Balancing the risk and opportunity of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption means solicitors are increasingly being asked to assess the risk of AI usage across an organisation without blocking innovation.
“The use cases are coming in thick and fast, and we’re doing legal risk assessments across so much of the bank,” says Tyler Dearson, head of legal risk management and strategy at Barclays UK.
While AI is the cause of this additional workload, using AI to help assess use cases has also been part of the legal team’s solution.
“It’s a scale-problem, and AI is great at tackling scale problems,” explains Tyler.
In some ways, AI risk is managed in the same way as other risks, he adds.
“We have training, guidelines, governance, controls, escalation protocols, and support teams. The list goes on.”
But there is one big factor that needs to be considered carefully, he adds – the technology is evolving fast.
“As things change rapidly, the formal controls and governance frameworks aren’t going to be cover everything; lawyers will still have to take accountability for their advice.”
Tyler believes a close partnership between technology and legal teams is crucial.
“Our tech team do fantastic work in the way they implement and configure our AI tools so that risk management is built-in”, he says.
At Barclays UK, the teams work together on ‘controls by design’. For example, an AI tool can be “configured to challenge users if they try to use it in a way that would create unacceptable risk”.
“We’re not yet at the point where one tool does everything, despite what some people will tell you in sales pitches. It’s about tailoring your technology,” he adds.
Matching technology to your team’s needs
In-house legal teams are exploring to use AI effectively and responsibly in their own work.
The legal team at Cambridge University Press & Assessment is starting to see the benefits of how AI can free up solicitors’ time for more strategic work.
“We have a legal-specific tool, Wordsmith”, says Catie Sheret, the organisation’s general counsel.
“But there’s lots of good stuff that can happen with the more generic tools. Perplexity is brilliant for research, and Copilot has helped me a lot with organising team activities.”
At the same time, Catie is conscious that the team needs to avoid ‘cognitive surrender’ – where people use AI outputs and decisions without logical thinking.
“We must keep thinking about this as a profession,” she says. “This is all moving fast and I can even feel my own ability to deal with a blank sheet of paper being eroded. AI can become a go-to.”
This concern is echoed by Lucinda Soon, a research and policy adviser on legal ethics and wellbeing.
“In the age of AI, it’s even more important to think critically and weigh the evidence.
“Many ethical situations are difficult to navigate. Sometimes decisions must be made quickly, but often you need to pause to recognise the uncertainty in a situation.”
Taking a ‘mindful’ approach to AI has helped Catie’s team – particularly when training junior solicitors.
The team brought in an external expert to discuss a step-by-step framework for using AI thoughtfully.
Knowing when to use AI in the process is the key, she adds: “When you haven’t got time to think about your prompt, the quality of the work that comes out of an AI tool isn’t as good as when you start the work yourself and then go to AI to check or challenge it.”
Supporting and influencing environment, social and governance (ESG) strategies
Shifts in international policies have not necessarily impacted the focus on ESG activities, says Anthony Kenny, assistant general counsel at GSK – although the issues might seem less visible.
He says, “there’s this term called ‘greenhushing’ that I think is becoming quite common”.
Businesses are not slowing down because they can’t. For example, changes being introduced by the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and other incoming human rights legislation will require a lot of work, Anthony explains.
“I think organisations are as focused as they were on these things, but they may not be talking about it as much.”
In-house solicitors may not be aware of the impact they could have on driving environmental policy within their business, adds Catie, who is also a member of the Law Society’s Climate Change Committee.
“Speaking to other passionate GCs made me realise how much I could be contributing as a lawyer.”
Catie’s team make “a big contribution to organisational progress on ESG” by engaging with procurement on contracting and due diligence.
Whether on carbon footprint or human rights, she says, that “is often where the crunch point is”.
Like Anthony, Catie doesn’t think her focus on ESG will change any time soon.
A proliferation of “very complex regulations” has led her organisation to refine its approach to horizon scanning.
“AI has helped us be much more systematic, which has helped us keep on top of things.”
Catie is conscious of the tension in using AI to support sustainability efforts, given the environmental impact associated with data centres.
She is fortunate to be supported by Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s digital sustainability team, which is working hard to gather data on such factors as the environmental impact of AI from the technology providers, so the organisation can push for greater transparency and drive responsible use.
Ethics and wellbeing go together
Uncertainty – whether through technology, environmental concerns or politics – can have a big impact on organisations. That can result in stress and high workload for legal teams.
For in-house solicitors, what is the knock-on effect of those pressures?
The intersection between ethics and wellbeing needs closer attention, says Lucinda. “Heavy workloads, chronic stress, and fatigue can increase the risk of making mistakes.”
The management of ‘psychosocial risks’ – risk factors for mental health in workplaces – is central to ensuring psychologically safe and healthy working environments.
Identifying and assessing these risks enables organisations and in-house teams to implement targeted interventions and design work systems that mitigate harm.
Ethical decisions are more likely to be made when solicitors have psychological safety, says Catie, who credits her CEO with creating an environment where the team feels comfortable raising issues.
“I haven’t got a very good poker face, and he knows when I am worried about something, or don’t approve of something,” explains Catie. “I feel as though I can always speak up.”
Psychosocial risk is increasingly being measured, too. “We’re seeing quite big shifts in Australia, for example, where primary legislation now requires all organisations to carry out psychosocial risk assessments,” adds Lucinda.
“Measuring the risk level helps to identify pockets for improvement, so you can come up with solutions. Ultimately, it’s about building behaviours and trust over time.
“Developing a psychologically safe environment is more than simply saying ‘this is a psychological safe environment’. It needs to be supported by having the right structures in place and nurturing the right conditions for people to feel it is safe to speak up.”
“In most organisations, people are not looking to be bad people,” adds Anthony. “Most of the stress is because people are expected to find a solution in an area that’s untested.”
If you are in a challenging ‘grey area’ situation, “talk to someone, reach out and get support because no matter what size organisation you’re in, this can be quite lonely sometimes”, he adds.
Optimism through uncertainty
Navigating change requires a positive approach, adds Tyler. Ultimately, clients want a ‘trusted adviser’ – someone who is doing the higher level of thinking.
“I’m an optimist,” he explains. “A lot of what we’re doing right now is all reducing what has been the lower value work. What this all points to is creating more thinking time for teams – creating headroom.
“We have a vision of what our legal function should be and will be in the future. Our business is encouraging it. I think they’re excited that we’ll be able to deliver more value.”
Anthony’s advice for building trust with internal teams? “Run to a crisis”.
He has worked within organisations to become someone who is known for helping colleagues in different departments through difficult situations.
“Show what you can do,” he says. “Do it to accelerate your knowledge of the business, but also your leadership.
“If you get through it – and it can be painful – your life in-house will be different”.
This article is based on our panel discussion ‘In-house solicitors as trusted advisers in an age of change’, held at our in-house conference at 113 Chancery Lane on Thursday 2 July 2026.
