In-House Counsel Embracing AI Advancements in the Legal Industry

A Bloomberg Law special report indicates that in-house counsel use of artificial intelligence increased five-fold from Spring 2023 to Summer 2023.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the legal industry, with significant advancements in various areas. These innovations bring new legal challenges related to intellectual property, data protection, regulatory compliance, and more. AI-powered tools and technology are set to revolutionize the legal industry, allowing lawyers to provide better, faster, and more cost-effective services.

One area where AI is having a growing impact is in the role of in-house counsel.

According to Bloomberg Law’s Special Report called “The Power of the Prompt”, in-house counsel is at the forefront of companies’ efforts to address how to engage with emerging artificial intelligence technologies, how to benefit from them, and how to defend against the many legal pitfalls they can create. The report further indicates that in-house counsel use of AI increased five-fold from Spring 2023 to Summer 2023. In the same time period, the internal discussion to enhance the understanding of generative AI for in-house counsel increased from 35% to 61%. This led to a 13% increase in in-house counsel who have invested in or purchased a generative AI tool.

AI is mainly helping lawyers automate repetitive types of tasks – like drafting lower-exposure or lower-liability agreements like NDAs. In-house counsel are also embracing AI advancements in other ways, such as:

Conducting due diligence when selecting vendors, negotiating contracts, and monitoring compliance with legal and ethical requirements.
Understanding AI tools, managing data and algorithms, considering ethical implications, maintaining accountability, and prioritizing ongoing education and training.
Researching and exploring opportunities to use generative AI in their work, with specific potential use cases identified in the areas of researching matters, drafting documents, and document analysis.
Embracing the duty of supervision to strengthen organizations, promote excellence, and safeguard company interests.

By embracing these advancements, in-house counsel is able to harness the unprecedented opportunities that AI offers while upholding the ethical, professional, and legal standards of legal practice. This helps organizations benefit from AI while continuing to meet professional responsibilities, maintaining ethical standards, and ensuring the public’s best interests.

In-house legal teams are increasingly becoming strategic business drivers. Research shows that 40% of companies that have general counsel in top management make more accurate forecasts and drastically reduce legal risks. By becoming an integral part of the executive team, in-house teams are able to create and implement solutions that go beyond providing legal advice. They get empowered to turn into decision-drivers rather than solely legal consultants.

In-house counsel teams are expected to do more with less. They must cope with rapid advances in technology and data protection legislation, disruption by innovative startups, rapid globalization of trade and information exchange, the fallout from corporate scandals, the economic crisis and turmoil in world financial markets, and increased focus on corporate governance, compliance and enforcement.

To meet this growing list of demands, in-house counsel has had to evolve and expand into new areas; such as regulatory and government affairs; cyber security; information security and data privacy.

These changes are already being supported by the adoption of generative AI technology. By leveraging state-of–the art AI to automate tedious, administrative tasks, generative AI enables in-house counsel teams to focus on higher-value tasks as they evolve towards a proactive business strategist role.