Legal Geek hosted another of their popular events earlier this month, the ‘Legal Geek Conference’. Bethany, Henry and George went to check out what the latest legal technology vendors had to offer.

As with the Legal Geek Growth Event (attended by George earlier in the year– see more here), the words on everyone’s lips were ‘Generative AI’. The potential use cases of Generative AI in a legal context are extensive, with vendors keen to demonstrate its capabilities in document summarisation, drafting and due diligence, to name a few. Representatives from legal firms and in-house counsels were keen to understand the potential of Generative AI and how it can drive genuine, sustainable and commercial change in the way legal services are received and delivered.

While the aim of the event was partly to give an opportunity for vendors from across the globe to showcase their products, the event was also interspersed with various informative talks and workshops on topics ranging from ‘Document Automation and GenAI – Friends or Foes?’ by Michael Bjerg Hansen and ‘What Does the AI Revolution Look Like at Whole Profession Level?’ by Ian Jeffrey of The Law Society.

Bethany and George attended a workshop hosted by NetDocuments which outlined, in the context of an AI chatbot, the importance of making sufficiently specific requests to receive suitably tailored responses. The talk made apparent that, whilst the tool itself is remarkably intelligent, the agency of the user is still important in order to optimise its full capabilities.

Henry and George listened in on the talk by Ian Jeffrey of The Law Society. From the outset he made clear that although, according to a report by Goldman Sachs, Generative AI is capable of carrying out 44% of the legal tasks conducted today, this does not necessarily equate to 44% of legal jobs being discharged. He wished to provide a level of reassurance on this front and explained the role of the Law Society in the smooth integration of AI in legal services. This mainly centres around three key areas: obtaining the input and opinions of legal professionals about how AI products can be best advanced to benefit the profession; developing adept regulations that, at their core, balance the need for innovation as well as provide sufficient safety measures; and promoting the ethical use of AI within the justice system.

The event was incredibly insightful in understanding the trajectory of both legal technology and the wider profession itself and we are keen to see how this has progressed at the next Legal Geek Conference in 2025.

George Jones

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