Lawyers and AI come together at Legalweek 2024

Last week the vibrant city of New York played host to the legal profession’s annual get together – Legalweek 2024, where the brightest legal minds networked with peers, discussed the latest trends and explored the tools and emerging technology that offer the potential to transform their legal practices.

 

There are typically several topics on the agenda at Legalweek – but this year there was only one. AI. It was on everyone’s. Even Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, who opened the event with a talk to a packed room of lawyers, couldn’t help but discuss the seismic impact of AI on all industries – from Hollywood to the legal profession.

 

While AI is not new to RWS, the event gave us an opportunity to showcase our latest innovations. Most notable among these is Evolve, our linguistic AI solution that offers significant efficiency gains for global enterprises and law firms with substantial translation demands. Evolve signifies a major leap forward for the translation industry, integrating human and artificial intelligence, revolutionizing translation processes and the time it takes to achieve high quality results.

 

We were also delighted to host a panel discussion at the show focused on the considerations to keep in mind when developing client-facing solutions. RWS’s Heather Rossi, Senior Solutions Consultant, welcomed to the stage Kay Kim, Chief Practice Innovation Officer at Paul Hastings; Martin Tully, a partner at Redgrave LLP; Ryan McClead, Principal at Sente Advisors and Angela Quinn, Chief Client Officer at Husch Blackwell.

 

The highly experienced group walked the audience through the early stages of an IT or AI investment. “Just because it can be automated doesn’t mean it needs to be,” explained Martin. He went on to explain that “it’s important to firstly consider what you already have, and what you need.” But as Ryan pointed out – “it always needs to tie back to the problem you’re trying to solve.” Angela – and the wider panel – agreed. “There’s no point investing in technology if you don’t have a firm understanding of the problem at hand. What are you trying to solve?” 

 

When it came to exploring emerging technology, the panel firmly agreed that there are five critical factors that dictate whether a technology is worth the investment. “Firstly, is it secure? If it’s not SOC 2 compliant, I’m not interested. Why introduce any form of risk to your business?,” explained Kay. It needs to directly address the problem you’re trying to solve. And it also needs to be usable for the wider business to understand. When it comes to the right partner – there needs to be a tight collaboration between all parties. Will the partner allow you to help influence their product – even roadmap? “That’s an important element that often gets overlooked,” explained Angela. Finally, will the technology enable you to commercialize ideas? “Is it a ‘win-win’ for us, as a law firm, and our clients?,” asked Kay.  

 

The panel went on to discuss the implementation of new technology – based on their own learnings. “Start small, and involve key stakeholders from the outset” was the shared opinion. 

 

A key item that over gets overlooked is the change-management aspect, explained Kay. But as the panelists pointed out – if senior management are involved from the outset, there’s more chance of the new technology being accepted across the organization. 

 

The panel then concluded the discussion by focusing on success. “How do you know whether your investment has been a success?,” asked Heather. Both Kay and Angela offered the same response: “Ask yourself honestly – would you do it again? That’s your clearest indication of whether it’s been a success.” 

 

Based on questions from the audience to the panel – many are new to AI. But what was also clear from the audience is that the legal profession, among many, are eager to learn how AI and emerging technologies can benefit their business. Events like Legalweek, which offer a host of in-depth panel discussions, alongside the best of emerging technology, play a critical role in helping professionals to navigate the complexities and noise that often accompany emerging technology. AI is not going away anytime soon. What will be interesting to note is whether next year’s event will shift away from where legal professionals are now – the discovery stage – to a place where they are seeing AI projects make a real difference to their business.

 

If you'd like to learn how we can support your business, visit our Language Weaver page and our solutions for legal professionals.