Start with the organisation.
Access to an AI tool is a starting point. The more consequential question is how it can change the way your organisation does legal work: the questions it asks, the sources it can use, the judgment it applies and the knowledge it keeps.
Begin with a goal worth achieving. Look at a real workflow in its wider context, including preparation, handoffs, review and the decisions the work supports. An improvement in one step is useful only if it helps the work as a whole.
Build the ability to judge and operate.
Lasting capability includes the people doing the work. They need practical ways to frame a question, find its relevant context, challenge an output and recognise when specialist judgment is needed.
The working environment matters too: sources, instructions, permissions, tools and review methods. Develop these around the organisation’s tasks, and retain them in forms that people can understand and maintain.
Change the relationship with expert support.
A more capable organisation can make more informed choices about outside counsel. It can brief with greater precision, assess the work more effectively and retain the resulting knowledge for the next decision.
The aim is a productive relationship in which internal capability and external expertise strengthen one another. Measure progress through useful completed work, including the time spent checking and maintaining it, and the client’s ability to handle a new task independently.