How law firms should change in the generative AI era
Hello, this is Legal Agent.
An instruction to outside counsel can leave work for the internal team at both ends. Before forwarding a file, corporate legal teams interpret rough business inquiries, isolate core risks, and formulate distinct questions for external attorneys. After receiving formal legal advice, the internal team may still need to explain the advice to the business and decide how to use it in negotiations. That work can take a substantial part of the team's time.
Traditional law firm staffing structures
In a firm using a pyramid structure, work may pass between staff, associates and partners before an answer reaches the client. Several levels of review can help with training and quality on complex matters, but several rounds of review can lengthen delivery times for routine commercial agreements and direct operational questions. Even technically precise analysis loses value when delivery lags past commercial deadlines.
Preliminary drafting and issue identification
Generative technology assists early-stage preparation: highlighting differences between contract terms, drafting preliminary revisions, analyzing counterparty negotiation comments, and comparing terms against historical precedent. Software does not replace professional representation. The lawyer still checks the facts and legal analysis, sets the advice and takes responsibility for the work sent in the firm's name. Using AI for a first draft can leave more time to assess the risks and the options for the deal.
The inverted pyramid model
Rather than relying on sequential human drafting tiers, firms can apply automated tools for initial document intake while senior practitioners review output and exercise legal judgment. In financing transactions, automated tools help surface standard points from investor and issuer perspectives, allowing counsel to focus directly on necessary amendments aligned with cap tables and deal progress.
Help before the request and after the answer
Outside counsel can also help frame the question and explain the answer to the business. That is worth considering alongside the time taken to produce the legal advice. Attorneys who receive direct communications from operating units, identify primary concerns, ask focused clarifying questions, and deliver proposals aligned with company policy shift from isolated advisors into active transaction partners, which can reduce the work left with the internal team.