Why legal IT teams must act now to build safe, controlled, and compliant AI workflows.
Generative AI tools are rapidly becoming part of everyday legal practice — drafting documents, summarising case law, analysing evidence, and enhancing productivity.
The problem?
Lawyers are often experimenting before the firm has clear guardrails in place.
For South Australian law firms, this creates material risk around confidentiality, data retention, privilege, model training, and compliance with client obligations. IT teams need to lead from the front — putting in place a clear governance framework that protects both the firm and its clients.
This guide sets out the critical building blocks of AI governance — and what legal IT teams must have in place before lawyers begin to rely on GenAI tools.
Lawyers often underestimate the hidden risks behind AI tools. IT teams must map these risks early.
Uploading matter files into public AI tools can unintentionally expose sensitive or privileged information.
Some tools retain user data or use it to fine-tune models — a direct violation for many clients, particularly government and regulated industries.
If a lawyer relies on an AI-generated summary that’s wrong, the liability still sits with the firm.
AI-generated content may contain hidden metadata or structural inconsistencies that can be exploited.
Before adoption accelerates, IT must help the firm understand where AI fits safely, and where it doesn’t.
Many firms wait until AI usage becomes chaotic, then scramble to bolt on controls after the damage is done. Instead, IT should design governance early, covering:
Define:
What data lawyers can and can’t upload
Which tools are approved
How AI output must be reviewed and validated
Obligations to clients when AI is used
This protects the firm long before any issues arise.
Examples might include:
Drafting templates (non-client data)
Research assistance
Marketing content
Administrative tasks
Not permitted: uploading unredacted client files into public AI models.
Categorise tools into:
High risk (public models with unclear retention)
Medium risk (vendor-hosted, but not legal-sector certified)
Low risk (enterprise-grade, compliant, with firm-controlled data)
Governance means nothing without the right technical controls. IT teams should focus on:
Ensure AI tools integrate with:
SSO
Conditional access
Identity monitoring
Audit trails
This prevents shadow AI usage — one of the fastest-growing risks in law firms.
Define:
What the AI system can access
What stays completely offline
What is masked or redacted
Where possible, use AI tools that run within the firm’s secure environment or those offering private model instances.
Track:
Who is accessing AI tools
What type of data is being processed
Whether unusual patterns emerge
Detection is critical before a small misuse becomes a major incident.
Training matters, but the tone matters even more. Lawyers don’t want a lecture on neural networks. Instead, explain:
Provide real examples from daily workflows.
Use simple, non-technical rules.
AI should assist, not substitute legal judgement.
Link it back to professional liability, reputation, and client trust — this drives compliance far more effectively than technical explanations.
Legal teams often gravitate toward whatever AI tool appears in the media. IT must guide tool selection based on:
Does the vendor retain data?
Is the model isolated?
Does it comply with Australian privacy laws?
Does it integrate with:
DMS (NetDocuments/iManage)
PMS
Email systems
Legal research platforms?
Can you enforce:
Content filtering
Data redaction
Privilege checks
Usage policies?
The vendor must clearly document model behaviour, training data use, retention, and security controls.
If not — it’s not a viable tool for legal practice.
To successfully introduce AI tools, IT should follow a structured approach:
Governance
Data boundaries
Identity controls
Tool vetting
Monitoring frameworks
Demonstrate value
Provide practical examples
Build confidence
Start with a small group:
A friendly partner
A tech-forward associate
Support staff with high admin workloads
Gather feedback → refine → scale.
Only once governance and guardrails are strong.
With governance in place, your firm benefits from:
Safer, more controlled AI adoption
Reduced risk of client confidentiality breaches
Clear workflows for lawyers
Higher productivity without compromising ethics
Stronger client trust, especially in regulated sectors
Most importantly, IT avoids the chaos of unregulated AI usage spreading through the firm.
Whether your lawyers are using AI today or will start tomorrow, IT needs to lead the governance conversation now. With the right policies, controls and rollout plan, AI becomes a powerful tool — not a liability.