Extract from Jeffrey Wolff’s article “A Chief Legal Officer’s Guide to AI-Based eDiscovery and Analytics”
As a Chief Legal Officer (CLO), you wear a number of different hats. You’re responsible for managing your organization’s risk profile in both legal and regulatory compliance issues, overseeing current matters, and supervising the legal department—and on top of that, you need to dedicate a substantial portion of your time to strategic guidance for the rest of the business. If you feel like you’re stretched too thin, you’re not alone.
But there’s a willing assistant ready to help you out whenever you ask. This assistant doesn’t mind drudgery and will never complain about doing the same task over and over (and over). Nor does this helper shy away from massive reams of data—in fact, this assistant needs that data to do its job. We’re talking, of course, about artificial intelligence (AI), which can streamline work processes, knock out repetitive tasks with ease, and sift through piles of data in short order, highlighting the potentially interesting portions for human review.
This blog post reviews the role of a CLO and the benefits of AI before outlining six ways that CLOs can use AI to improve their eDiscovery workflows.
The role of a Chief Legal Officer
The Chief Legal Officer (CLO) should not be solely concerned with managing legal matters. Rather, this central position encompasses four different, but overlapping, roles or personas. The CLO should serve as:
- a guardian, in the traditional CLO role of mitigating risks, monitoring legal matters, and managing legal and regulatory concerns;
- an operator, optimizing legal processes, increasing the legal team’s efficiency and effectiveness, and managing legal talent;
- a catalyst, guiding the company in developing a positive culture and setting a “tone at the top” that will ensure both compliance and customer satisfaction;
- and a strategist, building relationships throughout the company and ensuring that legal strategies are aligned with the company’s overall business strategy.
