5 Ways Legal Tech Providers Can Walk the Walk on AI

As appeared on Law.com on October 8, 2024

Instead of using their clients as test subjects for AI, legal tech vendors should lead by example and implement AI-powered transformations within their own operations to ensure innovative thought and ultimately, benefit for their clients, writes Chris Cartrett, CEO of Aderant.

This is an exciting time for legal tech innovation as AI experimentation has become a major focus for both law firms and their technology partners. Many legal tech providers discuss the potential of AI to revolutionize law firms and corporate legal departments. But are they implementing these transformative technologies within their own operations?

Instead of using their clients as test subjects for AI, legal tech vendors should lead by example and implement AI-powered transformations within their own operations to ensure innovative thought and ultimately, benefit for their clients.

Top 5 Ways Legal Tech Providers Can Walk the Walk on AI

1. Take it from the top.

Executive leadership sets the tone for technology adoption, including AI. Therefore, if the company’s CEO and other top stakeholders are all-in on incorporating AI into the organization, that advocacy will promote more momentum and results. AI activity requires dedicated time and commitment, which only people in leadership can authorize. If leadership is not 100% on board, AI initiatives may fall flat. Do not skip this step!

2. Host an initiative to drive AI education internally.

Everyone is busy serving clients and doing day-jobs, which often relegates internal innovation to the back burner. To break through the demands of everyday activity, consider hosting a dedicated week focused on exploring how AI tools can be used to automate and accelerate all departments at the company. At Aderant, we hold AI Weeks. These can be conducted in-person, or virtually, or hybrid, so remote working employees can participate with their in-office colleagues. Done right, these types of initiatives can catalyze a notable companywide increase in productivity, yielding many new use cases for AI that perhaps were not even considered before. Also, companywide events centered around a common goal boost camaraderie, excitement and morale as people have a chance to meet, and collaborate to drive innovation across the company.

3. Include everyone.

AI initiatives at legal tech companies will naturally include product, R&D, and tech support departments, which are likely to be actively working on AI solutions for clients. However, consider adding other areas to the mix such as marketing, billing, accounting, human resources, and finance, all of which can also benefit tremendously from AI applications. When people work toward a common goal and make AI function advantageously to solve their own problems, that’s when the organization becomes truly galvanized around the technology. This is how transformation happens.

4. Make AI education available 24/7.

Create comprehensive online on-demand AI learning opportunities that all employees can learn from. These can be self-paced courses to advance AI skills, informative articles/videos/podcasts that explore AI topics for a variety of knowledge levels, or internal presentations and webinars centered around AI education. Consider running incentives and contests at the company to motivate people to complete educational modules. Also, encourage those who can create informational content to build useful materials for their colleagues.

5. Upskill existing talent.

Companies value team members who are inherently motivated to continue sharpening their skill set, and most people are very interested in gaining new skills (like AI) to bolster their professional growth. When legal tech companies invest time and money in their own people by teaching them new skills, all boats rise. The company improves with an upskilled workforce and greater knowledge base. Employees are rewarded for taking risks and achieving more to go beyond their job description’s limitations. Creating a skills framework across the company that encompasses live training, on-demand education, and dynamic opportunities for growth creates a culture of community and advancement. Helping people evolve over the course of their career journeys contributes to the overall success of everyone, every department, and the company overall.

Keep on Walking the AI Walk, Blaze a Trail That Clients Can Follow

The very nature of AI is that it’s new, exciting, experimental and divergent. AI’s potential is infinite. Therefore, hosting AI events for the entire company, creating online learning paths, and upskilling employees make perfect sense as first steps to walking the walk.

Speaking from experience with Aderant, AI is progressively becoming woven into our DNA. We view AI as much more than a toy to play with—instead, it is an essential part of our present and future. AI has created true business benefits for us, and many of those successes can be infused into our client-facing products for their positive impact as well. AI is helping us on our journey of continuous innovation that will enable Aderant and its clients to unlock new capabilities that drive productivity and efficiency.

As legal tech companies, it is not enough for us to recommend AI tools to clients and expect them to take on the full burden of testing and experimentation. We are in a better position when we walk the walk, using AI internally while also making AI products to help our clients to work successfully.

Chris Cartrett is CEO of Aderant, a global provider of legal business management technology solutions.