You’ve had access to Lexis, Westlaw, Practical Law, your internal document database, your law firm’s memos, that HR compliance tracker, and a few other systems whose names you can’t quite recall - but let’s be honest: you mostly don’t use them.
Not because you’re lazy. Because you’re busy.
You’re fielding Slack messages from HR about a sensitive employee exit. A VP just asked for a one-pager on EU works councils. You need to prep for a board update, and your inbox is quietly becoming a fire hazard.
In this context, “learning a new tool” is not a priority. It’s not even on the same planet. You want trusted answers, quickly, in plain English- and if that means Googling “severance in Ontario” for the tenth time, so be it.
And now, here comes generative AI.
You’re hearing that it can summarize documents, draft memos, help with policy writing, and maybe even replace first-year associates. But you haven’t touched it. Not really. Maybe you asked ChatGPT to write a vacation email. Or maybe you opened a law firm’s demo tool once and closed it after two minutes.
You’re not alone. Most in-house lawyers I talk to fall into this camp. Not because they don’t get it. But because they’re not sure where to start- and frankly, they’re a little skeptical. The hype is overwhelming, the tools are multiplying, and your job is still very much on fire.
So what happens next?
I’ll offer a few observations, not prescriptions.
1. You are not behind.
Despite the headlines, we are still very early. Many tools are unreliable. Use cases are inconsistent. The gap between “impressive demo” and “daily utility” is real. It’s not that you’re missing the boat- it’s that the boat is still being built.
2. But you will need a point of view.
This tech isn’t going away. Eventually, your CFO or GC or outside counsel will ask what you’re using and why. At that point, saying “we’re waiting to see what happens” might feel riskier than dipping a toe in now. Start forming an opinion- even if it's just, here’s what we’ve tried, and here’s what did or didn’t work.
3. The win isn’t “doing AI.” It’s time.
Forget the flashy use cases for a moment. The real promise is getting time back. That means not searching five different sources to copy/paste the same clause. Not rewriting policies from scratch. Not being the only person who can answer the same employment law question across five countries.
If a tool can shave 20 minutes off a recurring task, that’s the kind of thing that compounds. Look for those compounding wins.
4. Start somewhere small and safe.
Pick one use case. Something low-risk. Maybe it’s reviewing your own handbook for outdated language. Maybe it’s summarizing policy changes for your business leads. Try one tool. You don’t need a roadmap for the whole future- just a foothold. You will build confidence and expertise from there.
5. The real skill isn’t prompt writing. It’s judgment.
No one’s expecting you to become an AI engineer. But being able to test a tool, understand its limitations, and know when to trust (or not trust) its output? That’s the job your already do. This isn’t about reinvention. It’s about applying legal judgment to new inputs.
Most of all, know this: your instincts are probably right. If something feels too risky, too noisy, too brittle- it probably is, for now. But that doesn't mean you opt out forever. Tools are getting better quickly.
The tools you had before weren’t helpful because they weren’t built around your time constraints or your workflow. Generative AI could be different. It should be different. But only if the people doing the real work- like you- start shaping how it gets used.
Don’t start because you have to. Start because this time, you might actually get something useful back.
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