Artificial intelligence has rapidly moved from an emerging technology to a strategic consideration for in-house legal teams. The conversation is no longer centred on whether lawyers should use AI, but on where it can deliver meaningful value, where caution is needed and how legal professionals can adapt as the technology evolves.
At a recent Taylor Root discussion hosted by Asha Morzaria, Director, Banking and Financial Services, legal leaders including Zak Proffitt, Head of Legal at Benifex, Nayden Raychinov, Senior Legal Director at Payhawk, and Benjamin Burton, Head of Innovation at BNP Paribas CIB, shared their experiences of implementing AI within legal functions. While their organisations differ in size, sector and regulatory complexity, several common themes emerged.
Start with the problem, not the technology
One of the clearest messages from the discussion was that successful AI adoption begins with identifying a business challenge rather than selecting a tool.
Many legal teams face increasing workloads, constrained resources and growing expectations from stakeholders. Repetitive legal queries, contract review bottlenecks and inefficient knowledge management processes are common pressure points. Rather than pursuing AI for the sake of innovation, organisations are seeing the greatest success when they focus on solving these challenges first.
This approach helps legal teams demonstrate value more quickly and avoid investing time in technology that may not address their most pressing needs.
Practical use cases are delivering real value
While much attention is given to AI’s most advanced capabilities, many of the most effective use cases are relatively straightforward.
Legal teams are increasingly using AI to answer routine internal questions, support first-pass contract reviews, summarise information, improve access to policies and guidance, and generate initial drafts of documents or communications. These applications help reduce administrative workload and allow lawyers to spend more time on strategic priorities.
The discussion also highlighted the growing use of AI-powered knowledge tools. By making legal guidance more accessible across the organisation, legal teams can reduce the volume of routine requests while giving colleagues faster access to information.
Another area where AI is creating efficiencies is in the management of external legal advice. Rather than approaching external counsel with broad questions, legal teams are using AI to conduct preliminary analysis and narrow the scope of advice required, allowing for more focused engagement with specialist advisers.
AI is only as good as the information behind it
One recurring theme was the importance of data quality and organisational context.
AI performs best when it can access structured, accurate and consistent information. Where organisations have conflicting policies, outdated documentation or fragmented knowledge repositories, outputs become less reliable. Several speakers noted that preparing internal information for AI can be just as important as selecting the right technology.
For legal teams, this means reviewing how information is organised, maintained and shared across the business. Strong governance and clearly defined processes remain fundamental to successful implementation.
Human judgement remains essential
Despite rapid progress, the panel was unanimous on one point: AI does not replace legal judgement.
Technology can accelerate research, summarise content and identify issues, but it cannot fully replicate commercial awareness, contextual understanding or strategic decision-making. These remain core responsibilities of legal professionals.
This is particularly important when dealing with complex negotiations, regulatory matters, legal privilege or sensitive business decisions. While AI can support these activities, lawyers remain accountable for the advice provided and the decisions made.
Rather than replacing lawyers, AI is increasingly acting as a tool that enables legal teams to focus their expertise where it matters most.
The future belongs to adaptable legal teams
Perhaps the most significant takeaway from the discussion was the importance of mindset.
The organisations making the greatest progress are not necessarily those with the largest AI budgets. Instead, they are the teams willing to experiment, learn from failures and continuously refine their approach. Curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to engage with new technology were repeatedly identified as critical behaviours for both individual lawyers and legal leaders.
As routine and process-driven tasks become increasingly automated, skills such as commercial judgement, stakeholder management, strategic thinking and influencing will become even more valuable. The legal profession is evolving, but the qualities that differentiate outstanding in-house lawyers remain fundamentally human.
Key takeaways for in-house legal teams
- Focus on business problems before selecting AI solutions
- Prioritise practical, low-risk use cases that can demonstrate value quickly
- Invest in high-quality data, documentation and governance
- Maintain human oversight, particularly in complex or high-risk matters
- Encourage experimentation and continuous learning across the legal function
As AI adoption continues to accelerate, the most successful legal teams are likely to be those that combine technology with strong legal judgement, using AI to enhance their capabilities rather than define them.
