The
same
legal
community
that
considered
email
a
passing
fad
that
could
never
replace
the
“intraoffice
sweep”
has
seemingly
increasingly
abandoned
caution
as
generative
AI
expands.
And
that’s
not
exactly
an
exciting
prospect
for
firm
tech
professionals.
Hill
Dickinson,
a
UK-based
firm
with
offices
in
Asia
and
the
Mediterranean,
had
to
send
out
an
email
blast
telling
lawyers
to
knock
off
all
the
AI
stuff
after
realizing
just
how
often
the
firm
used
generative
AI
tools
in
their
work.
And
not
necessarily
just
to
write
thank
you
notes:
In
the
email,
Hill
Dickinson’s
chief
technology
officer
said
the
law
firm
had
detected
more
than
32,000
hits
to
the
popular
chatbot
ChatGPT
over
a
seven-day
period
in
January
and
February.During
the
same
timeframe,
there
were
also
more
than
3,000
hits
to
the
Chinese
AI
service
DeepSeek,
which
was
recently banned
from
Australian
government
devices
over
security
concerns.It
also
highlighted
almost
50,000
hits
to
Grammarly,
the
writing
assistance
tool.
I
hope
every
one
of
those
Grammarly
hits
were
saying,
“Why
are
you
putting
an
extra
‘u’
in
all
these
words?”
To
be
clear,
Hill
Dickinson
is
forward-thinking
when
it
comes
to
AI
usage.
But
that’s
not
the
same
as
techno-anarchy.
“Like
many
law
firms,
we
are
aiming
to
positively
embrace
the
use
of
AI
tools
to
enhance
our
capabilities
while
always
ensuring
safe
and
proper
use
by
our
people
and
for
our
clients.”
With
that
in
mind,
the
firm
is
reining
in
AI
usage,
only
granting
access
upon
request.
Not
to
be
a
broken
record,
but
this
is
exactly
why
trusted
legal
tech
providers
are
throwing
serious
money
at
developing
AI
designed
specifically
for
the
law
firm
environment.
Everyone
wants
AI
to
provide
security,
confidentiality,
and
accuracy,
but
law
firms
actually
need
it.
Preferably
one
that
can
provide
answers
without
turning
that
motion
into
an
ethics
investigation.
Or
loading
your
client’s
trade
secrets
onto
a
random
server
in
Shanghai.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.