Hunter McMahon, COO, iDiscovery Solutions, Inc.
Automation and AI are streamlining processes and accelerating information retrieval. The real differentiator for advisors, consultants and legal professionals isn’t speed but judgment, experience and curiosity.
The best professionals will not just process data faster; they will ask better questions, challenge assumptions and leverage AI to uncover deeper insights. In professions where expertise, nuance and strategic thinking define success, AI isn’t a replacement—it’s a force multiplier.
Of course, that is balanced by the fact that those who rely on it blindly—without independent verification, critical thought or ethical considerations—will be at risk.
Trusted Advice
Advisory services (e.g., financial and legal) have always been built on critical thinking, expertise and trust. Those pillars don’t change, but AI will influence how they are built.
Take, for example, an advisor with decades of experience in a particular specialty. As you’ve probably done, they start building trust by sharing stories and examples of their experience to help illustrate their expertise. This isn’t the endgame, but it helps align interests and confidence in critical situations that are often stressful and distracting to the real business.
More directly, trust is established when you ultimately deliver on your commitments because results matter. There are no participation trophies in business, but I digress.
So, what if you could deliver those results faster? Better yet, what if you could provide more results with the same time and resources?
That’s where AI helps—not as a replacement but as an accelerator of value.
Accelerating, Not Decision-Making
The professionals who thrive in an AI-powered world won’t be those who resist change or blindly trust AI’s outputs. Instead, they will be those who understand where AI adds value, where it falls short and how to bridge the gap with their expertise.
Take litigation, for example. From a client’s perspective, it is often complex, leading to confusion, misunderstandings, frustration and high costs. This could be because developments may be fluid, new information contradicts prior assumptions, they are complex in nature or for many other reasons. The right AI can help digest all this information along with developments over time and craft a summary the business client can understand (free of legalese).
This type of summary could take hours of an attorney’s time (all billable, of course) or minutes with the click of a button and a careful review by somebody familiar with the matter. This is balanced with the fact that AI cannot replace the attorney’s ability to take that information, layer it in the additional context of the client’s business needs and experience in that jurisdiction, and decide on the best strategy and recommendation to propose to the client.
Double-Edged Sword
Just as you can leverage AI, so can others. Unfortunately, not everybody is using it responsibly. We’ve seen no shortage of failures and hallucinations in the courts by counsel and experts. So, where does that leave you when you receive AI-generated work product? To put it simply, remain vigilant.
• Trust, But Verify: As the old Russian proverb suggests, you need to be able to verify information at its source. Think proof of origin, not chain of custody.
• Multiple Angles: Ask questions from various angles to help gain total perspective and reference.
• Layer Information: Combine information into a single analysis, allowing a picture to be painted and not distorted from a single piece of data.
These questions don’t solve the problem, but they help you remain a vigilant advisor to your clients.
AI-Enabled Curiosity Is A Strategic Advantage
Being a great advisor in an AI-driven world isn’t just about having access to more information—it’s about being curious enough to ask the right questions and having sufficient experience to validate AI’s outputs. Here are three questions to help identify areas that you can help accelerate.
• Frequent: What is something you are frequently doing that could be automated but may need more than just rule-based logic? Could something be pre-drafted 80%, and you put the final touches on it?
• Rare But Valuable: What is something you rarely do that takes extended effort but is very valuable? Would it generate more value if you could scale (do it more frequently or faster)?
• Power In Iteration: What is something that benefits from multiple iterations to develop the best solution? For example, brainstorming or interviewing somebody (but asking the same question multiple ways) while managing a complicated timeline.
Leading with this type of curiosity, exploring ways to accelerate your expertise and value to clients can set you apart. Remember, the future of professional services isn’t about AI replacing advisors; it’s about trusted advisors who master AI replacing those who don’t.
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