AI is no longer a sci-fi side plot. It’s right there in your inbox, your calendar, and probably lurking in the software licences someone approved three months ago.

And if you’re like many in-house legal teams, you’re not ignoring AI – you’re just not quite using it. Yet.

The good news? You don’t need to splash out on new tech or suddenly become a coder. You just need a plan.

The real blockers: noise and nerves

Let’s be honest. The AI landscape is loud. Tools claiming to be the silver bullet for legal ops keep popping up – each promising to revolutionise your workflow, save hours a day, and make you a better person while they’re at it.

It’s overwhelming. And without a clear plan for what you need and why, it’s easy to end up with “shelfware” – expensive tools gathering virtual dust.

Then there’s the compliance elephant in the room. For good reason, legal teams worry about where data’s going, how tools process it, and whether anything breaches confidentiality. Governance is important. But it shouldn’t stop you from exploring low-risk ways to test what’s already at your fingertips.

Start with your own stress

Here’s a different way to approach it: ask yourself what’s making your day harder than it needs to be.

• Can’t get on top of meeting notes?
• Buried in unread emails?
• Prepping the same board slides over and over?

Those friction points are your AI entry points. Start small. Start personal.

Think of AI as an invisible assistant – one that never takes holiday and doesn’t mind chasing you for that red-flagged task you’ve been ignoring.

Five unsexy, underrated AI wins for legal teams

You don’t need a new platform. Just a new mindset. Here are ways in-house lawyers are already using AI (quietly and effectively):

• Auto-summarising meetings and emails.
• Generating first drafts of contracts, policies, and updates.
• Automating task reminders and follow-ups.
• Instantly surfacing past advice from emails or documents.
• Building prompt libraries for common tasks and questions.

None of these require coding. Many use tools you’ve already got access to – like Microsoft Copilot, Google Workspace, or even ChatGPT in your browser.

No code? No problem.

You don’t need an IT degree to get value from automation. Tools like Power Automate or Zapier let you link your inbox, calendar, and legal tracker with simple drag-and-drop workflows. And now they’ve got built-in AI helpers that basically build the workflow for you.

Want every new NDA request to be logged in your tracker and flagged if it’s urgent? Done.

Want your team’s weekly wins to auto-populate into a shared doc for your exec update? Easy.

Looking ahead: AI agents and Custom GPTs

If you’re ready to level up, explore AI “agents” – multi-step bots that act on instructions like, “Every Friday, pull data from X, Y, and Z, write a report, and email it to the COO.”

Or try custom GPTs. These are AI bots trained on your tone, templates, and FAQs. You could build one to help business teams self-serve basic contract queries, or prep junior lawyers for complex reviews.

The point isn’t to chase the trend. It’s to solve real problems, faster.

Don’t go it alone

Some of the best AI ideas for legal don’t come from legal. Other departments – sales, marketing, ops – may already be using AI in smart ways. Borrow their playbook. Ask what’s working. Swap tips.

Then, create your own internal hype. A weekly “AI win” message in Slack, or a shared prompt library, can go a long way in building momentum and team confidence.

Where to start (today)

Here’s a five-minute action plan:

• Do a quick self-audit: What slows you down every day?
• Ask your team the same.
• Pick one pain point. Experiment with an AI tool you already have.
• Capture what works – a prompt, a shortcut, a workflow.
• Share it.

Got someone on the team itching to go deeper? Brilliant. Let them. Sometimes your most junior team member is your most powerful digital native.

Final thought

AI isn’t about replacing legal work. It’s about freeing up space for better legal work – the kind that makes a difference to your business. Don’t let perfectionism or policy paralysis stop you from trying.

The tools are here. The use cases are real. And your invisible assistant is waiting.

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