The right question to ask when you're ready to start using AI

 Issue 29 

You’ve developed AI competency or you're in the process of doing so. In other words, you’ve gained foundational knowledge about AI and understand your AI-related professional responsibilities. You’re aware of the AI pitfalls lawyers need to watch out for, and you’ve taken steps to reduce your AI risk. You’re ready to help your clients with their AI-related legal issues. (Or, if you are still in the process and you’re missing one or more of these critical steps in developing your AI competency, here are some free resources that can help you: Resource 1: A Lawyer's First Three Steps to Reduce AI Risk, and Resource 2: Roadmap to AI Competency for Lawyers.) 

Now you want to figure out how to use AI in your law practice.  

Maybe you don’t know what your options are. Or maybe the possibilities feel endless and overwhelming.  

But when you want to figure out how to use AI in your law practice, the initial question shouldn’t be, “which AI tool should I pick?” 

The Right Question to Ask 

The right question to ask first is, “where can AI make the biggest impact for my unique organization?"  

You’ll answer this question by gathering and analyzing data from your organization. You’ll want to consider how your existing technology solutions are serving you well, and where there are gaps or other areas for improvement. You’ll also want to consider all of the possible use cases for AI, as well as AI’s current strengths and weaknesses. Through this work, you can better understand the inefficiencies present in your organization, while taking into account your organization’s culture in relation to technology adoption and use. Then you can prioritize your organization’s greatest technology improvement goals. For example, perhaps you will identify that your organization could benefit most from improving your client intake process, or instead, maybe you’ll decide to use technology to systematize the way you help clients with a particular type of matter so that you can do the work for a flat fee. 

Once you’ve identified the problems where a technology solution could be most transformative, the next step is to identify the potential solutions. This is the point when considering different AI tools will come into play. Keep in mind that due to the unique characteristics of your organization, the best solution for your organization may be radically different from the best solution for your biggest competitor. 

Once you have identified your potential solutions, the next steps are to perform risk assessments and evaluate which tool(s) will be the best fit for your organization.   

If you would like a resource that can guide you step by step through this process faster, from developing your AI competency to implementing the AI tool that best matches what your organization needs, you’ll want access to A Lawyer’s Practical Guide to AI. Chapter 5 of the guide will show you how to evaluate and implement AI tools for your practice, and Chapter 6 is a directory of over 200 AI tools developed for lawyers, and organized by use cases, practice areas, and integrations with other AI tools. You can get instant access to the guide here.  

Thanks for being here. 

Jennifer Ballard
Good Journey Consulting