How global law firm Clifford Chance is innovating with generative AI and Copilot for Microsoft 365

This latest announcement follows the deployment last year of the firm’s private and secured AI tool, Clifford Chance Assist, developed on Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI platform. Roll out to the entire firm commenced last year following extensive trials with over 1800 users to explore and validate use cases across its operations and practice areas and is also now available to all its staff globally.

AI technology to benefit clients

“Harnessing digital innovation to enhance our business operations and continuously improve client delivery has always been at the heart of our successful growth strategy,” said Paul Greenwood, Chief Technology Officer at Clifford Chance.

“We are now excited to be one of the first organisations to be rolling out Copilot and Viva Suite at scale as part of our suite of AI-powered workplace solutions. This will empower our workforce to automate routine tasks enabling greater productivity, faster turnaround and increased client satisfaction.”

AI-powered workplace solutions

Clifford Chance is setting a new standard in the integration of AI-powered workplace solutions. These tools use artificial intelligence and natural language processing to enhance productivity and employee experience by automating a variety of daily tasks, from meetings and task management to drafting emails and inbox management. Viva Insights and Viva Learning provide access to continuous insights and learning.

“We’re a global organisation with a diverse workforce,” explains Greenwood. “Teams Premium provides live transcripts which is particularly important and useful for our non-native English colleagues around the world and for our staff with various accessibility needs. Copilot ensures our busy teams have efficient summaries and next steps for meetings, and together with Viva Productivity, AI helps us stay on track with our explicit tasks and implicit commitments that were made.”

AI adoption

Deployment of these solutions are within a global AI Principles & Policy oversight framework that enables best practices in AI adoption and ensures that client consent is sought, as appropriate, when solutions are deployed for client work outside the firm’s own business operations.

“Any legal output generated at Clifford Chance by an AI system is identified as such and validated by a qualified lawyer in that jurisdiction,” added Greenwood.

This latest investment by the firm in the integration of a holistic suite of AI-powered workplace solutions in collaboration with Microsoft, is a significant milestone in Clifford Chance’s digital transformation journey. The company was one of the first adopters of Microsoft 365 Copilot as part of the Early Adoption Programme.

Nick Hedderman, Senior Director, Modern Work Business Group, Microsoft UK, said: “Clifford Chance is driving real innovation in the legal sector by combining the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 with Viva Suite as the tool for enabling change. This not only signifies dedication to AI-led innovation but also reflects the immense potential for everyone who works in the organization. The integration of these AI-powered tools will allow Clifford Chance to empower employees to automate routine tasks, drive productivity, and elevate client satisfaction. We are proud to collaborate with them on this digital transformation, building the foundations for the law firm of the future.”