Law firms will grasp the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to protect ‘Chinese walls’ in 2019, according to a multinational IT company.
AI is already widely used across large law firms to speed up keyword searches and document review. However, Peter Wallqvist, vice president of strategy at IT company iManage, predicts lawyers will see a bigger role for AI in knowledge management.
‘Compliance with regulations is viewed by many law firms today as an obstacle to collaboration and sharing of matter-related information, which often contains confidential personal data,’ he said.
‘At the same time, typically, there are “Chinese walls” within the organisation that lawyers need to observe to protect confidential matters and limit conflict of interest with other clients. Law firms will realise that AI offers potential for true knowledge management and internal collaboration across teams and geographies, while protecting lawyers from inadvertently breaching the boundaries set by regulation and the Chinese walls.’
