By harnessing the capabilities of AI, lawyers can improve the efficiency and accuracy of their work. This provides greater value to their organisations and clients, and improves their own professional experience.
3. Time saving and productivity
AI has the potential to significantly boost productivity within legal departments and firms. Automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as document analysis and due diligence, allows lawyers to focus on higher-value work, increasing efficiency and reducing human error – but only if there is a process in place to properly check the results being created by AI, of course.
By integrating these tools, legal teams can achieve faster turnaround times, better manage their workload and deliver more timely and effective legal services.
4. Legal data, privacy, AI analysis and technology
The adoption of AI presents a vast opportunity for lawyers to deepen their understanding of legal data, privacy issues and AI technology. Lawyers can gain insights into how AI technology analyses and interprets data, enhancing the ability to address privacy and other legal concerns, and to improve regulatory compliance.
Hands-on experience with AI fosters a culture of continuous learning and technological proficiency, ensuring lawyers remain at the forefront of innovation.
5. Expanding client relationships
AI offers many benefits to enhance stakeholder relationships between law firms and clients. Firms can use AI-driven insights to identify potential legal risks and opportunities earlier than they would have otherwise. They can also demonstrate the value of the legal function to clients by offering strategic guidance that aligns with business objectives.
Law firms can use advanced metrics to put together detailed management information about how lawyers are using their time and become more efficient. They are also able to add value through better document management. There are the added benefits of using AI to advise on difficult conversations, how to write a business case or write communications quickly and creatively.
Features like these strengthen client relationships and position the legal department or firm as a key partner in driving commercial success. Transparent communication about AI's role in legal processes also builds trust with clients. Many clients will now expect lawyers to be using AI where they can, to bring down legal costs and speed up work.
Keeping up with AI and using it appropriately
To unlock the benefits of AI, legal teams need a firm understanding of its appropriate use and the risks of unrestrained adoption. Training on AI use should become as common and mandatory internally as courses on health and safety or codes of conduct. Legal teams must have rigorous training to help navigate the risks and rewards of AI investment .
AI is a broad term that encompasses different technology approaches. It simply won’t be possible to either unlock the business value of AI or use it safely and ethically, without understanding and ensuring the right type of AI and accompanying process is in place. Education and training is not a ‘nice to have’ but essential – even if only to make the right decision to not use a particular AI solution.
Lawyers should also be finding out the answers to some key questions about where the data they are using has come from, if they can put confidential documents or client information into the systems they’re using and if there is an internal register where they should be logging AI use.
They also need to consider how lawyers who are not digital natives can change the way they work, so they’re not left behind.Companies urgently need to understand the regulatory compliance and intellectual property ownership implications of AI as the technology becomes more widespread.