Technology

Law Firms, Artificial Intelligence, And The Fork In The Road

Traditional law firm cultural traits can deter technology adoption. Don't be deterred when it comes to AI.

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Over the past year, there’s been a lot of buzz regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on the practice of law. Some maintain it’s a lot of hype over nothing, but those very same people likely said the same thing about social media and cloud computing, two technologies that have undeniably shaped our culture and, in turn, the practice of law.

Rest assured, the naysayers are once again wrong; artificial intelligence tools will undoubtedly leave their mark on the legal landscape. But don’t take my word for it — there’s a new report that backs me up. ALM recently released the report, and it confirms that even though law firms may not be ready, AI is here and it’s going to change the way that legal services are delivered.

The report, “Law Firms Need Artificial Intelligence to Stay in the Game,” offers insightful analysis on the ways that AI will affect the legal industry and explains why those changes will occur sooner, rather than later. It covers basic AI concepts, how AI will benefit both the practice an business of law, obstacles to adoption, and steps to ensure successful implementation of AI tools in law firms.

As explained in the report, the benefits of AI are many:

For the practice of law, AI reduces the need for manual and labor-intensive tasks, improves available information for decision making, and greatly enhances accuracy…For the business of law, AI reduces repetitive constant costs, enables certain practices to scale with increased speed, and captures the subject matter expertise of attorneys. Additionally, client-facing applications can improve the user experience and engagement while creating differentiation from competitors. Client-facing AI-powered applications also provide a more efficient and scalable method for introducing new services to existing clients and penetrating new geographic, practice and industry markets.

However, despite the many benefits of AI, law firms have been slow to adopt it for any number of reasons. I recently caught up with Patrick Fuller, Sr. Director of Legal Intelligence at ALM Intelligence, to discuss some of the findings of the report, and he shared his perspective on the impediments to AI adoption by law firms.

According to Patrick, AI is a technology that has incredible potential and some larger law firms and in-house counsel are already using AI tools very effectively. However, as he explained, as is often the case with all types of newer technology, there are cultural impediments that prevent its immediate adoption: “The biggest obstacles for getting firms to adopt AI tend to be combinations of different factors — most notable are attorney compensation structure, the matter’s fee arrangement, and the practice area as well.”

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This idea is examined in the report, and the author highlights how traditional law firm cultural traits can deter technology adoption. This is especially so in the face of the rapid technological advancements that have occurred in recent years, and the fact that AI adoption necessarily impacts more than simply lawyer workflows:

“Perhaps the biggest challenge for law firms with AI is culture. AI requires flexibility, risk and an open mind to new ideas. Patience is also key – multiple test iterations are necessary to allow the system to learn before it is functional. These are all traits not typically found in the law firm. Also, AI opens the door to new revenue streams, such as online tools, that do not always require a human to be involved for services to be offered. This requires a new approach to compensation, billing, and team structure.”

According to Fuller, there is an additional impediment that is unique to smaller law firms. That impediment? Its cost. “For smaller firms the technology is still price-restrictive,” he said. “Also, another deterrent for small and large firms alike is internal cost of transitioning to AI.”

As explained in the report, law firms can and should overcome the cultural obstacles to AI given the tremendous benefits that AI tools can provide. The key to successful implementation of AI software is to identify at the very outset the goals that the firm hopes to achieve through its use of AI:

“The initial step in bringing AI into the law firm is not a consensus on making an investment in AI, but rather answering one question: What problem are we solving for? Do we want to increase efficiency with certain tasks? Improve the quality of work? Differentiate from the competition? Once the law firm identifies the problem it is solving, it can proceed with determining what the solution is. For the questions posed above, AI can be the solution or part of the solution.”

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Like it or not, AI is here and it’s here to stay. You can either ignore it to your detriment, or learn about it and ascertain how it can be used to increase your firm’s effectiveness and position your firm for success in the the midst of an increasingly competitive legal services landscape. Do or die; the choice is yours.

Niki BlackNicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

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