Can you tell us how your team first started engaging with AI?

“At first, we approached it very practically. How can we work more effectively and make our legal knowledge more accessible? In a large organisation like PFA, there’s a lot of expertise spread across different people and departments. The challenge is that so much of this expertise remains trapped in emails or individual knowledge. So when we started exploring Legora, the idea wasn’t just automation, but also connection – using AI as a stepping stone for creating a system and improving the ways in which that collective knowledge could be shared and reused.”

“It’s not just about efficiency. For us, using an AI platform is also a cultural thing. It signals that we’re a company willing to learn, experiment, and modernise. We want to be innovative and be a part of the AI journey from the very beginning, ensuring high effectiveness and actively developing our staff's capabilities to stay at the forefront of legal innovation. That’s very much in line with PFA’s values.”

So it’s as much about collaboration and employer branding as it is about technology?

“Exactly. When people see that we’re using advanced tools to work smarter, it tells them something about who we are as an employer. It shows that we’re forward-looking, that we provide development opportunities for our legal professionals, and that we care about staying relevant in a changing world.”

“I think it helps with recruitment, too. Especially the younger lawyers expect to use technology in their work. They want to join organisations where digitalisation is not just a buzzword but something real. When we use AI thoughtfully, it strengthens that message.” 

What kind of difference has AI made in your team’s day-to-day work so far?

“It’s still early days, but what strikes me most is how it transforms our daily workflow. We no longer have to spend ages hunting for the right documents. The knowledge we need is just there, instantly accessible. We've found this makes it more achievable to reach a high level of knowledge in new legal areas, allowing us to more easily develop and spread our expertise and provide valuable counsel.”

“And what's also fascinating is how it shifts the dynamic of our work. When everyone has easy access to the same information, collaboration becomes more strategic. Instead of spending time figuring out who knows what, we can focus on applying that collective knowledge to solve actual problems. It's about building on each other's expertise rather than working in silos.”

What do you think are the biggest opportunities for legal teams using AI?

“For me, the biggest opportunity is freeing time for real thinking and strategic work. Lawyers spend a lot of time doing repetitive work, whether that’s searching, formatting, or proofreading. AI can handle a lot of that. It doesn’t replace legal judgment, but it supports it. It lets us focus on strategy, on the questions that actually require human decision-making.”

“That’s essential in an in-house role. Our job isn’t only to interpret law, it’s to help the business make the right choices. The less time we spend fighting with documents, the more time we have for that advisory role.”

“AI also enables us to process and integrate complex and technical information in the legal counselling of the business, which makes the quality of the legal advice provided by inhouse legal professionals so much more valuable. It will reshape how our legal team will interact and collaborate with our organisation.”

How do you think the profession is changing, and what skills will lawyers need to thrive in the next decade?

“It’s changing enormously. When I started out, legal work was almost entirely about precision and precedent. Now it’s also about communication, technology, and data. Future lawyers need to be curious, not afraid to learn something or to try a new tool.”

“I think adaptability and a growth mindset will be the key skills. The law itself will always matter, but the context in which we apply it is evolving quickly. Being able to translate complex legal insights into something a business or a client can understand is just as important now as drafting the perfect clause.”

Do you think AI will change the nature of legal expertise?

“I think it already has, but in a positive way. The right AI tool doesn’t take away from our expertise, it enhances it. It gives us better access to information, helps us make more informed decisions, and reduces the friction in our daily work.”

“Sometimes people worry that technology will make law less human. But I actually think it’s the opposite: if we use AI well, it gives us more space to be human – to focus on creativity, judgment, and the relationships that matter.”

“The best tools are the ones that make things clearer. Legal work can be very complex, and sometimes we hide behind that complexity. AI, when used responsibly, helps simplify without dumbing down. It brings clarity to both the lawyer and the business.”

What would you say to other legal teams who are thinking about using AI but haven’t yet taken the leap?

“Start small, and be curious. It doesn’t have to be a massive transformation from day one. Choose one process or task where you know you can make a real difference. Learn from that. Build confidence step by step.”

“And most importantly, involve your people. The success of any technology depends on how it’s used. When lawyers see that AI is there to support them, not replace them, they become open to it. That’s when it starts to really work.”

That seems to reflect what we see in our Shapers conversations, that technology works best when it’s built around people.

“For us, technology like Legora is about connecting what we know across the department. That’s powerful. It means we’re not just adapting to change – we’re helping to shape it.”