Legal technology continues to be a hot topic within the legal sector, particularly with recent advancements in Generative AI (GenAI). I recently attended the LegalTech in the South West event at the Bristol Beacon where I gained invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of legal technology and its continuing impact on the industry. Consisting of a variety of talks, panel sessions and workshops with a theme of people before tech, the day homed in on the human element in this technical evolution.

Key takeaways include:

Generative AI is exciting but are the realities masked by the hype? 

• An engaging law firm panel session discussed where the hype for GenAI originates and whether this hype is muddying the waters when it comes to choosing the right legal AI tool. 
• The panel highlighted the need to think beyond the glamour of AI and really focus on its use cases. 
• Although, the panel did recognise the shift within law firms to a more pragmatic understanding of AI’s capabilities and limitations. 
• With the increasing use of GenAI, the panel noted the importance of data quality and the necessity to sort and filter data to avoid the pitfalls of "rubbish in, rubbish out". 

Remote working brings cybersecurity challenges

• Another noteworthy session focused on cybersecurity challenges in the legal sector. 
• With many firms now working remotely, the panel discussed whether the effectiveness of cybersecurity defences is diminishing. Arctic Wolf reported that phishing attempts are up by 500 %, and that people are more likely to lose intuition and vigilance when working from home.  
• This is something organisations need to work on, but fear-driven education will not solve the problem. Rather, there needs to be a focus on why and how we mitigate cybersecurity risks.

Could we see the death of the billable hour? 

• Overall, the event brought the discussion over the billable hour to the forefront. If legal tech and the use of GenAI continues to evolve, and the time spent on client matters reduces because of it, is there room for the billable hour? 
• Of course, this is influenced by other factors more widely than just legal tech and the use of GenAI, but it is an interesting debate that keeps cropping up!
• Interestingly, a specific session on the role of human oversight in document automation concluded AI will never completely replace the lawyer. Due to the complexity of the law and the tasks lawyers perform, expert lawyer oversight will remain indispensable. 

In summary, the sessions reinforced the importance of balancing technological advancements with human expertise to enhance client service and operational efficiency. Thank you to LegalTech in the South West (https://ltinsw.com/) for hosting a great event!

This article was written by Holly Murcott, Apprentice Legal Technologist