Rudy DeFelice of Harbor Labs says that legal professionals using consumer AI tools is consistent with historical trends, such as the "consumerization of IT" movement sparked by mobile phones years ago.
"AI will be no different," DeFelice said. "Legal professionals seeking a competitive advantage — or just an easier way to do things — will use AI, sanctioned or not."
DeFelice adds that this might be one of those moments when law firms and legal departments have achance to lead by adopting the right technologies for the moment. Even if attorneys eventually use legal-grade generative AI tools, they must know how to use them correctly to get the best results.
"If it was up to the enterprise, we might still be using BlackBerrys. Instead, users gravitated toward superior technology, forcing enterprises to adapt. The same dynamic is unfolding with AI in law."
Historically, it's not uncommon for disruptive technologies, including the cloud and mobile phones, to face institutional resistance over concerns with security and control. There are still concerns that employees will leak confidential data by using consumer-grade technologies that might lack strong privacy protections.
DeFelice said necessity and utility ultimately compel adoption, meaning that organizations might embrace the tools dominating the consumer market.
This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Law360.
- AI
- Legal operations
- Tech adoption