The use of AI today

Virtually all firms are already using some form of Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’). Widely-used legal research platforms, including Westlaw and Practical law, which have been around since 1975 and 1990, respectively, have already integrated elements of AI. However, the heightened discourse and controversy currently surrounding AI dates back to November 2022, with the release of Chat GPT, and concerns the use of Generative AI (Gen AI). 

“Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that is designed to generate new content, often in the form of text, images, or other media, rather than simply responding to inputs or making decisions based on predefined rules. The term ‘generative’ highlights the AI’s ability to create new and original output.” This is the definition written by the Gen AI tool ChatGPT.

Generative AI is now at the stage where it is smart enough to give plausible answers to most prompts. However, it still requires the use of a human being, to input the prompt, proofread, and edit the answer to ensure that the output material is accurate. 

Legal professionals are beginning to recognize and embrace the integration of Generative AI in their day-to-day responsibilities. A survey from Thomson Reuters Institute, speaking with lawyers from the US, UK and Canada, found that 82% of legal professionals who took part in the study understood that this AI could be used in legal work. However, only 51% believed that it should actually be used for legal work. 

If implemented effectively, AI should reduce the number of hours lawyers are working on deals. By minimizing time spent reviewing contracts, lawyers will be able to allocate more time on strategic activities. This will undoubtedly have a knock on effect on the delivery of legal services, pricing to clients and the execution of legal work. Some go as far as to suggest that the ‘fundamental definition of what it means to be a lawyer and how you interact with your colleagues and clients is already being reshaped’ by the introduction of Gen AI. 

Opposition to the integration of AI

The seamless integration of Generative AI demands substantial investments from firms, both in terms of financial resources and the valuable time of their partners, to ensure success. Those opposed to the introduction of this new technology have every right to feel on edge. As if the past few years of disruptive events hadn’t been enough of a challenge to the status quo, the introduction of AI is posed to further transform the legal sector.

The principal concern surrounding Gen AI is cybersecurity. A survey of UK law firm management conducted by The Lawyers City Signal, identifies this widespread concern for cybersecurity. For some perspective, the results identified that 60% of law firm management were moderately concerned by macroeconomic instability, whilst 21% cited climate change as a significant concern. A considerable 50% of respondents cited their biggest worry as cybercrime. 

The use of public Generative AI such as Chat GPT understandably raises concerns regarding confidentiality and cybersecurity for law firms. Lawyers have expressed their lack of trust in tools such as Chat GPT, for engaging in legal matters. However, when dealing with contract review and confidential information, law firms won’t be using public facing tech like GPT, instead services such as LegalOn Technologies, the largest contract review product in the world, will be adopted. Despite opposition, it is now commonly accepted to be a matter of time before all law firms have adopted Generative AI specific to the legal industry, to their practice. 

Period of integration     

Allen and Overy and MacFarlanes have invested in and adopted the use of Harvey, a legal AI startup. The technology is being introduced slowly to a limited number of lawyers to aid in tasks such as research, analyzing and summarizing documents, as well as creating first drafts of emails and memos. PwC has also given around 4000 legal staff access to the Harvey tech. 

The next six months to two years is shaping up to be the time for many law firms to integrate technology into their daily practice. Firms now must decide how and when they are going to implement AI to their daily operations.

Firms will also have to consider how best to use this AI to their advantage. It isn’t clear yet which level of lawyer will benefit the most from this AI support. Junior-mid level associates are likely to be the most comfortable adapting to and implementing the use of AI, however they don’t necessarily have the knowledge and skills yet to identify mistakes or omissions that the use of AI may result in. 

What does AI mean for legal recruitment?

There is a lot of talk about AI stealing jobs, however AI in its current form wouldn’t be able to effectively replace the work we do at Just Legal. 

For recruiters engaging principally in the active candidate market (using job boards, LinkedIn, active candidate database) it is likely that AI will eventually be able to replicate a significant proportion of the services provided. AI can already assist, and will continue to develop, around resume screening, candidate matching, and interview scheduling. When dealing solely in an active candidate market, algorithms will improve to help recruiters and clients find suitable candidates.

However, at Just Legal, we predominantly focus on the passive candidate market, meaning that the majority of the candidates we bring to clients, are not actively looking to change jobs. Such candidates are often successful in their current roles, and therefore possess the skills and experience that make them valuable to employers. With the security of their current job, passive candidates typically are not actively looking to change jobs, and therefore to even consider an external opportunity means they hold a genuine interest in the client, which can lead to greater long-term commitment and job satisfaction. Hiring an impressive passive candidate can also reflect strongly on our clients, signaling the organization as an attractive and competitive employer, capable of attracting top talent. This talent pool is largely inaccessible to AI and often contains the strongest candidates for our clients. 

Like in the legal market, Generative AI is a tool that we at Just Legal will use to streamline our services, leading to higher efficiencies and a faster recruitment process for our clients. However, human interaction and decision making will always be valuable in certain aspects of the recruitment process. From the initial interviews we carry out to assess cultural fit and soft skills, to our ability to negotiate offers, we act as the interface between the client and candidate, and at this point, this still very much relies on the human connection between people. This is especially true of the legal recruitment market, where each hire has a large impact on the success of the firm or legal team. 

Safe to say our clients won’t be working with Generative AI robots anytime soon!