Changing legal minds and behaviors to be AI-ready

AI adoption in law firms has been cautious. While it's used widely in areas like due diligence and e-discovery, lawyers appear to feel less comfortable applying AI more generally in their practice. How should we interpret that, and, more importantly, how can we allay their concerns?

Reasons for this caution range from skepticism of the technology to resistance to change. Some fear that using AI may "dumb down" their practice. Some may even question whether it is really necessary to integrate AI into legal practice at all? In this blog post we look at ideas for how we can motivate or inspire lawyers to feel greater confidence around adopting AI more widely.

In a recent webinar, Changing legal minds and behaviors to be AI-ready we heard from several prominent industry voices, including Yasmin Lambert, Managing Director at RSGI Limited; Mark Dean, Co-founder BASIL (Behavioural Analytics & Science in the Law) Research Initiative; Isabel Parker, Chief Innovation Officer White & Case LLP; and Alex Smith, Senior Director of Product Search, Knowledge, & AI, iManage. Their insights inform today's discussion.

Watch the full webinar.

Change is hard: How to approach it differently

Convincing people to adopt new technology can be challenging.

Looking through the lens of behavioral science, we might first try to understand what motivates lawyers. It’s all very well to say these tools will make your lives easier and your job less stressful. But that promise in itself rings a bit hollow and is seldom sufficient to incite real change.

Salience matters. The best way to overcome resistance is to focus on intrinsic rewards — the WIIFM, or “what’s in it for me?” For lawyers, achieving excellence in their work is the goal most likely to be rewarding. That doesn’t necessarily mean getting their job done quickly. It means doing their work really well. 

Firms often fall into the trap of over-emphasizing extrinsic rewards, like how this will help the firm or the community. While lawyers care about those things, they don’t elicit the same dopamine burst as intrinsic rewards. We need to identify and focus on positive intrinsic motivators to persuade lawyers to adopt new technology.

Know what lawyers care about

One of the biggest selling points of AI is that it speeds up processes and makes work more efficient. But lawyers are not that motivated by efficiency. They want to complete their work within deadlines and without excessive cost, of course, but they aren't driven by a desire to do it as quickly as possible. The more compelling objective is mastery.

Lawyers want to be seen as experts in their field. They want to know the right answers, to engage in intelligent debate, to know all the ins and outs of their subject area. They want to look good in front of their clients and they want to make their clients happy. Lawyers care about reputation and quality, not speed.

Can AI offer what lawyers want?

Focus on how AI can help lawyers achieve the mastery they’re looking for. Perhaps that comes from identifying monotonous tasks that can be released to AI, so they can focus on building their expertise 

Once the humdrum tasks are delegated, a lawyer’s cognitive resource ability goes up. They have more time to spend on the tricky nuanced problems that require a human brain. The upshot is that they are more likely to build and retain mastery.

The secret is using AI wisely. Take research for example. Lawyers still need to learn the skill of research. It can’t be completely delegated to AI because AI can get things wrong or produce contradictory results. But a lawyer with good research skills can edit the AI’s research, and use it as a tool to hone their own craft.

Does AI make us less cognitively able?

Some lawyers are concerned that using AI will make them appear less competent and capable. Is it lazy to use AI? Will it make the brain redundant?

It's a cautionary tale. For example, how has our ready access to Google search affected our cognitive abilities? In the not so distant past, if we wanted to know something, we needed to find a resource, whether that was a trusted expert, a reference book, or maybe even a family member. But now we simply Google it, and trust that Google is right. How many of us still consult a map or our memories when we set out to a destination? Why should we, when the directions are a click away, right there on our phones? 

Our brains are wired to pursue the path of least resistance, so we can become less competent if we stop using our critical thinking skills and rely entirely on AI. Alternatively, we can challenge ourselves to do more things better, harder things, to grow new neural pathways, and discover more interesting ways of working. 

Successful uses of AI in due diligence and e-discovery

The practices of due diligence and e-discovery have used AI with confidence, and lawyers have generally welcomed this development.  

One reason this may have been so successful is that it appeals to a lawyer’s curiosity. They are still using their brains, alongside the tech. Curious people are using the tech to see what’s in the files. They start with a hunch about what they’ll see, and then dig into it to find answers. These are easily searchable platforms, and the relevant documents can appear in seconds.

This is the type of workstream that takes you out of the efficiency realm and into the mastery realm. It’s thinking “what else can we do?” with this technology.

How to build change momentum

Once a change is initiated, momentum must follow to achieve the desired impact throughout the firm. In some ways, you need to build FOMO, or "fear of missing out" to keep the dominos falling.

So before initiating the change across the firm, make sure the solutions you choose are practical, proven, and ready to deliver value. Find your project advocates, and don't let your personal bias close your eyes to the possibilities. People often presume that the younger lawyers will be the early adopters — and they may well be. But their newness in the job may also lead to hesitancy in deviating from the beaten path. Their inexperience may also narrow their view. They might be more adapted to using tech, in the abstract, but not necessarily understand how to apply it optimally for their work.

In practice, you may be seeking a partner who is tech savvy and carries the weight of long tenure and respect. Power and hierarchy in a law firm can be tricky to pin down. Power and influence come in different guises. Your champion might be a culture carrier, a rainmaker, or the someone who makes work more fun. Soft power carries influence, too. 

So don’t just look at the organizational chart and pick a name. Put in the effort to find a few influential people who are advocates for the changes you hope to make. 

Key takeaways for changing legal minds

Clients are experimenting with AI themselves and they are compelling lawyers to use it. A few key takeaways to start the path to change:

• Clearly explain how legal-grade AI, built into tools they already use, can help lawyers become masters of their craft.
• Pinpoint repetitive tasks that can logically be delegated to AI.
• Emphasize the need to retain human oversight over AI results.
• Find influential people within the firm who can adopt early and evangelize the tools, bringing others along with them.

If your goal is to raise the level of AI Confidence™ in your firm, start by finding out what your lawyers care about, divining ways that AI can help deliver what they want, and know how to allay their justifiable concerns about where AI might lead. 

Click here to learn more about growing the feeling of AI Confidence in your firm.