Jun 5th: Leigh Day's Bold Transformation

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In today's episode, we'll cover the growing importance of cultural competency skills among attorneys, the efficient use of contract management software, and establishing safeguards when introducing generative AI to avoid false information.

Let's dive into the latest legal technology trends. Starting off, Leigh Day, a well-known law firm, has recently converted to an Alternative Business Structure (ABS). This means that non-legal staff members can now participate in the firm's decision-making processes, which is a significant shift towards inclusivity and collaborative governance. Attorneys also emphasize the importance of cultural competency skills to serve diverse populations better and bridge the gap in legal service access. It's essential to understand different cultures, languages, and traditions, create inclusive teams, and utilize translator services to achieve cultural competency.

In other news, incidents involving false citations from using AI tools for legal research have raised concerns about the limitations and risks of relying solely on AI for legal information. Both a Litigant in Person in the UK and a lawyer in the USA experienced issues with inaccurate legal citations after using ChatGPT for research. These incidents highlight the need for education and awareness regarding the limitations of AI tools in the legal profession. Lawyers and users must exercise caution and use AI tools like ChatGPT as aids, not replacements, for legal research.

In response to the challenges posed by generative AI in court proceedings, a federal judge in Texas has introduced a certification process for lawyers using such technology. This new rule mandates that lawyers file a certificate confirming that any language generated by AI was checked for accuracy by a human using authoritative legal sources. While this certification process aims to address concerns over fake case citations, some lawyers argue that the focus should be on the accuracy of the information generated, not the method used.

Let's dive a little deeper into our key stories. First up. there's the issue of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) and the need for knowledge management to avoid AI disasters. As AI technology continues to become more common in law firms for tasks such as contract management, it's important for legal departments to establish safeguarding systems and processes. Enterprises, in particular, are at risk of receiving false AI information and must create controls and knowledge management protocols to ensure the accuracy of the information. While generative AI may be helpful in data processing and contract management, there's still a need for legal professionals to have confidence in the software's performance. The recommended approach is to start with smaller tasks, like non-disclosure agreements and third-party contracts, to mitigate risks and ensure proper controls. This cautious approach allows legal departments to harness the benefits of generative AI effectively.

Shifting gears, our second story is a recent report from the Association of Corporate Counsel, and Exterro, who found that contract management software has become the most commonly used legal technology among in-house legal departments. Almost two-thirds of legal departments now use this software, a significant increase from two years ago. Interestingly, in-house legal professionals rate contract management software as the most effective legal tech tool. Other categories of legal software, such as legal research, e-billing, and document repository, are also commonly used. While nearly half of the respondents whose organizations are considering purchasing new technology in the next year stated they would invest in contract management technology, this number is down compared to two years ago, likely due to an uptick in purchases in the past two years.

And that's a wrap.

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