Generative Artificial Intelligence will boost efficiency of legal teams

28.04.2023

Esade Law School hosted the discussion forum ‘Applications and impact of generative AI on legal teams” in conjunction with Lawyers for Projects and Lefebvre

Friday, April 28, 2023. Esade Law School, in conjunction with Lawyers for Projects and Lefebvre, held a discussion forum with corporate counsels to analyze the impact and challenges of digital change in the legal profession following the onset of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

With the help of GenAI, corporate counsels and law firms can increase their competitive edge, efficiency and accuracy. The future of this sector entails a digital alliance that encourages the automation of tasks with less added value and enables lawyers to focus on strategic issues and complex decision-making. This transformation process is, however, still in its infancy. There are still qualms in this sector about the lack of specific regulations combined with the challenge of learning to use AI in an ethical and responsible manner.

Laia Moncosí, CEO of Lawyers for Projects, began by emphasizing that “generative Artificial Intelligence will not replace lawyers in general, just those unable to incorporate it into their everyday business. In this respect, the potential loss of jobs is one of the key challenges we’ll have to deal with after its introduction. However, it can also create new job opportunities and help the profession evolve more efficiently, or even enable more universal access to the justice system.”

Eugenia Navarro, head of the INON program of legal sector operations and LegalTech at Esade Law School, said that “the big deal about GenAI is its ability to create unique new content. This situates us at the dawn of a new era, as happened with the internet a few years ago. Language models like ChatGPT make lawyers think about how they can change the profession and will have a significant impact on legal services in the realms of research, writing and customer service, and also on how lawyers are taught and trained. However, this technology must be interpreted using human knowledge and experience, and also involves ethical and legal issues. The legal profession is entering a fascinating era in which technology will pose challenges and new fields of law without replacing the lawyer”.

Benefits for law firms and legal counsels

According to María de la O Martínez, head of Innovation in the Lefebvre Sarrut Group, “AI is already being used in legal services. Our group uses a combination of GenAI, hybrid search algorithms and unique Lefebvre content. This enables us to provide accurate, up-to-date answers, and equips professionals with a new way of defining, pinpointing and broadening their searches about legal content. This is the first stage of development; we can already envisage countless applications and specific utilities for law firms and legal counsels.”

As Juan A. de Rueda, vice-president of the Legal Iberian Business Unit at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, explained, “The potential benefits of GenAI obviously vary enormously depending on the needs of each organization. In the case of Coca-Cola, for example, we can see its useful advantages in drafting and revising contracts, and we’re contemplating the implementation of an automated legal service for services that involve little value added but need considerable resources. We must, however, bear in mind that this technology will be used mainly for the front lines of business and that the real challenge facing legal counsels and law firms lies in their ability to mitigate the risks arising from such use.”

AI as value added

Daniel López Rodríguez, director of the Corporate Legal Department at VidaCaixa, commented that “we’re riding the crest of the Gen AI wave, everyone’s talking about it. In the legal profession, it’ll have a transformative impact, like many other trends we’ve experienced, and will involve far more opportunities than threats. Technology is a catalyst of change, and we must regard it as yet another tool enabling us to focus on value added. We’re immersed in constant change and lawyers must position themselves at the forefront of science and incorporate all developments into their value proposition.”

As Jorge Monclús, head of Legal and Compliance at Rakuten TV, explained during his speech, “GenAI is here to stay. It will undoubtedly change the everyday business of lawyers today and those in future generations who will inevitably work in tandem with these tools. I think that one of the main disruptive leaps will happen in law firms, where it will help legal counsels provide a service that is more efficient and possibly less expensive but, above all, is able to guarantee reliability and help reduce legal risks effectively.”

This session, the first one in which Lefebvre has participated, was the fourth to be organized by Lawyers for Projects in conjunction with Esade Law School. This series aims to promote innovation and disruption in the legal sector and raise awareness about the digital tools available to this sector.