Previously in Part 1, we explored why AI still feels like the “Wild West” in legal — from risky behavior and overreaction to the practical red-yellow-green guardrails firms can use to regain control. In Part 2, we’ll focus on what comes next: turning AI into real results, building the right working group and defining what “good” looks like in practice.
Turn AI into measurable results
AI is not just a risk story. Done right, it eliminates drudgery and gives attorneys time back for higher-value work.
Drafting and cleanup. Use approved tools to get from blank page to first draft on job descriptions, basic IT or HR policies, and internal communications. Expect 60% of the way there, then apply legal judgment.
Research accelerators. For marketing or operations, AI can quickly vet long lists, identify non-targets and cluster similar entities. Human review is still required, but the heavy lift is handled.
Matter support. In legal-specific and document-management-protected environments, attorneys can summarize discovery sets, generate chronologies and explore theory alternatives without moving data to consumer apps. This is where tool choice matters most — stay green zone only.
The constant across all of these is human oversight. Treat AI like a first-year associate: valuable, fast and never the final authority. Require citations where appropriate and make review explicit in your policy.
Tip: Want a simple way to help your team get better outputs from AI? Download our AI Quick Start Guide for Law Firms — it’s a two-page resource with examples, best practices and pitfalls to avoid.
Build the right working group
An effective AI committee is cross-functional and candid. Include someone eager to try every new tool, someone skeptical by default and the people who will own security, ethics and client guidelines. Give the group two jobs:
Curate the palette. Identify a small, purposeful set of tools that cover your firm’s needs — research, drafting, document automation, practice-specific tasks — and keep the list current.
Communicate and train. Publish the red-yellow-green page, record short demos, host lunch-and-learns and keep the conversation open. When people understand what’s approved and why, shadow IT drops.
What “good” looks like
Firms that are getting this right share a few habits:
Short policy, strong culture. They use a concise policy backed by ongoing reminders, not shelfware no one reads.
Security by design. They evaluate tools for retention, data use and access controls up front, then monitor usage with periodic reports.
Attorney experience first. They choose workflows that don’t force lawyers to reinvent habits that already work. Approved tools show up where attorneys live — in the DMS, the desktop and core practice apps.
Iteration over perfection. They expect the landscape to change and adjust quarterly. Green lists evolve. Yellow zones narrow as vendors mature.
The path forward
AI in legal is moving faster than any prior technology shift. Blocking everything will slow you down, but won’t stop adoption. Ignoring it won’t protect you. The sustainable middle is clear guardrails plus intentional enablement.
Start with your red-yellow-green page. Name your working group. Approve a small set of tools that meet your security and retention standards. Require human review and train people how to get high-quality outputs with simple, specific prompts. Do those things and you’ll defuse risk while unlocking the real reason AI matters, giving your teams back time to practice law.
Ready to see what this looks like in practice? Watch our on-demand session, The Wild West of AI in Law Firms, for examples, guardrail templates and prompting tips you can use today.
Want practical tools to get started? Download our AI Quick Start Guide for Law Firms, a quick reference to help your team ask better questions, avoid common pitfalls and get real results from AI.