It’s perhaps a truism to say that the challenges around adoption and change management have changed dramatically with the advent of GenAI technology. In a roundtable discussion in Manhattan hosted at Winston & Strawn on behalf of Legal IT Insider and our event partner Peppermint Technology/Litera, we asked law firm legal tech leaders what some of their real and present challenges are in facilitating and encouraging adoption, particularly as we go through the various stages of the GenAI hype cycle. We also asked for the client perspective as to the speed at which law firms are making progress.
What’s interesting to note at the outset, is the need right now for honest conversations. Winston & Strawn’s CIO Rob Kerr said of the event: “It was a lively discussion on the real state of AI in a wide range of law firms, and showed that firms are deciding where to invest their time and money in different ways.”
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Isidore Okoro, chief information officer at Steptoe & Johnson, added: “The key for me in these discussions were that they were grounded and realistic, rather than just theoretical high-level concepts.”
To facilitate that honesty, much of the conversation was on background, but here are some interesting takeaways.
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Is GenAI technology up to scratch?
There was a discussion around whether GenAI technology is ‘good enough’ right now – are some of the challenges around adoption a product of the tools simply not yet being up to the job? Kerr told us: “There was some discussion about the current value and role of AI. I disagree with the proposition that AI isn’t very good. It’s not good at the things we think it should do, but it does a lot really well.”
Creating a playground for use cases
One of the key themes to emerge was the need to encourage creativity and open mindedness around use cases. Conan Hines, Fried Frank’s director of practice innovation, said: “I felt a lot of ‘imaginative play’ vibes. This is where we give lawyers secure AI tools and support to explore the possibilities. The support is even more interesting as innovative teams are complementing their current staff with behavioural science and anthropological approaches to unlock this potential.”
Winston & Strawn, as an example, is encouraging creative thinking within permitted tools and hiring adoption specialists: a new role that will bring in people with fresh, ‘out of the box’ perspectives. DeepSeek now famously and deliberately hires inexperienced programmers to obtain fresh perspectives. Kerr said that both internally and in their new hires, the firm is looking for people who aren’t afraid to wonder, and who bring a fresh perspective.
Liz Quinn, global account director at Peppermint/Litera, said: “What struck me most is that law firms are starting to bring in people they have never employed before. I think that’s the right thing personally. Technology is technology, but the thing that makes it work or not are human beings, and it’s key to recognise that.”
The billable hour and AFAs
Is the billable hour ever going away completely? It’s unlikely. But the conversation inevitably turned to how GenAI will impact fee-earners and Okoro said: “One of the highlights for me was the conversation about how AI will practically impact attorneys, particularly regarding billable hours and flat fees.
“The fact that these types of conversations are happening with attorneys and partners within these organisations now rather than in the future is very interesting. The discussion with a client sharing their perspective on pushing law firms to use AI was particularly eye-opening. The biggest takeaway from that was the expectation of increased efficiencies in work turnaround, hopefully leading to lower costs while maintaining high standards of quality. However, it also showcased to me that clients may look to move away from firms that are scared of using AI to help provide better value for their clients.”
The client takeaway
These still early days of GenAI are certainly presenting firms with challenges and dichotomies around client concerns and expectations.
Presenting one client perspective to the group was Mike Haven, global head of legal operations at
Meta and former president of CLOC. He told us: “The energy, focus and innovative spirit for AI adoption in the law firms was palpable. It was exciting to observe their progress, both culturally and tactically. I expect this innovative spirit to increase exponentially as firms continue finding new ways to use AI to add value to their clients. And before long, this technology will be woven into the fabric of law firm business models.”
It was a privilege to host this event and we’re grateful to all of the participants for sharing their knowledge and insights; to Peppermint/Litera for facilitating a great conversation; and to Rob Kerr for hosting it in such a beautiful setting.
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