The legal tech scene has been buzzing non-stop with updates about new capabilities and the latest product enhancements, thanks to the groundbreaking technology of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI).
Legal tech vendors have been racing to outdo each other, each trying to keep pace with the rapid advancements and shifting trends. Amidst this flurry of innovation, many legal professionals find themselves still at the starting line, pondering the best path forward and wondering when to make their move.
In recent months, my team at UpLevel Ops has hit the road, leading a series of talks aimed at shedding light on GAI’s role in the legal sector. As we’ve engaged with legal leaders nationwide, our tour has been as much an educational journey for us as it has been for our audiences.
Regardless of where we are or which legal industry segment we’re addressing, we’ve discovered a recurring theme: Legal teams everywhere are feeling the nudge from their company executives to bring GAI into their daily operations. Yet, this push towards innovation is often met with a sense of uncertainty about how to effectively integrate these technologies.
This feeling isn’t confined to just a handful of firms — it’s a common thread permeating the entire legal profession. Once considered novel or even out-of-reach, GAI is now central to conversations about enhancing legal work productivity and sparking innovation.
Amidst this evolving landscape filled with uncertainty, our year of closely tracking GAI advancements and product announcements has led me to a pivotal realization. The cornerstone of our future work life will be the integration of on-demand custom GPT assistants. This insight has crystallized into a clear vision for the path forward, one where tailored digital aides play a central role in our day-to-day tasks.
The transformation in our work approach since fully embracing custom GPT assistants earlier this year has been nothing short of a revelation. These personalized tools have quickly proven themselves to be invaluable, liberating us from the monotony of repetitive, low-value tasks and broadening the scope of our capabilities.
The impact on productivity and the expansion of our skill sets has been remarkable. Freed from the traditional constraints of learning new skills through lengthy training, we now turn to custom GPT assistants as navigators. This shift towards a learn-by-doing approach has completely revolutionized the learning process, equipping us with the agility and confidence to quickly tackle new unfamiliar tasks. This profound change underscores the power and potential of integrating on-demand custom GPTs into our work, marking a new era in professional development and productivity across the legal field and beyond.
At UpLevel, our deep dive into the world of on-demand custom GPTs has illuminated a truth you can only grasp through full immersion: The transformative power of these tools must be experienced firsthand to be truly appreciated. We’ve pinpointed a selection of straightforward use cases for what we see as the lowest-hanging fruit.
This includes chat-enabled FAQs as well as policies and procedures, simple contract summarization, and writing assistants that are tuned to your unique voice. Surprisingly, leveraging a mix of these specialized tools can rival the productivity boost of adopting a complex, all-encompassing legal tech solution.
Legal professionals can witness how these innovations streamline their workload with precision and speed by initiating GAI integration with specific, minimal-risk tasks well-suited to GPT assistants. This approach doesn’t just alleviate apprehension; it also fuels imagination, encouraging inventive applications of GAI within legal practices.
Demonstrating the effectiveness of these task-specific assistants paves the way for broader acceptance and curiosity about GAI’s capabilities, setting a solid foundation for its growth and acceptance in the legal landscape.
This year also marks a pivotal moment for the legal sector to delve into and embrace the world of GAI. At a recent LINK Live! event, head of Legal Ops at Intel and former President of CLOC Mike Haven captured the essence of this transition. He advised legal leaders not to rush into quantifying productivity gains or other metrics when first adopting but to focus on gradual progress. According to Haven, the goal for now should be to familiarize oneself and one’s team with the technology.
On-demand custom GPTs emerge as an ideal starting point for increasing comfort levels with GAI, thanks to their simplicity and straightforward application. It’s essential to note that many concerns currently surrounding GAI, such as inaccuracies or “hallucinations,” are expected to be transient.
The technology is improving at an exponential rate, and OpenAI’s leader, Sam Altman, has already announced that the company will be releasing their next more advanced GAI model later this year. The company has said that the leap in capabilities from the current model to the next will be as significant as the jump from GPT-3 to GPT-4, suggesting a significant expansion in skills and abilities.
With these imminent advances in mind, the time to start moving forward is now. By doing so, you are positioning your team to confidently share stories of significant productivity improvements at this time next year before the next major jump in advancements is at our front door.
Brandi Pack has a diverse background that spans the legal, hospitality, education, and technology industries. Over the course of her career, she has excelled in various strategic business operations roles at Hewlett Packard Company, Constellation Brands, and Goodwill Industries. Brandi has a successful track record in project management, training, business development, legal operations, and IT services. She is a thought leader in the emerging space of AI in the workplace, particularly as it impacts the legal landscape.
