From zero to 100 in AI adoption: where SME law firms should start
Henna Zafar, business development manager at BARBRI, explores strategies for SME law firms to build a structured, accessible approach to AI adoption without significant resource investment
Across the SME legal sector, attitudes to AI vary widely. Some law firms have moved quickly — in some cases too quickly — while others remain curious and cautious. Most sit somewhere in between, recognising the potential but unsure where to begin.
There is a clear split across the sector with some firms holding back entirely, while others are firmly pro-AI. An increasing number of firms are beginning to make this shift from zero to 100 in a matter of months, going from ‘no AI, don’t use ChatGPT, GDPR concerns’ to adopting tools such as Copilot and expecting people to write the most perfect prompts on day one. In practice, this level of acceleration is rarely sustainable and does not always deliver consistent results.
The greater risk for SME firms isn’t choosing the wrong tool. It’s choosing nothing at all and assuming that delaying a decision is a neutral act. It rarely is.
AI is a powerful tool, but its value depends on whether people understand how and when to use it correctly. For SME firms, the aim should not be to adopt AI at speed for the sake of it, but to build the confidence and judgement needed to use it safely, consistently and effectively.
The talent question
The first cost of inaction shows up in recruitment and retention. At BARBRI, we hear from a growing number of firms now thinking about adopting AI, often because of what they’ve heard from trainees and paralegals already in the firm. Newer generations are already highly engaged with AI, and not having it visibly used in your business makes a firm stand apart from those that do.
The pressure isn’t only external. Internally, firms that don’t use AI tend to carry a heavier admin load. Firms that are using AI well have efficiency. They can deploy their workforce on more important documents, cross-referencing and the higher-value work; they don’t end up with that workload landing on people who already feel stretched.
Looking further out, clients, in-house teams and third parties will increasingly use AI in their own emails, briefs and agreements. Firms that haven’t trained their people to recognise, and respond to, AI-generated work products will find that gap widening.
The biggest misconception
Among partners, we hear the same worry repeatedly: that AI will just reduce the workload for younger lawyers and erode their development.
In practice, this is not the case. AI supports work and ultimately streamlines billable hours. It can help with admin and routine tasks. But the lawyer still has to cross-reference where the output has come from, still needs to check the work, and still owns the outcome. AI supports legal work, but it does not replace professional judgement.
A second misconception is that personal-use familiarity translates to workplace capability. Using AI in your personal life is very separate to using it on a client matter, and the training a firm provides has to reflect that distinction.
Policy first, tools second
For firms unsure where to begin, the first step is governance. It may not seem glamorous, but establishing a clear AI policy is essential.
If you don’t already have AI policies, that’s where to start. What does your firm stand for on AI? Get it in writing. Even an anti-AI policy has value as having a position is what gives the team guardrails.
Without a clear policy, individuals are left to make their own decisions about how AI should be used. This can lead to inconsistent approaches across the firm — someone might paste confidential text into a public model to tidy up an email for example, or someone else might avoid the technology entirely.
In either case, the firm loses control and increases its exposure to risk, particularly in relation to confidentiality and data protection. You can’t police every keystroke, and if a person decides to use genAI to fix an email, you risk a GDPR breach. A clear policy provides essential guidance, helping teams understand what is appropriate, what is not, and how AI can be used safely and effectively.
Starting small, starting now
For budget-constrained SMEs, meaningful progress doesn’t require a strategy team. The practical first steps are accessible to firms of any size.
Lunch and Learns are a strong place to begin. They are a good opportunity to bring in your draft policy, share the firm’s thinking on what AI is and isn’t, and run an anonymous Q&A afterwards. If partners are hesitant, younger team members may not feel safe expressing that they want AI: anonymous channels surface those views and tell leadership where the appetite actually sits.
If you’re rolling out AI within the firm, training should be mandatory and rolled out to everyone, because the fear of AI is the risk that comes with it. If we’re adopting it, we have a responsibility to manage those risks by training people to use it correctly.
For many SME firms, a phased rollout works best. Starting with the teams where AI can offer the clearest benefit allows firms to test use cases, gather feedback and refine their approach before expanding more widely.
Structured programmes, such as BARBRI’s AI Fundamentals course is designed to bring every team member, partners included, to a shared baseline of knowledge, prompt awareness and use-case understanding, regardless of where the firm sits on the adoption curve. Some people will know a lot about AI from their personal lives, others will know very little. Fundamentals bring everyone to the same level, so when a tool is rolled out, it’s accessible to everyone, not just the people who happened to be familiar with AI already.
Looking ahead
For SME firms, the starting point is more straightforward than it may appear.
- Establish a clear AI policy
- Build baseline knowledge across the whole firm
- Introduce tools in a systematic and phased way
- Review honestly and refine as you go
The firms that handle this best won’t necessarily have the most advanced tools — they’ll have the most prepared people.
At BARBRI, we work closely with SME law firms to map out AI training pathways that fit the firm’s culture, budget and stage of adoption. To talk through what that could look like for your firm, book a call with Henna for a free demo, or email Henna.Zafar@barbri.com.
