Why trust is now a legal ops imperative
For legal operations professionals, the AI conversation has officially moved past experimentation. According to the 2026 Future Ready Lawyer research that anchored the discussion during a recent Wolters Kluwer webinar, AI adoption is already widespread. The harder, more consequential work now sits squarely with legal ops: building trust at scale - internally, with law firms, and with the business. The key takeaway was clear: trust is no longer a philosophical concept. It is operational.
The second in a series of Future Ready Lawyer webinars, Building Confidence in an AI Era – Competing for Trust in an AI‑Driven World, brought together leaders from across the legal ecosystem to unpack what trust means when AI is embedded in everyday legal work. Webinar participants included: Martin O’Malley, CEO, Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory; Viktor von Essen, CEO, Libra by Wolters Kluwer; Mark Brennan, Partner, Hogan Lovells; Amy Dietrich, Director of Research & Competitive Intelligence, Paul Weiss; and Licia Garotti, Partner, PedersoliGattai. The discussion was moderated by Nicole Stone, Director, AI & Agentic Solutions, Wolters Kluwer, Legal & Regulatory US.
Below are the key takeaways legal operations leaders should be paying attention to.
1. Trust is built through systems, not intentions.
One of the strongest themes throughout the discussion was that trust cannot rely on individual judgment alone. As AI use scales, consistency matters more than discretion, and that is where legal operations plays a defining role.
Martin O’Malley framed this challenge from a global enterprise perspective, emphasizing that trust depends on universal principles, even when tools and workflows differ across regions.
For legal ops teams, this reinforces a critical mandate: establish global minimum standards for AI governance, data handling, and human oversight and then enable teams to operate confidently within those guardrails. Consistency does not require uniformity, but clarity.
2. Governance is an accelerator, not a brake.
A recurring myth surfaced during the conversation: that governance slows innovation. The panel pushed back hard on that idea.
Well‑designed governance frameworks actually enable speed by eliminating uncertainty. When lawyers know which tools are approved, how they can be used, and what oversight is required, they move faster and with less risk.
For legal operations, this is where policy, enablement, and technology intersect. Governance is no longer a compliance exercise; it is infrastructure.
3. Shadow AI Is an operations problem, not a people problem.
“Shadow AI” emerged as one of the most pressing risks discussed. But the framing was important: unapproved tool use is often a signal that approved systems are not meeting real workflow needs.
Legal ops leaders are uniquely positioned to address this by making the safe choice the easy choice—through vetted tools, clear communication, and training specific to systems, not generic AI concepts. This is also where transparency becomes critical. Clients and regulators increasingly expect legal teams to explain not just whether AI is used, but how and why.
4. Trustworthy AI starts with trustworthy content.
Viktor von Essen brought a practitioner’s perspective to the discussion, grounding trust in something lawyers instinctively understand: source authority.
For legal operations teams evaluating AI tools, this is a crucial differentiator. Not all AI is created equal. Systems built on curated, authoritative legal content and designed for professional accountability will reduce risk while increasing adoption. In other words, explainability is not optional. It is foundational to trust.
5. Use of AI is assumed and confidence comes from controls.
Perhaps the most important mindset shift for legal ops: AI adoption is now table stakes. Rather than focusing on whether legal partners are using AI, corporate legal departments assume use and have turned focus to scrutinizing governance, quality, and value.
Martin O’Malley captured this tension succinctly from the client perspective: “When the pressure is on, quality is what matters most. AI is a means to an end—not the end itself.”
Legal operations sits at the center of this expectation shift by connecting AI use to pricing conversations, panel decisions, and measurable value. Corporate legal departments want confidence that AI improves outcomes without compromising judgment.
Trust is no longer abstract, it’s operational
This webinar reinforced a reality many legal ops professionals already feel: trust is now something you operationalize.
That means:
- Defining and enforcing AI governance frameworks that scale
- Selecting tools built on authoritative data and legal‑grade safeguards
- Enabling transparency with law firms and other legal partners
- Protecting human judgment while accelerating insight and efficiency
The organizations that get this right will not just adopt AI faster; they will earn trust more consistently. And in today’s legal market, trust is the real competitive advantage.
Want more insights like this? The Future Ready Lawyer 2026 report dives deeper into how legal teams are navigating AI, governance, and client expectations—and what it takes to stay ahead—, or register for the rest of the webinar series.
