I recently spent the day at the Legal Innovators Litigation Day in London with my colleagues, Ginny Gonzalez and David York. While it’s always an engaging event, something was different this year. The conversations were louder, but the conviction wasn’t.
When a firm the size of CMS admits it’s still “working it out,” in reference to GenAI, that rather says it all. When it comes to emerging technologies, the market is still trying to find its footing, and that’s perfectly fine.
The Industry Is Running, But From What, Exactly?
One speaker compared the industry to runners escaping a bear. The problem is, no one seemed entirely sure what the bear actually was. I guess ultimately it’s survival, but in the interim, is it change? New competitors? Regulation? Or clients who’ve decided they can do it themselves?
More interesting is the perception that some organisations seemed more focused on merely running with the pack rather than building genuine capability. Whilst the analogy is understood, the reality is that firms appear to be running in lots of different directions, not knowing where it might lead, and whatever the threat may be, the industry is jogging briskly and hoping for the best.
Experimenting with AI
There were plenty of discussions around firms testing tools like Harvey and Legora, but most of these initiatives seemed to be supplemental rather than central to operations. There’s still this fundemental belief that everything GenAI touches needs checking, validating, reworking or just quietly abandoned in favour of “the old way.” The issue isn’t capability, it’s trust.
And that caution isn’t misplaced. That’s why we at TCDI built that trust into the process itself. Our human-in-the-loop approach means quality engineers stay close to the technology, validating outputs, refining prompts and strengthening performance as the system learns. It’s simply how the technology evolves and becomes more reliable over time.
Reality Check: The Market Isn’t Waiting
Beyond the proverbial bear, one panel asked whether firms are being disadvantaged by using or not using GenAI. The answer was, “not yet.” The more interesting part was the unspoken, “it’s coming.”
Conversations unsurprisingly turned to fee pressures tightening, how clients are asking more challenging questions, and the fact that new entrants like Garfield are proof that the market is changing rapidly. It feels a bit like the taxi industry before Uber arrived. Everyone saw it coming, but few thought it would really change their business. We all know how that story ended.
The Sessions That Stood Out
For all the talk about technology, what really stood out were the discussions about the people behind it.
- Training people as well as machines: In the “New Era of eDiscovery” panel, Nick Soper, eDisclosure & Investigations Counsel at Peters & Peters, pointed out that we’re not only teaching systems how to perform tasks, we’re teaching teams how to use them wisely. The real challenge is finding the balance around where automation should stop and human judgment should start.
- Ethics and understanding technology: Lawyers can no longer afford to stand apart from technology. Understanding how these systems work is quickly become part of the job. You don’t need to know all the ins and outs, but you do need to understand the logic behind the tools you rely on.
- Process is essential: The Qatar case (Ayinde v London Borough of Haringey and Al-Haroun v Qatar National Bank) came up as an example of how quickly assumptions can form. What was first blamed on an AI hallucination turned out to be human error. It showed that reliable outcomes depend as much on process and human training as on the technology itself.
- Subject matter experts are the difference-makers: The firms moving fastest aren’t chasing new tools. They’re building strong partnerships between legal and technical minds, turning collaboration into capability.
The Road Ahead
The benefits of GenAI aren’t hard to grasp. It provides faster turnaround, lower costs and better use of human talent. The question is whether firms will adapt before those benefits become the baseline.
Legal Innovators showed that progress in this area isn’t consistent. Some firms are sprinting, some are jogging, some are still tying their shoes and others are even deciding whether to run or not! The difference is going to come down to mindset and trust, both in the tools and the people using them.
So yes, the bear is still out there. But, instead of running to beat the person next to you, let’s run with purpose and build something better together.
Andy Edler
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Andy is VP of Legal Services for TCDI in the UK. He is responsible for the management and development of existing client relationships and the growth of TCDI’s footprint in the legal and corporate market throughout Europe. With over 20 years of experience, Andy has helped major organisations transform operations, minimise cost, improve efficiency, and enhance customer experience with market leading technology and services.
