Eleven renowned international law firms have made unprecedented strides by forming a consortium tasked with the creation of an array of on-demand and highly interactive training programs in generative AI. Specifically designed for law practitioners, these courses are also available to other law firms on a subscription basis, henceforth to be rolled out over the coming months.
The intellectual training modules, named Generative AI Fundamentals for Law Firms, are undergoing development with prime objectives including awareness on generative AI privacy and security issues, realization of data bias implications, ethical considerations, and boosting competencies needed for collaborative interdisciplinary work especially with data experts and IT professionals.
The achievement of these courses’ development has been largely attributed to the collaboration with SkillBurst Interactive, an eminent provider of on-demand tutoring programs for corporations and law firms. The consortium is graced by the participation of reputable law firms such as Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose Fulbright, Taft, Thompson Coburn, White & Case, and Womble Bond, with some law firms opting to keep their participation private.
SkillBurst Interactive has received an overwhelming response from law firms seeking non-partisan vendor training on the fundamentals of implementing generative AI into legal practice. It began the course development process after discreetly surveying executives and lawyers at the aforementioned firms, amassing data on industry trends, potential risks, and vital topics.
In response to these demands, SkillBurst has already created the first two modules in the training: “Generative AI: Facts and Foundations” and “Generative AI Security: An Overview of Risks and Solutions”. Every subsequent month, two additional modules will be released for participating firms.
Effective immediately, firms that are not part of the consortium can access the training programs through a subscription purchase. Describing the situation, Anusia Gillespie, former co-head of innovation at Eversheds and current head of the Legal Innovation Lab at SkillBurst said, “Every lawyer needs training on generative AI, but it is so new that high-quality and contextualized training for lawyers is not yet widely available. These firms are investing in and creating on-demand learning content that scales and will benefit the profession at large”. However, Gillespie decided not to disclose the specific pricing information, citing that it would depend on the size of the firm and subscription term, which could extend up to three years with six tiers of subscriptions available based on the number of lawyers in the firm.
Overall, this initiative has been met with immense positivity from the industry, with legal professionals like Rachel Broquard, service excellence partner at Eversheds, citing its potential for transformative impact. They all agree that understanding generative AI’s risks and strategies to successfully mitigate them is equally vital to understanding how to use the technology. As such, the firm emphasizes the development of a training program that provides broad technological understanding while promoting in-depth study for interested parties. Additionally, such training would promote a shared understanding and vocabulary for generative AI within the legal profession.