Using numerous separate AI tools to increase productivity can often lead to more headaches for law firms. Kerri Dearing, VP of international at NetDocuments, explains how an intelligent DMS brings the power of AI tools together to help firms reach new levels of efficiency.
Generative AI (genAI) looks like it's here to stay, with Gartner forecasting global spending on genAI products and services across industries to reach US$7.4bn in 2025.
The legal industry is no exception to this trend, as law firms have begun to adopt AI tools and apply the technology to different use cases. From accelerating common legal tasks — such as summarising and drafting documents — to litigation analysis, firms have the potential to unlock huge benefits from AI, particularly when it comes to boosting productivity and efficiency.
Today, over half (57%) of law firms see a role for genAI in producing legal work for clients, according to the latest Briefing/HSBC UK report. At the same time, the technology is evolving at such a pace, it can be difficult for organisations to keep up. So how can firms continue to improve their use of AI to drive productivity and efficiency, without amassing AI tool sprawl and compromising on security concerns?
Overcoming the AI point solution complexity
With so many different legal AI point solutions entering the market, it can be difficult for firms to roll out a coherent and well-governed AI strategy. Ultimately, they can find themselves adding to IT complexity, managing multiple vendors, and still only solving a single problem.
To use an analogy, streaming services were meant to revolutionise our access to entertainment, consolidating our favourite shows and films in one place. Yet the reality is far more complex, with users navigating multiple apps and subscriptions just to find what they want to watch.
The legal industry is facing a similar challenge with AI. The proliferation of disconnected, point AI solutions is complicating workflows, rather than simplifying them. Whether it's reviewing contracts, summarising extensive documents, or uncovering key insights within existing files, the constant need to switch between tools is a barrier to the seamless experience firms seek. This costly 'toggle tax' breeds user frustration and technological complexity rather than clarity.
When AI is embedded within a DMS, firms have the capability to automate a vast array of high-value use cases within a single, secure platform. With advancements like semantic search and AI chatbots, firms can also significantly enhance productivity across departments, providing legal professionals with essential tools that integrate naturally into their daily tasks—without disruption
Firms handle sensitive documents constantly, so maintaining security when introducing new technologies must remain the highest priority. However, extracting content from a law firm's document management system (DMS) to process it through isolated AI systems poses significant risks. Each time sensitive information is removed from a centralised DMS to interact with disparate AI tools, new vulnerabilities can emerge that undermine data security.
To improve legal workflows and use AI tools in a secure manner, firms need secure and unified platforms that streamline processes and elevate productivity. True transformation lies in integrated, cohesive AI ecosystems that elevate efficiency and empower legal professionals to focus on higher-value work.
Enter the intelligent DMS.
Integrating AI in the right way
By using an intelligent DMS that brings AI to their content (rather than bringing content to their AI), law firms can derive immediate value without having to shop around and integrate individual point AI solutions. This reduces IT management overheads and ensures legal professionals can work more productively, as they are no longer required to jump between different applications.
AI integrated in a firm's DMS acts as a lens that sits on top of existing knowledge, magnifying insights and clarifying answers. All of this is achieved without moving content, thus mitigating security and data governance concerns. But what happens with the answers and insights generated? Law firms can integrate them seamlessly into workflows to inform and elevate future work.
When AI is embedded within a DMS, firms have the capability to automate a vast array of high-value use cases within a single, secure platform. With advancements like semantic search and AI chatbots, firms can also significantly enhance productivity across departments, providing legal professionals with essential tools that integrate naturally into their daily tasks—without disruption. This approach positions AI as a true enabler of streamlined, high-impact work.
The DMS is evolving from a foundational content management platform into the strategic hub that will form the backbone of a legal organisation's AI-driven future. Firms can no longer hope to get by with a patchwork of loosely integrated technologies. Today's advanced AI and automation capabilities must be seamlessly integrated into daily workflows — transforming the DMS into a platform that not only stores documents, but also interprets, organises and retrieves them with precision and ease. This shift will empower legal professionals to work more intelligently and efficiently, offering a competitive edge in a landscape where productivity and client service are paramount.
By taking AI to their content instead of the other way around, legal firms can reduce risk while meeting future agility and innovation demands. Now is the time to get intelligent with document management.
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