Legal profession needs a change of mindset to embrace AI

Rachel Roche, the award winning Yorkshire lawyer, believes the legal profession needs a change of mindset to fully embrace the opportunities offered by new technology and AI which is reshaping the way businesses operate.

The legal profession is still viewed by many as stuck in its old paper dominated ways and implementing change can be daunting and potentially expensive. Rachel, owner of York based Roche Legal, has championed innovative technology and now has an in-house developer as part of her team.

However, research from the Oxford based Saïd Business School states that only 20% of small businesses, including legal firms, are currently making use of AI, compared to 68% of larger businesses.

As a result, the Law Society asked Rachel to highlight the need for change in an article for their magazine as she explained: “Lawyers need to be able to think like business people to weigh up the sacrifice of the initial time investment against the rewards it’s likely to reap later on.

“The pace of change is still ongoing, and lawyers who want to keep up will need to be open to the possibilities future tech developments might bring our way.

“Despite technology and AI theoretically offering equal opportunities across the board, there’s growing evidence of a widening adoption gap between larger businesses and SMEs.

“Many of the most innovative tools – including AI and automation software such as chat GPT and Microsoft Copilot – are now free or highly affordable. This means that the investment required for firms to engage with new technologies is now focused on time rather than cash.”

Rachel is adamant a balance should be struck with the new technology tools now available while ensuring the personal touch remains for clients dealing with what can be very emotional issues.

She added: ”Lawyers and developers can feel like they’re speaking different languages, but you’ll need to find common ground in order to give specific guidance about your aims and objectives, as well as clear feedback on what is and isn’t working.

“It’s important to remember that despite the many digital tools we have at our disposal, the law is very much still a service business heavily reliant on human connection. We should be mindful not to lose sight of the value of this, nor to run risk of letting technology dictating our work and our processes rather than the other way around. “