2025 will see the rise of generative AI applications being built, purchased and rolled out across all organizations, whether they be used for administrative, creative or legal purposes. As such, legal and compliance teams are entering uncharted territory, grappling with a myriad of complex challenges including legal, compliance, business and ethical risks from transparency of AI decision-making in your own company and your suppliers, potential biases, data privacy concerns, intellectual property rights and the complex nature and absence of clear regulatory frameworks. You will leave this fireside chat empowered to transform from reactive risk managers to strategic advisors in your organization’s AI journey whilst still encouraging experimentation and innovation. 

• Hear how a range of different organizations are entering the legal and compliance era of generative AI across the USA
• Explore how legal and compliance teams have developed adaptive AI policies that remain relevant amidst rapid technology advancements and evolving regulatory landscapes both national and international 
• Implement robust risk assessment methodologies specifically tailored for AI applications, helping identify potential legal pitfalls before they materialize
• Establish clear guidelines for ethical AI use that align with corporate values and societal expectations, mitigating reputational risks associated with AI misuse

Paolo Berard

Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel
NRG Energy

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Isabel Duffy

SVP, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Merck Co

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As AI continues to reshape the legal industry, in-house teams face the challenge of leveraging cutting-edge technology while maintaining the irreplaceable value of human judgment and ethical considerations. The current state of legal AI tends to spook attorneys and is believed to not be trustworthy to work autonomously. Early adopters of legal AI have flourished, finding a myriad of benefits not always found on the label. Although they have been keen to adopt these tools, hear how they continue to manage the risks and balance the efficiency gains. 

• Hear how tech-forward legal teams are taking a human-centric approach to technology to maximize its potential in improving efficiency 
• Discuss the multidisciplinary teams required to maximize the value of these teams. From lawyers, AI specialists and prompt experts?
• Explore whether keeping a human in the loop is always necessary and which part of the process utilizes these workflows 
• Hear how legal teams are approaching fully autonomous AI solutions in their legal team and how they manage the risks associated. 

Noreen Fierro

Enterprise Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Principal Financial Group

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General Counsels and Chief Compliance Officers often face the dual challenge of safeguarding their organizations against regulatory risks while simultaneously contributing to business growth. Challenges are often rooted in demonstrating how your legal and compliance strategy facilitates the business strategy and ambition for growth. From facing resistance from business units, resource constraints and the difficulty of quantifying legal and compliance’s impact on the bottom line. However, the most successful leaders are integrating legal and compliance into strategic decision-making processes, leveraging data to predict and mitigate against risks whilst cultivating a company-wide culture where compliance fuels innovation rather than hindering it. 

• Hear how successful leaders have reframed legal and compliance narratives to resonate with the C-suite priorities
• Explore how to design agile strategies that adapt to rapidly evolving market conditions
• Discuss creating synergies between legal and compliance initiatives and emerging business opportunities

In-house counsels are in an era of an ever-burdening workload, and something needs to change. This case study will explore how one in-house counsel has transformed their approach to litigation, significantly reducing their workload and costs. Hear how they made the critical decisions about what truly needs to be litigated and the surprising outcomes of their strategy. Explore their journey through the decision-making process behind reducing litigation volume whilst discussing potential dispute resolution methods. 

• Listen to this case study of one in-house counsel team on the impact of how they have minimized the amount of work their team oversee to increase the quality of their work
• Explore the risks associated with minimizing the amount of litigation the team are doing and alternative dispute resolution methods they have adopted 
• Will they continue to reduce the work? Discuss the outcomes of this and whether they will continue to work in this way or if this method has been ineffective

It is time to address the elephant in the room: How do you effectively manage the increased risks that come with cost-cutting measures? This session will deep dive into the strategies to navigate the delicate balance between risk management and cost reduction. It is essential to communicate effectively the impact of these risks to the organization whilst ensuring the risk is manageable and adheres to the organization’s risk appetite.

• Hear how the increased risks of reducing in-house work have impacted this organization to evaluate whether you could implement a similar overhaul to practices
• Discuss the approach to this conversation with your risks managers and senior executives to bring them on board with the new in-house counsel workloads
• Explore how you can keep your executives to this agreement prioritizing quality of work over quantity of work

Participate in the audience Q&A to gain further insights into Lightening the Load and The Balancing Act of reducing in-house counsels’ workload whilst managing the potential increase in risks associated.