The Client-First Approach to AI Adoption at Law Firms
Shownotes
Denisa Kopandi, a senior associate at a leading Romanian law firm, joins to talk about LegalTechTalk 2026. The conversation quickly turns into an exploration of what it means for law firms to prepare for changes to the legal market caused by AI.
One key takeaway for me: one of the first steps for law firms looking to prepare for AI's impact on their business is to understand what their clients are doing to deploy AI and what it means for their needs for outside counsel.
So our conversation centers around a question that many law firms are still reluctant to confront: what happens when clients can do more legal work themselves?
Denisa shares what she heard from in-house teams that are experimenting with AI, legal operations, and workflow automation. We discuss how legal advice may need to evolve from lengthy memos into clearer rules, decision trees, and systems that can be embedded into business processes and AI agents. Along the way, we dig into the risks of that approach, including whether traditional legal advice translates effectively into AI-driven environments and who bears responsibility when it doesn't.
We also talk about how lawyers can move up the value chain. Rather than seeing AI as a threat, Denisa argues that it creates an opportunity for lawyers to become more strategic advisors—helping clients shape decisions before problems arise rather than drafting documents after the fact.
In terms of the mechanics, one important insight that Denisa shares is that you don't need everyone to become a power user. A few motivated individuals can do a lot to cause the entire team to level up. This should be encouraging news for anyone unsure how to get from a "cold start" to an AI sprint.
Another major theme is the future of legal training. It's a topic that is critical to the long-term sustainability of achieving an AI transformation at any legal enterprise. If AI takes over some of the work traditionally performed by junior associates, how do young lawyers develop judgment? Denisa offers a candid view from someone who is actively training junior lawyers today and explains why spotting AI mistakes may be more difficult than many people realize.
Finally, we discuss the billable hour, law firm economics, and whether AI will push firms toward new service models that better reflect the value lawyers create for clients.
This was a thoughtful conversation about client service, legal training, and the changing role of outside counsel. More than a discussion about technology, it's a discussion about how lawyers can stay relevant—and valuable—as their clients become increasingly sophisticated users of AI.
ALL VIEWS EXPRESSED OUR OWN
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