5 Tips to Roll Out Legal AI Successfully

By Molly Taylor, Definely.

AI in legal is past the point of hype. Law firms and companies are reporting real benefits in efficiency from using these tools – but there are also those who are reporting that they aren’t satisfied with the results.

Some of this is because generic AI applications are being used, and they’re not delivering the reliable results that firms are looking for. Some dissatisfaction is because of concerns over privacy and accuracy.

But there are also those who could have been satisfied, but approached the change in the wrong way. By rushing in, some have found the tools aren’t adopted in the way they hoped, or they’re seeing patchy, inconsistent results, or even damaging the trust of people who may have been on board if the roll-out had been done better.

Success isn’t just about choosing the right tool – it’s about rolling it out in the right way, and setting the stage for it to succeed.

If you’re looking to roll out legal tech automation or AI tools in your organisation, here are five key tips to help you make the most of it and give it the best chance to succeed.

1. Start with a Specific Objective, Not a Broad Idea

Some teams struggle because the objective just isn’t clear, other than ‘do AI’. Being clear about what they’re expected to use it for, as well as how to use it, is more likely to see results.

Instead of asking, “How can we use AI?”, ask, “Where are we spending time on low-value, repetitive work?” or “Where might we benefit from an extra pair of eyes searching for precedents and existing clauses in other documents?”.

If you can identify a use case that your team already finds painful, you’re more likely to see people using the product – making clear to others that it’s a problem solver rather than a problem creator.

This is also where internal champions can be incredibly useful. The more visibly they use the tools, the more others are likely to see the benefit and follow their behaviour.

2. Make it Easy for People to Get On Board

Complex contracts, and the work that’s done on them, tend to be Word-based. An AI tool that lives somewhere else is already on the back foot. Forcing people to switch to and learn other platforms is going to be difficult enough – if they have to do it in addition to the platforms they’re already using, you’re not just on the back foot, you’ve probably stumbled over.

Adopting tools that integrate into the systems they’re already using is much more likely to be seen as a useful addition, rather than a separate tool. If it’s designed to work intuitively with the tools and systems  they’re already using, then you’re making it as easy for people to use as possible.

3. Treat the Roll-Out as a Change Management Program

Legal AI isn’t just a legal decision. You’ll need input from IT, knowledge management, and compliance early on. You’ll almost certainly need senior input, and that’s before trying to roll it out across the organisation.

The roll-out doesn’t start once the tech is live. It starts beforehand, getting the right people involved. On top of that, you’ll want to prepare the stage for the larger roll-out, making sure that this isn’t a surprise for anyone.

There will almost certainly be questions. There’ll be people who need to be convinced. There’ll be people who want training and documentation  available to them. If you haven’t prepared these things in advance, and communicated the plans, you’ll find it more difficult to get buy-in.

Starting earlier means you’ll be able to pre-empt issues, get the right people on board and plan out how to roll out successfully.

4. Define Success Before You Start

It’s really difficult to define success if you don’t know what that looks like. Is it about how many people start using it within the first quarter? Is it about how many continue using it after an agreed period of time? Or is it about the results that are seen from the usage of the tool itself?  Is everyone on the same page, or are some people involved in the roll-out looking at different metrics altogether?

Part of your change management campaign should involve making these decisions. It’ll help you concentrate on the right areas, and it’ll also mean that you’ll know quickly if your approach needs to change (or if the problem is the tool itself).

In the same way as building clear objectives making it easier to know why you’re rolling out AI, specifying goals means you can actually measure that success, and decide whether it’s achieving what you wanted.

5. Have senior members lead the way

The roll-out isn’t just about the tech. It’s also about the people. If your senior people aren’t getting on board with the roll-out, then the wrong soft messaging is being sent across your organisation.

But when respected senior professionals get curious, ask questions, and show that they’re engaged and using the tool, you’re more likely to see cultural buy-in across the board.

In a similar way, you can get those who are already enthusiastic about the idea to be champions for it – they can advocate for it and, in some cases, help with rolling out training. You’re likely to see better results by building from the top down than only expecting more junior members of staff to be able to champion and convince higher-ups.

Final thought: AI might well show good results, but if you’re not defining objectives and success, or you’re not treating the roll-out as a change within your organisation, you’re more likely to see dissatisfaction. But if you can build the right approach to your roll-out, you’ll at least give the tool you’re using the best chance of making a difference.

If you want to see what this looks like in practice, including a case study from a team that went from 100 to 600 licenses in three months, download our full guide – Success Tactics: The Reality of AI and LegalTech Automation.

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(This is a sponsored thought leadership article for AL by Definely.)