The legal landscape is changing quickly as the use of innovative digital technologies including AI becomes increasingly widespread and, crucially, expected by clients. However, law firms seeking to harness these emerging technologies must do so carefully and considerately because those that attempt to force technologies into their processes will almost certainly struggle to utilise it successfully.
This is why the framework of a ‘digital associate’ can be useful. Just as a new hire wouldn’t be made without a role needing to be filled, technology should not be introduced for the sake of it but instead, should be onboarded to perform a specific function. Similarly, just as new associates or trainees require development and performance measurement before being expected to deliver results, law firms should not be under any illusion that they can simply plug in new technologies without first applying a similarly considered approach.
Understanding this is vital because law firms cannot ignore technology. AI, for instance, is fundamental to modern legal practice, with adoption rates amongst lawyers having surged over the last two years. Indeed, according to Thomson Reuters research released in January, half of the law firms surveyed stated that exploring and implementing AI was their highest priority.
“law firms cannot ignore technology”
The ongoing development of agentic AI will hasten this process, but recent benchmarking research demonstrates the extent to which AI is already having an impact on the legal sector. The Vals AI report, for instance, demonstrates that AI tools are already consistently outperforming human lawyers in document Q&A, document summarisation, data extraction, and transcript analysis. We can already envisage the potential of AI, which raises the question of how its integration will play out in practice?
A collaborative undertaking
There will be no one approach to using AI in the legal sector. But we can expect to see the future relationship between lawyers and AI to be founded on collaboration. AI tools might provide relevant precedents and suggest editorial amends whilst a lawyer drafts a document – the document itself will still be the work of the lawyer, built on their expertise and judgement, with the AI improving productivity and, crucially, providing scope for lawyers to engage in the client-focused and strategic thinking that adds most value.
“we can expect to see the future relationship between lawyers and AI to be founded on collaboration”
To prepare, firms should ensure that they have the right processes in place to embed AI tools safely and ethically within their existing operating models. Firms would also be well-advised to focus investment and training in the areas that benchmarking reports indicate will offer quick wins in terms of time savings, risk reduction, and consistency. This should help to build confidence and deliver tangible results.
Ultimately, a successful approach to innovation should tackle the real problems faced by employees and clients. Using the concept of a ‘digital associate’ is a helpful way of tackling the process of integrating new technologies by visualising them as core members of the team being trained, monitored, and developed to enhance productivity – just as a new hire would be.
Value and billing reimagined?
Although there will be few areas of the legal sector left unchanged by the integration of digital technologies, we can expect some of the most significant changes to occur around the billable hour model. After all, AI can complete tasks that would have previously taken hours in a fraction of the time, raising questions about how to reconcile time savings with a model that still rewards hours worked.
This will be a challenge for law firms, but it is also an opportunity to reimagine how legal services are priced, moving away from measuring value in time and towards measuring it in terms of outcomes. This would avoid a scenario where lawyers who have embraced technology to improve efficiency are penalised. Instead, lawyers would be billing for the value of their insight, impact and strategic contribution.
Law firms may also want to consider how to bill for AI-driven work, for example by including the cost of AI tools in fees where appropriate, particularly for fixed-price work. This will provide clients with transparency and ensure that investment in innovation can be maintained. It is the firms that are considering these issues now that will be best-placed to thrive in the future.
“an opportunity to reimagine how legal services are priced, moving away from measuring value in time and towards measuring it in terms of outcomes”
Building a competitive edge
Just as in other areas, boutique and regional law firms cannot compete pound-for-pound with the City’s heavy-hitters when it comes to investment in AI and other technologies. But these firms do have an advantage of their own – agility. They can move faster than larger rivals when it comes to identifying problems, piloting new programmes, and scaling their innovations.
The key for these firms is to view AI and technology not as a one-off investment but instead as an ongoing capability, and to remember the importance of the cultural side. Firms should ground each investment in a business case and track the ROI, using both quantitative and qualitative feedback, whilst also involving lawyers in the process – for instance by appointing innovation champions.
Teams should be trained not just on how to use the available tools, but also on how to think differently about their work. This again is where the ‘digital associate’ framework provides a helpful way of thinking about technology and AI – not just because it offers a strategy to integrate technology effectively, but because it can shift mindsets away from using tools reactively and towards managing them strategically.
“Teams should be trained not just on how to use the available tools, but also on how to think differently about their work”
Treading the path of AI integration
AI and digital technology will continue to evolve at a considerable rate and touch all corners of the professional world – legal practice included. Firms must carefully consider how best to adopt, integrate and develop these new systems to avoid being left behind by competitors and alternative legal providers. Understandably, such novel technologies and processes can unnerve those in a largely traditional sector, but the ‘digital associate’ model carries a welcomed sense of familiarity and structure to the AI adoption process, which may help many firms integrate AI and legal technology more successfully.
James Grice
Head of AI and Innovation
Lawfront
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