Trust me I’m a legal AI: how to conduct a Gen AI pilot at your firm.

By Geoffrey D. Ivnik, Esq. | Director of Large Markets, LexisNexis

The largest law firms are moving the fastest with investments in Gen AI tools. Our 2024 Investing in Legal Innovation Survey found that 43% of firms in the Am Law 200 have set aside a dedicated budget for Gen AI tools, as compared to just 19% of other law firms who report they have established a Gen AI budget.

At the same time these firms are carving out resources for future investment, forward-thinking law firms are testing the Gen AI waters. They are experimenting with specific ways the technology can change the way their lawyers work and how they deliver legal services to clients.

According to the recent report, Gen AI in Law: A Guide to Building Trust, a key strategy for introducing Gen AI tools is to conduct pilot projects in which the firm studies appropriate use cases and spends time figuring out how Gen AI can be applied to their practice areas and workflows.

Legal transformation experts whom we have featured previously on this blog have suggested that 2023 was the year for proof of concept for Gen AI and that 2024 is the year for implementation with the right sort of adoption strategies and pilots. They caution that getting the pilots right internally is a challenge because lawyers need to participate in those test projects and see for themselves how they can benefit from the use of the technology.

“We have seen firms do wide-scale documentation of various use case opportunities, and then isolate opportunities where the value is perceived to be the highest,” says Jeff Pfeifer, chief product officer at LexisNexis. “We see organizations that go through a rigorous review first generally do better later when they actually implement the technology.”

Pfeifer notes that it is advisable to start with small, quick experimental projects — rather than wide-scale application of the technology — so the firm can learn from what goes well and identify where adjustments need to be made.

Law firms that are rolling up their sleeves with Gen AI pilots are also discovering that building trust in Gen AI requires including their attorneys on AI programs under consideration. This ensures that the technology is relevant to them and can add value to their day-to-day working practices.

“Our technology team has really been engaged with the attorneys on the introduction of generative AI tools and determining which ones make sense for the firm to invest in and which ones don’t make sense,” says Tod Cohen, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson.

Steptoe is then taking an approach of identifying small pockets of individuals within the firm who are likely to be enthusiastic adopters of Gen AI and asking them to test the technology.

“We also message this in practice group meetings with our department heads and our executive committee, and then we have those trusted leaders talk to individuals in their groups to build that trust, because a lot of it has to come from the top,” says Krista Ford, director of knowledge, research and information services at Steptoe.

Some firms, such as Reed Smith, are running multiple pilot projects to test different AI tools and see which ones end up working best in practice — both internally and externally for clients.

“We’re taking a ‘thoughtfully progressive’ approach to validate the maturity and usefulness of each system versus locking on to only one vendor’s AI technology,” says James Metzger, chief financial officer at Reed Smith. “We don’t want to place all of our bets in one basket at this point.”

As with all legal technology programs, not all lawyers will be instant converts — and some may even be openly resistant — but the experts advise it is not necessary to win unanimous support for the introduction of Gen AI tools. As the technology is deployed and the results speak for themselves, any resistance will decline over time.

REPORT: Gen AI in Law: A Guide to Building Trust

We interviewed a variety of AI leaders from the legal profession to explore how law firms and corporations that embrace Legal AI are building trust in the use of this new technology. In addition to the section of the report we unpacked today, which focuses on steps for building trust in the use of Gen AI, other sections of the report include:

• Key factors that drive trust with Gen AI;
• Addressing concerns about accuracy and confidentiality; and
• Rethinking workflow, skills and culture.

Read the full report now: Gen AI in Law: A Guide to Building Trust.