My current motto: “At some point, a law firm is going to truly understand how to leverage technology. That firm will change the game.” Note: it does not have to be a large firm.
The practical question I hear every week from partners and general counsels is the same: how to use AI in a law firm without turning the project into an expensive showcase with no traction. Below are the five points to review before, and during, the transformation.
Last week I attended the Swimming with Sharks conference as an observer, organized by Lawit Group and hosted by the excellent Juan Carlos Luna, focused on the use of AI in the legal professions, with a decidedly accelerationist tone throughout. I enjoyed it: 30-minute talks, concise and effective. Zero questions from the audience, but we heard six presentations: Lautaro Rodriguez, Luisa Rodriguez, Sigfrido Pavon, Andrés, Joel Sanchez and José Antonio Lozano Díez. Here is the selection of five actionable takeaways.
1. How to decide when to trust a generative AI
Reliability in generative AI tools remains a genuine concern. But our confidence levels must be directly tied to the context in which we use them and how we use them. Drafting an internal first version is nothing like extracting critical clauses from an executed contract.
The key lies in a clear implementation vision, grounded in both Law and Technology, so we can mediate and deploy with real business judgment. Without that dual reading, the decision to adopt (or reject) a tool stays in the hands of the vendor’s marketing team.
2. How to measure ROI before buying a license
The speakers stressed the need to think about monetizing AI and achieving measurable ROI. That is not simply about following the latest tool trend or granting access to a generative AI.
It means measuring, because what is not measured does not exist, as Patricia Villa from KermaPartners always says. Before signing the license, define: which process you want to attack, how much it costs today in person-hours, what percentage you expect to reduce, and how you will verify those savings within 90 days.
3. Why buying licenses is not enough: the digital ecosystem
A key point: no success story involves simply buying licenses and leaving lawyers alone in front of their computers, Gen AI window open.
It requires a strategy and a coherent digital ecosystem: deploying AI with a genuine commitment to productivity and quality at the individual, team and organizational levels. It is not just about your data, even if it is clean. It takes effort. You cannot build the muscles without lifting the weights, thanks to Juan S. Mijares for that image.
4. Which profiles to bring in: LegalOps, Innovation, Head of Data
You need to bring in new LegalOps / Innovation / Head of Data & Analytics roles in the firm. What kind of profile? Spoiler: either you hire multiple people, or you bring in an external firm that assembles the right talent, or you find a unicorn.
The operational consequence is clear: the firm’s org chart stops being exclusively legal. Anyone who refuses to take that step will keep paying, in partner time, for what an operations function should handle.
5. Why implementing AI is a leadership challenge, not a technical one
Implementing AI in law is not a technical challenge: it is a leadership challenge. Tools get adopted quickly; transformations do not. It requires a shared vision, clear processes, active listening and empathy to develop the team’s capacity for genuine strategic thinking. This is something I have discussed at length with Leopoldo Hernández.
The conference closed on the question of meaning at the human level, having opened on meaning at the algorithmic level. I appreciated that Dr. Lozano brought the conversation back to what is truly indispensable for carrying out any vision: leadership.
#LegalTech #LegalAI #LegalInnovation #LegalOps #DigitalTransformation #Lawit #DigitalLeadership