Legora’s Global Client Advisory Board creates a forum for these discussions. It brings together representatives from leading international law firms to exchange experiences, discuss developments in legal AI and explore what they mean for legal practice and clients.
Tom van Helmond, Partner in our Life Sciences & Healthcare practice and member of Legora’s Global Client Advisory Board, shares why the next phase of legal AI will go beyond adoption, and what the adaptation journey would mean for our firm, our people, the wider profession, and our clients.
Our partnership with Legora is an important part of that journey. It gives our people access to new capabilities while giving us an opportunity to contribute to the wider conversation about where legal AI is heading and what that means for the profession.
Tom emphasises that “the discussions regarding the adaptation phase goes even beyond the tools themselves. The real focus is on how we adapt the way we work, deliver our services and create value for our clients as these possibilities continue to develop.”
The client conversation is evolving
Clients are increasingly embracing AI. That is changing the conversation they have with advisers. The question has moved from whether a law firm uses AI, to what that capability enables us to do differently.
AI is supporting lawyers work through larger volumes of information, approach research differently, and accelerate parts of legal work. “But speed alone is not the objective”, as Tom points out. What matters is how those capabilities are combined with legal expertise and professional judgement to better address clients’ needs and complex challenges.
“The real potential of AI comes when you start to move beyond efficiency. For clients, the value lies in what it enables us to do differently, and how we combine those possibilities with the expertise, creativity and judgement they expect from us. That is where the shift from adoption to adaptation becomes tangible.”
For Tom, a clear distinction in the adaptation process is understanding that it is not about replacing lawyers’ work with technology. Rather, it is about identifying where technology can strengthen our expertise and open new ways of delivering value. Discussions at Legora’s Global Client Advisory Board showed how product development can support that ambition, and the value of bringing law firm leaders and Legora together to help shape what comes next.
Adaptation goes beyond technology
That change does not stop with individual matters or workflows. As AI becomes more embedded in our work, we need to adapt around it: how we organise ourselves, how we develop our people and how we build the capabilities our clients will expect from us.
Our expertise, judgement and creativity remain fundamental. But so does knowing how and when to use AI, how to challenge its output with confidence, and how to combine new technological capabilities with a strong understanding of our clients’ needs.
For us, moving from adoption to adaptation means putting those capabilities into practice, and where possible developing new ways of working together with our clients, with professional judgement and client value at the very centre.
