In legal practice, speed matters but certainty is critical. This tension sits at the heart of how many law firms are approaching generative AI. Attention is turning to how it can be used to speed up legal research while maintaining trust, the ability to verify its output and professional standards.<\/p>\n
At Holding Redlich, a commercial law firm, the chief knowledge officer Keren Smith says the business is taking a strategic approach, selectively adopting AI tools into legal research processes, guided by healthy skepticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t rushed into it by any means,\u201d she says. \u201cWe put our toe in the water early, prior to fully integrating AI into our legal research workflows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trust comes first<\/p>\n
That measured approach reflects a broader reality for law firms. Lawyers want to deliver faster answers and advice to clients, while also performing strongly in court, and being able to confidently account for every authority cited and conclusion reached.<\/p>\n
Smith says Holding Redlich is very particular about the AI tools it adopts: they must be verifiable platforms, such as those offered by Thomson Reuters, grounded in trusted research. The ideal tool facilitates fact-checking to help ensure hallucination-free content.<\/p>\n
Before rolling out new tools, the firm developed an internal AI usage policy that staff must agree to before gaining access. Risk management, Smith says, has always been a priority. \u201cPrior to rolling out any AI tool, you need to have a risk management strategy in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holding Redlich gives lawyers access to AI-enabled legal research tools as well as ongoing training so they can effectively use them. Lawyers are taught traditional research methods alongside AI-enabled workflows, including how to frame prompts effectively and assess results critically.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also train lawyers in precision prompting, so that they know which terms and phrases will return relevant research results. Knowledge of correct legal terminology is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith says Thomson Reuters\u2019 tools have helped to build lawyers\u2019 confidence, and have particularly helped get junior lawyers up to speed quickly. Content on the legal research platform Westlaw Advantage Australia is updated daily and is linked to verifiable source material, ensuring research is current and accurate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomson Reuters has always been a reputable provider of legal content whose services we have subscribed to and trusted for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faster, verified research<\/p>\n
Once those foundations are in place, the impact of AI can go beyond improving efficiency; it can reshape how legal research is conducted day to day.<\/p>\n
Smith points to a recent example involving a newly arrived lawyer who tested Westlaw Advantage Australia on a live task. Research that would ordinarily have taken more than three hours took about 10 minutes. In busy practice, time savings such as that can quickly add up.<\/p>\n
Just as important, Smith says, is the ability to verify outputs through linked citations and authoritative source material, rather than relying on opaque responses.<\/p>\n
James Jarvis, the vice-president of Westlaw product management at Thomson Reuters, says this is where many AI conversations miss the point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people talk about AI, they\u2019ll focus on the fact that you can do things faster or easier with AI, but as professionals, lawyers need to be confident that the information and material that the AI is responding with is accurate,\u201d Jarvis says.<\/p>\n
The real value is not the research report that\u2019s generated, but how quickly it guides lawyers to the underlying authorities they must ultimately rely on, Jarvis says. AI may accelerate the path, but it does not replace the need for primary sources. He says the benefit of using advanced reasoning models and agentic AI \u2013 within a closed system such as Westlaw Advantage Australia \u2013 is that the technology is trained to respond using only the Australian legal information within the platform, eliminating the possibility of unreliable results.<\/p>\n
\u201cCritically, the point of this exercise is to get the lawyers to the relevant primary information more effectively. The goal isn\u2019t to stop with the research report; it\u2019s to use that as the springboard to the relevant primary law that they have to cite in court.\u201d<\/p>\n
In practice, research outputs are linked back to the source material. Users can see AI-generated summaries explaining why a case or statute is relevant, view the specific passages relied on, then move directly to the court-ready source document. The platform also flags where cases have later been considered or treated by the courts, helping lawyers assess whether the precedent remains sound.<\/p>\n
Verification must be designed into the workflow, Jarvis says, because even with the best intentions, checks can be missed or pushed aside when time runs short.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Westlaw Advantage Australia, verification isn\u2019t an extra step; it\u2019s baked in,\u201d Jarvis says. \u201cTools like our Litigation Document Analyser enable lawyers to check citations in real time, flagging references that can\u2019t be matched to authoritative sources.\u201d<\/p>\n
The competitive edge<\/p>\n
For Smith, the benefits of AI go well beyond faster research. By reducing time spent on routine tasks, the tools help lawyers do more work efficiently, while freeing them to focus on higher-value priorities such as client service, business development and strengthening relationships.<\/p>\n
In a competitive market these qualities can differentiate one firm from another.<\/p>\n
Despite the profession\u2019s caution around AI, Smith says Holding Redlich\u2019s lawyers have been eager to embrace tools such as Westlaw Advantage Australia. After 26 years in law, she sees AI\u2019s growing role in legal practice not as a leap into uncertainty, but as genuine progress \u2013 provided it is supported by strong governance, trusted content and rigorous training.<\/p>\n
For firms still deciding whether to move forward with AI tools, she says waiting too long can carry risks of its own.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s certainly a danger in not adopting it,\u201d Smith says. \u201cThe fact of the matter is, it\u2019s here and the real risk lies in not using it, rather than using it.\u201d<\/p>\n