Last week, the legal world was abuzz as it responded to a 2023 ILTA tech survey, a comprehensive report on legal tech adoption. The survey, a colossal 300-page document, seemed to reveal that 85% of law firms were utilizing generative AI for various business tasks. However, it was soon discovered that the graph depicting this finding was unintentionally inverted, and the actual percentage of firms using generative AI was a mere 15%.
This revelation brings to light certain realities about the state of AI integration in Biglaw. Despite some initial confusion, it seems that the generative AI era has yet to truly begin in the realms of large law firms. What initially appeared to be widespread embracement of AI may have been illusory. Further probing exposes that many law firms have yet to solidify distinct policies regarding AI application – something that can be attributed to more than just apathy or negligence.
Interestingly, however, the survey does reaffirm one fact that was previously highlighted: law firms have widespread disagreements and variances in where they think generative AI fits into their workflow. They may indeed be awaiting the development of a decisive “killer app” that could present a compelling use case before fully committing to AI. This race to devise such a tool is officially afoot.
The article concludes with an interesting perspective shared by author Joe Patrice, a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. His insights, as well as those from other industry specialists, point towards the ongoing race to effectively integrate AI into legal practices.
Patrice’s editorial suggests there’s a significant gap between perception and reality when it comes to AI integration, a gap the legal industry will have to bridge sooner than later. The era of AI in the legal world might not be as close as we think, but the race to accelerate its arrival is undoubtedly on.
Original article by Joe Patrice can be found here.