In early summer, Lindahl took part in the TerraLex Global Meeting which, as usual, gathered together hundreds of lawyers from different parts of the world. Though the stated theme of the conference was “better collaboration between firms”, the discussions were largely about AI and ChatGPT.
TerraLex is one of the world’s leading networks of independent law firms with approximately 130 member firms from 118 countries, which means a total of 22,000 lawyers. Advokatfirman Lindahl has been the sole Swedish law firm in the network and an active member of the organisation since 2010. We asked Johan Herrström, partner and Chairperson of Lindahl, what he took away from the last global meeting.
“What is mainly striking about these meetings is how important it is to get outside your own sphere. To gain an insight into how firms are run in other countries and the types of challenges and problems they face. And what is striking is that, regardless of whether I talk to people from London, New York or Frankfurt, the challenges are largely the same as the ones we face,” says Johan, who was representing Lindahl along with Gunnar Mattsson and Magnus Myrbäck Ivarsson.
The themes of last year’s TerraLex Global Meetings were ESG and inclusion and diversity. This time the focus was on how to improve cooperation between firms. However, another topic came to dominate the discussions at the venue.
“What we talked most about was ChatGPT and how we should use and relate to AI in the industry. It’s incredibly exciting to be able to experience and adopt advanced, revolutionary technology, but there are many aspects that we need to consider.”
Can you tell us a little more about the issues discussed in relation to AI?
“The legal perspective, of course. How to use AI in a way that is secure, accurate and that creates value for our clients. But we talked even more about the next generation of lawyers and the challenges for the supply of skills in the industry when a large proportion of the work can be automated. We need to think about this, so that newly-graduated employees also have an opportunity to learn the work in a way that develops them and is meaningful for them.
But, having said that, it is incredibly valuable just to be able to discuss these issues with other firms in order to find the right way forward together, on matters such as the supply of skills for example. Technology is advancing and it’s important for us as a firm, an industry and a profession to find the right path, for our own sake and for the sake of our clients,” concludes Johan Herrström.
