Ready to invest in AI but unsure of where to invest or allocate resources? Speaking at OBA’s TECHxpo – AI Edition, Tali Green offered these top tips for lawyers on how to find the tools that will alleviate pain-points, increase revenue, and make your team happier and more productive.
NO SUCH THING AS A ONE STOP SHOP
You will not find a single tool that will solve all of your problems perfectly. Rather, shopping for legal tech is like putting together an elaborate puzzle.
Start by identifying the pain-points in your workflows.
Then:
- Look for solutions, not tools. Only consider tools that solve YOUR pain-points.
- Sift for Gems. Be open-minded and look far and wide for the right solutions. The Legal Tech Hub has a comprehensive global directory.
- Close the gaps. Ensure that any solutions you onboard integrate well with one another and your existing workflows.
Make sure to weigh the pros and cons in the efficiencies afforded. A recent Harvard Business Review study that examined the performance implications of AI on realistic, complex, and knowledge-intensive tasks, revealed that generative AI tools are a better fit for certain types of work than others. While generative AI can boost productivity by generating creative ideas, drafting proficiently, and performing strategic analysis, they can drain productivity in circumstances where they answer questions incorrectly but plausibly (ie: hallucinate), lack transparency, or contribute to homogeneity of ideas. Whatever tech you employ, it is critical that you, as the lawyer, be an active partner with AI.
PEOPLE FIRST, TECH SECOND
Even the most advanced tools that promise to perfectly solve your problems (see above) will fail unless your people are eager, willing, and able use the product. Adoption is the biggest challenge with legal tech and unless it’s done right, you run the risk of wasteful overhead.
So before you bring on a product:
- Take stock: Who, if anyone, from your team can realistically be expected to take on the challenge of learning and adopting this new product?
- Make it matter: Encourage those people to assume the role of promoting the tool among their colleagues and incentivize them to take this role seriously.
- Stay on top of it: Vendors’ efforts to increase adoption will be much more successful if the firm’s leadership is on board. This means keeping track of a) who is attending trainings; b) the level of proficiency with the product; and c) whether the team is using the product for its intended purpose wherever possible.
About the author
Tali Green is a litigation lawyer in Toronto and the co-founder & CEO of Goodfact, which shows fact-obsessed litigators the story behind their documents in an instant and interactive chronology.