What is AI doing to change the game in litigation?
Speakers
- Tom Plowman (Group General Counsel & Company Secretary, Technetix)
- Alex Bishop (Head of Litigation, Risk & Compliance, Shoosmiths)
- Gary Foster (Managing Director of Disputes & Investigations, Alvarez & Marsal)
The top themes explored in this session were…
AI is happening and it's happening now. It is impacting litigation both as a risk and an opportunity. Businesses need strong governance to avoid disputes, but those who harness AI effectively gain speed, accuracy and cost advantages.
AI is already impacting risk in relation to employment issues, privacy and data, IP, contractual issues and class actions and it’s a growing concern. In Shoosmiths 2025 Litigation Risk report, which surveys 360 GCs within large organisations, AI is identified as one of the key risks over the next 3 years, with 88% of respondents stating that discrimination claims resulting from AI-powered decision making is a high or moderate risk.
AI use is becoming a genuine strategic advantage in disputes. Teams using AI for disclosure, review and pattern analysis are already gaining a material edge – in Shoosmiths risk report, 71% of respondents said they had adopted AI for disclosure or planned to over the next 12 months. The quiet “AI arms race” in litigation has begun.
Top things that attendees should take away from the session:
- It's happening now: AI is fundamentally reshaping litigation by introducing new risks, strategic challenges, and operational efficiencies, but human oversight remains essential, and those who embrace AI are likely to thrive in the evolving legal landscape.
- Strategic use: Larger firms with access to advanced AI tools may gain a strategic advantage in litigation, potentially outgunning smaller firms. There are emerging disputes over the use of AI in e-disclosure and document review, with some firms over-relying on AI and making mistakes that can be exploited by the opposition. Savvy firms are sense-checking AI-generated outputs from the other side for errors.
- Evolving acceptance: Courts and clients are moving faster than many expect. GCs and in-house teams increasingly expect AI-enabled workflows. Early judicial signals from Bermuda and Cayman show that courts are open to AI-assisted review, with the UK courts expected to follow soon. Regulators are also adopting AI tools, and there is little pushback from the legal community—most general counsel now expect external advisors to use AI. However, courts and practitioners emphasise the need for human review of AI outputs, treating AI as a “decent trainee” whose work must be checked.
- Privilege remains a major concern: In the breakout, we unpacked privilege challenges and what in-house teams can do to preserve and defend privilege when using AI. You may not avoid the argument, but you can make your position defensible. Remember, a key facet of privilege is confidentiality so if using a publicly available Chatbot/Transformer, the likelihood is, privilege could be lost if privileged material is shared.