A legal AI solution has the power to boost productivity and save time, and transform your firm’s workflow, profitability, and client service. Finding the right solution is key, and ensuring your firm is ready to take maximum advantage of this transformational technology is the first step.
According to a recent Generative AI in Professional Services report, the legal sector leads in AI adoption among professionals, with 59% of law firms and 57% of corporate legal departments stating AI should apply to their work. Furthermore, 28% of law firms and 23% of corporate legal departments have already begun integrating this technology. If your firm has not yet adopted AI, now is the time to assess your readiness and explore potential solutions.
Maximizing your investment
When your firm invests in technology, you must critically assess your needs and practices before adopting an AI platform. Conducting an internal readiness assessment allows you to pinpoint gaps and opportunities, helping you integrate and optimize your system. By evaluating infrastructure, processes, and training, you can proactively address challenges and ensure a smooth implementation that aligns with your firm’s objectives.
AI streamlines many repetitive and time-consuming tasks. What are those tasks at your firm? When you automate these duties, your team can focus their energy on strategic work that creates greater value for clients. According to the generative AI (GenAI) report, the top use cases for legal professionals include:
- Document review
- Legal research
- Document summarization
- Drafting briefs
- Memos
- Contracts
- Correspondence
The right fit
A readiness assessment helps identify the gaps and opportunities unique to your firm. There are, however, factors consistent with all firms that can help start your evaluation.
What does your firm’s tech stack look like?
Start by evaluating your firm’s current tech stack, reviewing your existing IT systems, and confirming their compatibility with AI solutions. You'll need to take a comprehensive look at data storage, protection, and management, and ensure you comply with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). You’ll also want to consider how you will maintain client confidentiality and data security when using AI to process sensitive information. Integrate AI with your document management, time tracking, billing, and communications systems to optimize your investment.
Has your firm established ethical AI use guidelines?
Although the ethical ramifications may not be as mechanically complex as the technology considerations, you must study them carefully. Professional conduct rules still apply when your lawyers use AI for legal work. Establish clear ethical guidelines for AI use to protect your clients’ trust and specify rules that promote transparency and address potential bias in AI output.
Is your staff skilled and trained to use AI?
Determine your team’s proficiency and decide whether you need to provide further training or hire AI specialists. Develop a plan to train your staff on the system, along with strategies that encourage adoption and address any resistance to change.
Have you evaluated your firm’s financials?
Take a look at your budget for both implementation and ongoing maintenance. As with any investment, identify how you will measure the return on investment (ROI) of the AI solution in terms of time savings, cost reduction, or increased accuracy. Regular feedback, both quantitative and anecdotal, will demonstrate the value of the technology.
Where can AI help your firm the most?
You should identify specific use cases to determine where AI can provide the most value, such as document review, legal research, or contract analysis. Are there risks associated with automating these tasks? Does your current workflow warrant a change? Consider how AI might affect client relationships and the delivery of services.
What effect will your firm’s culture have on AI adoption?
Does your firm value being tech-forward? Do people embrace change, take a conservative approach, or fall somewhere between? Develop a thorough strategy to manage the transition, recognize the changes it will bring, and actively weigh gains in efficiency and profitability against your firm’s values. Make a conscientious commitment to use the AI system in harmony with your culture.
Firm size factors
When firms adopt an AI solution, they conduct a readiness assessment that reflects the scope and complexity of their organization. Small practices may prioritize selecting affordable and easy-to-implement solutions, while midsized practices might focus on scaling AI integration to boost efficiency and improve client services. Large firms often emphasize adopting enterprise-level solutions and developing firm-wide strategies. By tailoring their approach to these specific needs, firms ensure more effective AI integration.
Solo and small law firms
For solo practitioners and small law firms, budget limitations are a primary consideration. Limited resources mean the solution must be both cost-effective and financially feasible. Technical support and expertise are also critical, as these firms often lack in-house IT support. An easy-to-use solution and reliable vendor assistance are essential.
Additionally, firms must prioritize time management and leverage AI to save time on routine tasks to focus more on client interactions and case strategies.
Midsize law firms
Midsize law firms should evaluate several factors before adopting an AI solution. You must determine how well the AI platform integrates with your existing systems, including case management, billing, and document management tools. If implementation changes your workflows, make sure the solution enhances collaboration among team members and strengthens internal communication. Plan and conduct training sessions so all staff actively use the technology effectively. Also, confirm that the solution is scalable and flexible, allowing your practice to grow and adapt to changes in workload.
Global large firms
As firm size grows, so does the complexity of technology implementation. Global large firms often require more customized solutions to meet the diverse needs of their practices across multiple jurisdictions. Both the AI vendor and internal tech staff should closely collaborate to ensure successful deployment. The AI solution must manage vast amounts of data and deliver advanced analytics, which are critical for strategic decision-making.
It must also be capable of handling cross-border compliance issues and managing risks associated with international operations. Resource allocation is another important factor, as firms need to evaluate how they can use AI across various departments to enhance efficiency and support a wide range of legal functions. The cultural and change management efforts will be significant and are essential to align the firm's success with new technological processes.
No matter the firm type, you must conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and actively engage stakeholders from across your organization in the decision-making process. Each firm faces its own set of challenges and opportunities when adopting AI, so recognize these differences to ensure successful implementation.
Understanding client impact
Once your firm prepares to maximize an AI solution, shift your attention to your clients. The GenAI report reveals that 71% of law firm clients are unsure whether their firms use AI tools in their work. This highlights the need for open discussions between clients and firms about the use of this technology. Such conversations are vital, and you should address AI's impact on value and billing rates with your clients.
They will also understandably be curious about how AI will affect the security of their information. Transparency is key. The more your clients know about how you use AI for their work — and what AI systems you’re using — the more confident they’ll feel in your expertise. To facilitate these meaningful discussions, legal organizations must first gain a clear understanding of AI's benefits and effectively convey these advantages to their clients.
What’s next
Most people recognize the term AI, but agentic AI may still be unfamiliar. Agentic AI focuses on action instead of mere generation. It makes decisions, performs tasks, and adapts to changes in its environment. For example, agentic AI powers innovations like self-driving cars. With sensors, algorithms, and actuators, it perceives its surroundings, processes information, and executes actions.
Agentic AI distinguishes itself through purposeful decision-making. Instead of simply reacting to input, it evaluates objectives and makes calculated choices to accomplish them. For instance, autonomous vehicles navigate obstacles, optimize their routes, and adjust to unexpected situations — all without human intervention.
You might wonder if this marks the beginning of the end for human lawyers, but rest assured, maximizing the use of agentic AI empowers lawyers to devote more time and resources to higher-level tasks, allowing them to work more strategically and collaborate more effectively with their clients. Don’t wait to find the so-called perfect agentic AI solution before you start integrating AI into your firm’s workflow. As you complete your readiness assessment, focus on partners and systems that align with your firm’s goals and support future growth.
Get started
As Mark Twain wrote, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” To integrate an AI solution into your firm, start with a thorough internal readiness assessment. An understanding of your firm’s infrastructure, processes, and team capabilities will be foundational as you research AI solutions. Engage stakeholders from across the firm to ensure a cultural and workflow fit.
Finding the right AI solution is mission critical for your firm, but you are not alone in finding the right fit. With decades of expertise in AI, Thomson Reuters combines content, expertise, innovation, and a strong partner ecosystem to ensure seamless AI integration with your existing tech solutions and workflows. We can help your firm with a complimentary demo. More than 20,000 law firms and legal departments already use CoCounsel, the professional-grade AI assistant connecting all that CoCounsel Legal comprises.
Remember, the objective isn’t to replace human expertise, but to complement it, enabling you to focus on the most valuable aspects of legal work — those that require human empathy, judgment, and creative problem-solving. Robust oversight needs to be built into your plan for integrating an AI solution.
AI offers immense potential to improve efficiency, accuracy, and insights, but it’s essential to approach it with a clear mindset and an understanding of its possibilities. Integration of a new system isn’t a simple undertaking, but successful implementation can mean a transformation in how your firm runs, how your lawyers work, and how much you can do for your clients.
Adopting the right AI solution requires a thorough evaluation of your firm’s needs and practices. You can Download our checklist to keep track of your firm’s progress and discover opportunities for growth.
