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People are starting to realise that generative AI is much harder than they thought. Not the conceiving of use cases, but the solving for them in a way that people are comfortable using the technology.” I’m sitting with David Cambria, managing director of the legal advisory business at Epiq, in the speakers’ room at Legalweek. We were unable to access a panel session on GenAI because the queue was too big. I take a video of the queue snaking round the building and post it on LinkedIn. Cambria comments: “What a perfect representation of the state of AI in legal….lots of folks waiting to get in but not exactly sure what is going on.”
It’s the start of another few weeks of eyeopening conversations, where I’m lucky enough to speak to people who are leading technology adoption efforts on both the vendor and buyer side of the legal profession.
“Success comes down to trust, and that’s broken down into transparency, capability, predictability and reliability, and humanity,” says Cambria. “You have to find solutions that meet all four and are framed in a way that meets those criteria for adoption.”
What he says next, resonates perhaps even more. “People are realising that it’s not just about the technology, but the services around the tech. Having a tool that ‘does something’ isn’t enough, it’s how it gets integrated into practice. Even some of the largest players in AI are now saying ‘I need services to figure out how to use this and make it do what I need.’”
For SaaS companies, services are a perennial challenge. Software, once developed, can be replicated and distributed at a fraction of the original cost, leading to higher margins and more efficient scaling. Services are more labour-intensive and don’t scale as easily. But right now, services may be the best strategic tool in a vendor’s pocket.
Not yet a SaaS company per se, but one of the largest legaltech software vendors, iManage at the end of last year and beginning of this year rolled out its Wayfinder program. Wayfinder is a services program designed to help customers figure out how to adopt new technology, in particular its GenAI tool Ask iManage.
Speaking to me at the end of 2024 about embedding generative AI within the platform, CEO Neil Araujo said: “Wayfinder is delivered through a combination of our services team and practice leads; lawyers we’ve hired who are teaching other lawyers how they would change working practices. It’s not about IT, AI is different. As a teacher, you have to know where to apply it; where does it have rough edges; what are the guard rails? We’ve built all those guard rails but we’re teaching people how to change their processes so that they can benefit from the new capabilities. We’re helping customers to find the right way for them.”
What iManage and others are realising, is that GenAI is about two-way learning. Araujo says: “We know technology but we’re not a law firm and for the market to avail itself of our expertise and apply our technology in a way that is meaningful and not risky we work with a lot of customers. What I hear a lot is, ‘what we’re really looking for is a technology partner that can help us to navigate technology more effectively, not just another vendor.’”
Pat Eskew, the new CRO of iManage added: “Everyone we speak with is still trying to figure it out. Clients are looking at how to partner with us to get the most out of their investment.” He adds: “One of the complaints we hear from clients is that to do anything with AI it’s six figures. With us you can start small, have some victories and grow together.”
If you were to ask ChatGPT to summarise the key message of all the speakers at all of the substantial number of conferences over the past month, it would be something along those lines.
Speaking at Legalweek, Jeremy Burdge, COO for the Americas at Hogan Lovells’ legal tech hub Eltemate said: “You need to start out small and celebrate the wins. It’s a team effort.” Partnership can mean different things and Burdge added: “Clients say they want law firms to be more innovative but when you try to work with them, they aren’t always prepared. Finding a partner that is willing and able to take chances is important.”
With the pace of change only expected to intensify, and the legal tech learning curve not nearly where it needs to be, there is a major opportunity wherever you are within the supply chain to differentiate yourself. And it’s not about the tech.