Insights from our recently-released white paper, “Turning Legal Into a Value Center” 

Providing more value for legal services is one of the top initiatives for most legal departments this year. According to a recent Thomson Reuters report, 78% of legal departments say that controlling costs is a high priority. Seeing this general sentiment in surveys and in our conversations with legal operations professionals, we partnered with CLOC to put together a resource that provides a window into the strategies legal teams are using to address this priority.  

The result is our white paper, “Turning Legal Into a Value Center,” which is based on interviews with 16 legal industry leaders and offers a jumping-off point for any legal department team looking for ideas and best practices around cost-saving strategies. In addition to giving a bird’s eye view of legal spend concerns, the paper discusses project prioritization, internal work allocation, the role technology plays, outside counsel management and more.  

Below you’ll find an excerpt, covering outside counsel management strategies. To learn more, download the full white paper here. 

Cost-Savings Strategies for Outside Counsel Management 

Many legal operations professionals and others throughout the legal industry have noted that there has been a mindset shift around the approach to outside counsel over the past decade or so. Corporate legal departments are looking more closely at their relationships with law firms and the value they provide.  

Alongside this increasing focus on value, more alternatives to traditional outside counsel have been created including legal staffing firms, Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs), legal marketplaces and other “New Law” companies. This has put legal department leaders in the driver’s seat when it comes to optimizing legal spend through outside counsel decision-making. The strategies discussed below are important parts of the value conversations you should be having both internally and with your outside counsel partners. 

Right-Sourcing the Right Way 

The concept of right-sourcing is really where the rubber hits the road regarding this outside counsel mindset shift. Put simply, right-sourcing means sending legal work to the provider that offers the most value for that type of work. For most legal departments, this means first analyzing the type of work before deciding where to send it.  

Many factors can go into this decision, and it usually involves consideration of things like complexity, risk, scale and scope. Do you have a highly complex, bet-the-company litigation matter that you need handled? That should probably go to one of your trusted Big Law firms. But does it make sense to send less risky and less complex transactional work to that same firm and pay their premium rate? Probably not.  

Many of the legal operations professionals we talked to tier or score work to help determine the right provider. For example, one company used an “ABC” format where work that was scored as an “A” would go to the top level of providers (e.g., Big Law firms, senior in-house counsel), “B” work would go to a middle level (e.g., specialized small and boutique firms, solo practitioners and some ALSPs), “C” work would go to a lower level (e.g., ALSPs, LPO, paralegals and other paraprofessionals, etc.) and so on. This type of analysis can also be visualized similarly to the cost-benefit analysis discussed above. Below is a simplified example of what this process might look like. 

Cost savings is one of the biggest benefits of right-sourcing. Utilizing small, midsize and boutique law firms or ALSPs to do work that you used to send to large law firms can reduce your legal spend substantially. Multiple companies we talked to said that analyzing your legal work with right-sourcing in mind was the key to reducing external legal spend and getting more value from outside counsel. Some companies encourage the process by creating a specific target—saying that a certain percentage of work has to go to midsize firms or ALSPs, for example, and anything over that percentage requires approval.  

Another important aspect of right-sourcing is it provides legal departments with more access to diverse law firms and legal providers. It’s no secret that the largest law firms are generally lacking in diversity. One legal operations expert described this as an easy “win-win”: Small and midsize firms are more likely to be diverse and they are more cost-effective. Right-sourcing work can help you support these important company initiatives and optimize spend at the same time. 

Less Is More – Panel Consolidation  

A common but more involved method for optimizing outside counsel spend is building a preferred law firm panel program. The idea behind a panel program is that you consolidate the outside counsel you work with and choose a smaller number of firms to give panel membership to. You then send the majority of your legal work to these preferred firms and in return the firms give you better terms, whether that means alternative fee arrangements, locked rate increases or volume discounts. Additionally, it can strengthen your team’s relationship with the chosen firms and improve the quality of work because the firms become more familiar with your company and how it operates.  

One legal operations professional we talked to did a panel consolidation project and reduced the number of firms their company regularly worked with by almost 90%—from around 700 to about seven. Not only did this drive efficiency by making it easier for the legal team to manage outside counsel work (fewer firms to onboard, communicate with, review invoices for, etc., means less time spent on administrative work) but it also drove spending down through better negotiations with those firms. Another company we talked to found great success by asking panel firms to agree to locked rates for a determined time frame, which was incredibly helpful for budgeting as the company could depend on known rates for the projects those firms took on. 

Building a panel is a huge change management project that requires a lot of time and attention. And it’s not always the right solution for every company, particularly companies with smaller outside counsel needs. If it’s something your legal department is curious about exploring, here are a few tips that the legal operations professionals with panel experience shared. 

Quick Tips for Panel Success 

• Consolidate, but not too much. If you make your panel too small you could lose bargaining power and actually see your rates increase.  

• Review your panel on a regular schedule. Usually yearly, most companies running successful panel programs review the cost, performance, timeliness, and other aspects of their panel firms on a regular basis to decide to continue with current panel members and/or bring new firms on.  

• Utilize it consistently. The more you allow “step-outs” to your panel firm, the less useful the data you collect will be. For companies that use it consistently, panel data gives a great window into legal spend and aid budgeting and forecasting processes. 

• Consider a hybrid panel. For companies with large regional needs or lots of niche work, a panel might not make sense at first glance. But you still may be able to create a panel of firms for high-profile, “bet-the-company” cases and make a significant impact on those costly matters.  

For more cost-savings best practices, strategies and insights, download the white paper, “Turning Legal Into a Value Center.”  

Investing in a mentoring relationship can have a powerful career impact, but is it worth the time and effort? After all, mentoring is time consuming, mentees can resist advice, and even worse, some who consider themselves mentors do not have a full appreciation of what it takes to be a successful mentor. But if done well, with someone who is both skilled and really cares about being a mentor, the answer is it is absolutely worth the time and effort!   

While the primary goal of the relationship is career development of the mentee, mentoring goes beyond simply offering career advice. It is not a one-time or short-term fix. Mentoring is an investment in an ongoing relationship designed to guide, support, and expand an individual’s growth. 

Mentoring fuels professional goals, engaging regular and periodic “face time,” whether virtual or in-person, to delve deeper into the mentee’s aspirations. This ongoing dialogue allows the mentor to address specific challenges and opportunities, while adapting to changes in roles and professional environments. 

The value for the mentee is in gaining guidance, insights, and encouragement from an experienced leader who they admire as their career progresses. The value for the mentor is in the satisfaction of helping someone else grow, learn, and succeed while further solidifying their leadership skills. 

Guidelines for Getting Started  

When commencing a mentoring relationship, first establish two critical ground rules:  

1. A mentor should never assume the role of a supervisor. Performance evaluations hinder mentoring dialogue. Sessions are not something done once a quarter over lunch or video with an assigned mentee. 

2. The mentor and mentee should have their motivations aligned. They must have a clear understanding of goals and desired outcomes: is the mentee hesitant to take on a new project, considering a different career path, trying to get promoted?  It is imperative that the mentor fosters a safe space to brainstorm, identify gaps in skills, and explore potential solutions and paths forward. 

Attributes of a Successful Mentor  

A great mentor is motivated to cultivate a relationship that empowers the mentee to grow and achieve.   

Mentors focus on leveraging strengths with genuine enthusiasm in sharing knowledge and expertise.  A mentor who is reluctantly forced into the role as a job responsibility and who lacks this desire to help others almost always does a poor job. 

Great mentors celebrate the wins and consider lessons learned when providing constructive feedback and encouragement when setbacks or disappointments occur, creating a safe space along the way. Most people consider feedback a valuable gift, but it needs to be delivered constructively and with care. 

Adapting one’s style shows respect for the mentee’s individuality and sets the stage for a successful and rewarding relationship. Mentoring is never a one-size-fits-all approach. Although mentoring is a collaborative effort, it is incumbent on the mentor to take responsibility for ensuring goal alignment.  

Active listening and communicating for understanding are key. Trust and openness will be established in the relationship when the mentee feels listened to and understood. A mentor guides but does not direct.    

The mentor should stay alert to external influences which can impact the mentee’s trajectory. In today’s competitive landscape, a career journey can detour as unanticipated complexities increase. Focus on situational changes including leadership transitions, re-organization, and the creeping impact of workplace politics. 

Elements of a Successful Mentoring Program 

Mentoring fosters invaluable guidance and support.  There are several essential principles to consider that will cultivate an impactful relationship:   

1. Mentors should be selected by the mentee, and never assigned. 

2. Mentoring is collaborative and requires equal investment between the mentor and mentee.  Both should always be well prepared, be open, and commit to follow-through. 

3. A great mentor will help the mentee navigate company politics. Whether or not one agrees with certain company initiatives, this is an essential career skill. 

4. Relationships that embrace Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging also tend to be successful for the mentee and the mentor and can have a positive impact on company culture. Diversity can be cross generational, ethnic, gender, demographic and other differences or preferences which embody inclusivity.    

5. Mentoring relationships developed outside one’s department or company can be very valuable. Mentees will benefit from different points of view that offer fresh perspectives. 

6. Building and expanding one’s network also has far reaching impact. The mentee will be guided to other networks of professional contacts throughout the industry, both internal and external to the company. Mentees should be encouraged to use LinkedIn to connect with potential mentors and expand professional networks. 

Importance of Self Awareness 

Self-awareness is equally important for both the mentor and mentee. To cultivate self-awareness, the mentor and mentee must embrace open communications and vulnerability. Being open, honest, and direct in discussions is key. This fosters trust and allows for a deeper understanding of each other’s perspectives. 

It is essential to determine the self-awareness of the mentee. Those who are keenly self-aware own their strengths and weaknesses, seek others’ perspectives, and embrace constructive feedback. They are adaptable, accountable and have comfortable, realistic self-confidence.  Those who trend low in self-awareness are often defensive, assign blame, challenge feedback, and tend to be inflexible. 

Self-awareness is crucial for navigating one’s career path effectively. This provides an open and clear path to successful mentoring which will enable tangible results. When individuals are self-aware and are clear on their values, they are better equipped to navigate career goals.   

Interestingly, keen self-awareness helps boost one’s self-confidence. This leads to comfortable openness in refining one’s skill set. 

Reverse Mentoring 

Consider reverse mentoring, where the relationship is flipped for a specific skill. The mentee with more experience in a selected area guides the more senior employee, often a leader.  Reverse mentoring has been around for decades and can be very valuable. Mentors who set aside egos will be welcoming of reverse mentoring and be that much more successful.   

Not surprisingly, reverse mentoring often centers around technology, use of social media and other digital platforms including Gen AI.   Reverse mentoring can provide the mentor with deep insights into company/department culture from an avenue they may not directly access regularly.  Perspectives represented from the “front lines” can be particularly insightful in supplementing the leadership team points of view.  Reverse mentoring further fosters trust in the mentor/mentee relationship and enhances leadership skills for the mentee.  And it’s fun.   

Why Do Mentoring Relationships Fail? 

Keep in mind factors that can lead to a failed mentoring relationship, including the lack of alignment and understanding of goals. Without clear objectives, the relationship will struggle. 

Be sure that the mentee is fully comfortable with and confident in the mentor’s approach. It is better to cancel the program and re-direct to help the mentee find the right mentor early on. If one of you does not feel the relationship is a good fit, it will not work and should be terminated. 

A mentor who is motivated by money or self-interest, (e.g., “checking a box”) in their leadership track will fail. And remember, the mentor’s primary role is to develop, not supervise. Performance evaluation can hinder progress. 

A mentor who embodies these qualities can become a powerful force in the mentee’s life, helping them achieve their full potential. With the investment of time and ownership in a well-structured mentoring partnership, both mentors and mentees will reap significant rewards throughout their careers.  Is mentoring worth the time and effort?  Absolutely!

About the author

 

Juanita Luna recently retired as Director of Legal Operations, Administration and Claims at Pacific Gas & Electric Company.   She continues active in the Legal Ops community, speaking frequently at industry conferences.  Juanita is a very active and passionate mentor to several mentees around the country. 

Agility in Contract Management

Suzano, with over 500 contracts generated monthly, recognized the need for agility and efficiency in their contract management processes. That’s why they embarked on a journey to revolutionize their approach. Through collaboration with internal stakeholders, user feedback and a thorough analysis of systems, they adopted DocuSign and meticulously mapped all contracts and created prioritization based on impact, as well as developed automatic templates and workflows, and integrated with other existing systems. The results speak for themselves: 46% of procurement contracts are now generated automatically, reducing lead time to just 6.8 days. Additionally, the contract sending process has been optimized, taking only 10 minutes. Further, they possess an unwavering commitment to training and stakeholder engagement, with 18 sessions conducted and over 500 users trained in just four months. This holistic approach has not only improved efficiency but also bolstered security and compliance across the organization.

LLO (Lean Legal Operations)

In 2020, Trane Technologies charted a new course, to boldly challenge what is possible for a sustainable world. Among the company’s core purposes was the creation of a world class Lean Enterprise. Executive leadership mandated the Legal Department to identify obstacles to efficiency, engage key players, and expand the journey of continuous improvement. This endeavor resulted in the creation of Lean Legal Operations (LLO), which applies lean principles to legal operations, creating efficiencies, common work, and information sharing to reduce duplicative efforts. LLO highlighted the need for a single point of access for all legal applications and today, it is becoming the bedrock of the Trane Technologies Legal Department.

Automating GDPR Compliance

Irdeto initially relied on an external tool to maintain compliance with GDPR regulations, but found that their process was creating inefficiencies and contributing to poor data quality. Over the course of nearly 9 months, the Irdeto Legal Operations team partnered with internal business units to initiate new processes and create automated workflows within existing systems. The outcome has resulted in reduced time, costs, and efforts across multiple teams, as well as allowed Irdeto to work in-house, without reliance on an external tool.

The CLOC DEIB Council is committed to achieve DEIB successes that will ensure a more inclusive and equitable legal operations community for the future. In doing so, we celebrate the leaders who have paved the way. In celebration of Black History Month, here are just a few of those leaders:

Willie Mae Mallory – Often left out of the historical narrative surrounding the Black Power Movement is Willie Mae Mallory, a member of the Harlem 9, who fought for the right to send her daughter to a desegregated school in the state of New York.

Sojourner Truth – Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth is best known for her speech on racial inequalities, “Ain’t I a Woman?” delivered at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851.

Carl Stokes – Carl Stokes became the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city when he was elected mayor of Cleveland in November 1967. He later became a news anchorman, judge, and Ambassador to the United States.

Margaret Gardner – Many people are familiar with Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Beloved, but there is much less recognition given to Margaret Gardner, the woman who inspired Morrison’s novel. To learn more about Margaret Gardner, check out this Northern Kentucky History hour video, where they explore the woman behind the novel.

Virgil Abloh – The first Black Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh is known for bridging the gap between streetwear and high fashion.

Kimberly Crenshaw – Kimberlé Crenshaw is a well-known scholar whose career has spanned several decades focusing on civil rights, critical race theory, Black feminist legal theory, race, racism, and the law. In 1989, Crenshaw coined the term  “Intersectionality,” which she explains by saying, “Consider an analogy for traffic in an intersection, coming and going in all four directions. Discrimination, like traffic through an intersection, may flow in one direction, and it may flow in another. If an accident happens in an intersection, it can be caused by cars traveling from any number of directions and, sometimes, from all of them. Similarly, if a Black woman is harmed because she is in the intersection, her injury could result from sex discrimination or race discrimination.”In short, Crenshaw’s theory should challenge us to think critically about how discrimination is compounded by the layers of one’s identity.

Leymah Gbowe – 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, social worker and women’s rights advocate. She is Founder, and President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, based in Monrovia.

Bayard Rustin – Civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, subject of the 2023 biopic Rustin, planned the 1963 March on Washington and was best known for his role as an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.

Lorraine Hansberry– Playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry wrote ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and was the first Black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle award.

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler – Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first Black woman in the United States to become a doctor of medicine. She was also one of the first Black authors of a medical publication; her book of medical advice for women and children released in 1883.

Grace Wisher  – Grace Wisher, a free-born Black girl from Baltimore, Maryland, helped stitch the Star-Spangled Banner during the six-year apprenticeship she began with white flag-maker Mary Pickersgill around 1810.

Sarah Boone – Biography, Inventor of the Modern-Day Ironing Board  – Sarah Boone was a 19th century African American dressmaker who was awarded a patent for her improved ironing board.

Garrett Morgan – Inventor of the Traffic Light & Gas Mask (biography.com)  – The Three-Light Traffic Signal, Invented by Garrett Morgan in 1923.

Frederick Jones – Biography, Inventor, Education & Death – Frederick Jones was an inventor best known for the development of refrigeration equipment used to transport food and blood during World War II.

James West – Inventor, Microphone & Facts (biography.com) – James West is a U.S. inventor and professor who, in 1962, developed the electret transducer technology later used in 90 percent of contemporary microphones.

Lewis Howard Latimer – Biography, Inventor, Draftsman – Lewis Howard Latimer was an inventor and draftsman best known for his contributions to the patenting of the light bulb and the telephone.

Mark Dean – Biography, Computer Scientist, Engineer – Computer scientist and engineer Mark Dean is credited with helping develop a number of landmark technologies, including the color PC monitor, the Industry Standard Architecture system bus and the first gigahertz chip.

James Van Der Zee – Photos, Quotes & Work (biography.com) – James Van Der Zee was a renowned, Harlem-based photographer known for his posed, storied pictures capturing African American citizenry and celebrity. James Van Der Zee – Photos, Quotes & Work (biography.com)

Jean-Michel Basquiat – Art, Death & Paintings (biography.com) – Jean-Michel Basquiat was a Neo-Expressionist painter in the 1980s. He is best known for his primitive style and his collaboration with pop artist Andy Warhol.

Gordon Parks – Photography, Movie & Quotes (biography.com) – Gordon Parks was a prolific, world-renowned photographer, writer, composer and filmmaker known for his work on projects like ‘Shaft’ and ‘The Learning Tree.’ Gordon Parks – Photography, Movie & Quotes

Edmonia Lewis – Sculptures, Quotes & Facts (biography.com) – The first professional African American and Native American sculptor, Edmonia Lewis earned critical praise for work that explored religious and classical themes.

Augusta Savage – Art, Harlem Renaissance & Facts (biography.com) – Sculptor Augusta Savage was one of the leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance as well as an influential activist and arts educator.

With the proliferation of AI-based tools for legal at a seemingly all-time high, a pressing concern for most legal teams is — how can I validate the effectiveness of Legal AI tools while safeguarding the confidentiality and security of my company and its data? Or, put more simply, how do I pick the right solution(s) for my team and organization?

Having worked in legal tech for 13 years, I’ve had numerous conversations with lawyers and legal operations professionals about the various challenges they hope technology can solve, many of which haven’t changed for the last 10 to 15 years (such as locating contracts). But despite its great potential, using AI-based legal solutions requires adjusting our expectations or at least better understanding new trade-offs.

At Ravel, the company I co-founded out of Stanford Law School in 2012 before joining Knowable, we always thought the best AI was AI you didn’t know was there. We set out with the goal of helping lawyers solve the kind of problems that only software, cloud computing, and, yes, AI could help solve. We always believed the attorneys didn’t need to know how the software was made, just that they could rely on it, but therein lies the crux of the issue. How can you discern which tools are right for your organization and best suited for a specific task? And how do you manage potential new risks, whether it be intellectual property, copyright, or quality?

Historically, the answer to those two questions was pretty simple. We would test the product and evaluate the result. If the answers were good enough, we’d move forward with a plan to iterate and improve over time. But that was before 2023 (well, really 2022) and the mass market advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT, Bard, and Anthropic.

Today, we must ask different questions to get to the right answer. During the inaugural Harvard Law AI Summit, a leading specialist in artificial intelligence (under the condition of anonymity as per the Summit’s rules of attendance) pointed out that while we don’t understand how LLMs work, humans have often used technology we don’t understand, such as cooking. We cooked food and made all kinds of dishes for over 10,000 years before understanding the underlying science. Trial and error were all we had. But as legal experts, is trial and error acceptable? Can we really afford that level of risk?

7 Critical Questions

In reality, we don’t have a choice. AI is not coming; it’s already here. Here are seven questions to ask your potential Legal AI provider to help you determine if a particular AI solution is suitable for your organizational needs and, more importantly, to identify which provider you are willing to entrust with a certain level of risk.

1. Is your IP protected?

This question seems fundamental, but the consequences are real. Remember the news story about Samsung engineers who fed proprietary source code into ChatGPT that OpenAI then used as training data to answer other users’ questions? Each time you ask a model to do something for you, it’s curating information and delivering an output from numerous sources. Despite having millions or trillions or more data points, open and public models are learning from every input and, in some cases, can serve up proprietary information given the right prompts.

There are ongoing debates about the legal risk associated with AI and its potential infringement, but the bottom line is your IP needs to be protected. Ask your provider if you have the right to use the AI’s output or if it belongs to someone else from whom you must seek permission. Also, ask whether the provider owns the model and has copyright in the answers. Most companies today state that you have the right to use the answers, but you should confirm before selecting a provider. Lastly, ask if you are indemnified in the event of copyright infringement. In a world of trial and error, you have a right to know.

2. What models are being used? And are they open or restricted?

This is a variation of question one, but it’s an essential component of your evaluation. The point highlights three types of LLM models that you should understand. Models like GPT are open,  public, and continuously learning from everything it ingests, updating its knowledge and making it available to anyone using the tool. Forked models are customized based on an open-source model from a fixed point in time, only answering questions based on its existing knowledge set. Proprietary models are developed from scratch in-house and not shared externally (or can be built off a forked model). This is the ultimate build vs. buy question, with the latter requiring a heavier lift to keep the training data up to date. (see  question #5)

You should also ask if the models being used are open or restricted. Often referred to as “walling,” models can be deployed via commercial agreements with AWS or MS Azure (and hence are “walled”), but they can also be deployed without commercial protections. Pending your risk tolerance, you may be more or less comfortable with a walled or open solution. 

Importantly, providers should be comfortable sharing some details about their infrastructure. While they may not reveal the specifics (as that is undoubtedly part of the company’s IP), it is not controversial to tell you if they are multi-model or single-model, nor is sharing specific names, like OpenAI, Anthropic, Bard, or BERT. Armed with this knowledge, you can engage in proper research and better understand the pros and cons of each LLM when comparing vendors and deciding whether to build one yourself.

3. What if PII is placed into the model?

What happens if you input someone’s address or upload a document that contains personally identifiable information (PII)? Revisit questions one and two, as this could create issues with GDPR or CCPA for you and the provider, increasing your company’s risk and liability. You may need to revisit or create policies and ensure enforcement, much as you do today around the use of PII.

4. How do you prevent “model drift?”

Over time, the results of AI models “drift,” which means the results or the outputs from a model or solution change in one of two ways.

• Data Drift: When the input data changes significantly, it is considered “data drift.” For example, suppose the model is trained on older contracts, and you implement a new contracting template. Consequently, the model may be unable to predict results as well on the new documents.
• Concept Drift: There is also a possibility of “concept drift.” For example, if the meaning of a term changes (like a contracting term), the dataset becomes more expansive and, thus, less effective as we use it over time.

In both cases, the model struggles to adapt to new, unexpected changes, and hence the results change. Additionally, the company you are working with may switch to an entirely different model or a different version of a model. For better or worse, the results are likely going to be different. How will you know when that happens and are the differences acceptable?

5. Do you do the training and evaluation yourself?

Especially in a world of LLMs, training is increasingly being handed over to the model creators. In these situations, the model is no longer getting better based on specific “gold standard” data but on what it has been trained on writ large. Depending on your use case, this may be sufficient, but you may want an experienced provider to train your model to increase precision and accuracy.

With training comes evaluation — a costly and challenging endeavor. It is imperative to know how models are performing if you are going to use their outputs. Ask your provider who will be responsible for the evaluation. If the answer is you, analyze the time and resources needed to put teams in place that specialize in model evaluation and ask yourself whether you are ready to assume that cost.

6. What data do you get back?

If you use a model to extract data such as redlines, drafts, or answers to contract questions, understand what the AI tool will ultimately deliver. Is it just a blurb of text or a full string and conversation? Ask your vendor to provide real-world examples of what you will receive and in what form based on your contract data set as part of your proof of value (POV).

7. Do you guarantee accuracy?

Lastly, and likely often most importantly for attorneys and their legal teams, is how trustworthy is the output? Accuracy is a critical success metric. Many companies hedge by saying, “The model learns the more you use it,” or “As you correct the output, the model gets better.” This is highly unlikely for the reasons mentioned in questions four and five since your input data will change over time, which may improve the model and sometimes confuse it. Furthermore, there are diminishing returns to training – at a certain point, the benefits become incremental and likely not noticeable. In the end, the outcomes of AI-only tools will be unpredictable, which will erode trust. This is why it is still critical to have humans-in-the-loop (HITL) to reduce risk and ensure accuracy.

What’s Next?

Amidst all this uncertainty, what can you do? The good news is traditional approaches to minimizing risk hold up.

• Step 1: Ask all the questions above. Don’t avoid them.
• Step 2: Ensure your IP is protected contractually.
• Step 3: Ask the company to be open about the models they use and their overall approach to training and evaluation.
• Step 4: Ask about accuracy and how it will be continuously monitored and validated. (Hint: HITL should be a core part of this process.)

I am quite frankly very bullish about AI for legal. Thanks to technology, I have seen attorneys accomplish previously impossible tasks and have great outcomes. I’ve also seen lots of companies overpromise and under-deliver. My former Ravel co-founder Daniel Lewis recently made the point that lawyers don’t all need to become prompt engineers to get the benefits of AI, but we do need to ask questions and be smart about who we work with.

Have questions about how Knowable thinks about ML/AI in post-signature contract management? Visit knowable.com.

By Nik Reed, SVP, Product and Research & Development, Knowable

The advantages of digitization for law firms

The benefit of digital over analog isn’t always a given. Your legal team may find they generate their best ideas working on paper — similar to how some photographers still prefer film.

Nevertheless, the overall advantages of switching to digital systems in the legal industry are significant and undeniable. They include:

• Increased productivity — By streamlining processes using digital tools, legal professionals can complete tasks more efficiently and with fewer resources. Increased efficiency allows lawyers to focus on higher-value tasks, boosting their overall productivity. Plus, the cost savings associated with reduced overhead expenses can be passed on to clients or reinvested into the firm to fuel further growth and innovation.
• Enhanced client service — Your clients are digitizing too — often faster than the average law firm — and have come to expect the cost savings and convenience technology creates. Through digitization, you can provide clients easy access to documents, case updates and billing information. And by collecting and analyzing data about your clients, you can offer customized solutions that meet their unique needs and preferences.
• Competitive advantage — Firms that harness the power of technology can offer innovative services, respond more quickly to market changes and differentiate themselves from competitors who are slow to adopt digital solutions. By staying at the forefront of legal tech, your firm will be better positioned to attract and retain clients who value speed, convenience and innovation.
• Improved work-life balance — Legal professionals can use tools like video conferencing and cloud-based document storage to stay connected with colleagues and clients while working remotely. This offers opportunities to improve work-life balance and as a result, contribute to increased job satisfaction, stress reduction and overall improved well-being for your employees.

6 tips for hiring tech-savvy legal professionals

To find talent with expertise in areas like data analytics, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, follow these six tips:

1. Broaden your search. When hiring, expand your talent pool to include candidates with experience in technology, data science or business. These professionals can bring fresh perspectives and valuable skills to your firm.
2. Update your job descriptions. Clearly outline the technical competencies required for each role, including any software, platforms and tools that candidates should be familiar with. Emphasizing technical skills can help set realistic expectations for potential hires and encourage applicants who are passionate about integrating technology into their legal practice.
3. Offer targeted perks and benefits. To attract and retain tech-savvy talent, provide benefits that cater to their unique needs, such as flexible working arrangements, professional development opportunities and access to cutting-edge technology.
4. Invest in upskilling and training initiatives. Some of the talent you need may already be on the payroll. Encourage current staff to develop their technical skills through training programs, workshops and certifications like Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS) and LTC4 Core Competency. Partner with law schools and other educational institutions to develop specialized courses and programs for your employees tailored to the evolving needs of the legal industry. This focus on upskilling not only helps your firm stay current with technological advancements but also promotes employee satisfaction and loyalty.
5. Implement reverse mentorship programs. Pair tech-savvy junior team members with experienced legal professionals who may be less familiar with digital tools and trends. This encourages knowledge exchange, fosters a collaborative environment and helps bridge the generational gap in technology adoption.
6. Partner with a staffing firm. Collaborating with a talent solutions specialist like Robert Half gives you access to a diverse pool of professionals — contract/temporary or permanent — with the necessary blend of legal and technical experience.

Bottom line: The digitization of the legal profession is a permanent shift you and your firm must embrace to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of your clients. By recognizing the need for change and investing in technology, talent and training, you’ll be ready for long-term success in an increasingly digitized world.

This article originally appeared on Robert Half’s blog.

Jamy Sullivan is executive director of the legal practice at Robert Half, a premier provider of talent and consulting solutions for a wide range of initiatives in the legal field, including compliance, contract management, data privacy, litigation support and more. Visit RobertHalf.com.

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