We recently had the opportunity to attend and present during the recent Future Lawyer USA (FLUSA) event. Organized by Cosmonauts, the event features diverse perspectives and valuable insights from seasoned legal industry professionals. The event goal is to provide law firms and in-house legal departments with an opportunity to participate in seminars and discussions to address tech-adoption challenges and stay ahead in the ever-changing legal technology landscape.

During a panel discussion, we explored practical insights for navigating the use and adoption of Generative AI in the legal landscape. 

Below are some key takeaways from my presentation, and the event in general:

• We're excited about the potential for use of Generative AI tools within the case management space. During an earlier Fireside Chat, Shannon Kirk (Managing Principal, Global Head Advanced E-Discovery and A.I. Strategy, Ropes & Gray) and Maribel Rivera (VP, Strategy and Client Engagement, ACEDS) raised high cost as a barrier to use of the Generative AI tools. The AI fees are lower in the case management space and the return on investment is greater. The document count is much smaller than when the tools are utilized for document review, and the current work product is typically generated by members of the case team with higher rates. In addition, the risk of a missed error is much lower, as materials generated during the case management phase are typically used internally by the case team, and are revised multiple times before being finalized.
• At G&S, we're partnering with our current case management technology provider to test tools that can summarize, extract chronology events, or identify key characters from within documents. These tools allow us to query our key document corpus in natural language (i.e. chat with our key documents or depositions transcripts). 
• We also shared some general tips for adopting new technologies in the legal space. We have found success when the people who will actually be using the tools are involved in the process from the outset. Often, technology partners do not have a full understanding of the problem they are trying to solve and benefit from getting in the head of the end user at an early stage.
• Law firms may want to consider utilizing Generative AI tools first for back or middle office work before implementing tools for front office work. In addition, law firms should consider examining the work that relationship partners are writing off and identify tools or products that can automate this work. These tools or products will automate work without cannibalizing billable time. 
• Each panelist closed with a prediction about the future of AI in the legal market. I used my time to call for more benchmarking within the sector. A recent study conducted by Stanford University's Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence questioned the claims of two providers in the legal research space. They concluded that these bespoke legal AI tools still hallucinate an alarming amount of the time. We need more analysis and testing of the tools in the legal technology market.

Attendees and presenters alike left the conference with new connections, practical tips, and inspiration on how to plan for upcoming changes to the legal sector in the coming  years. 

We're already looking forward to the next one!