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37 I L T A N E T . O R G A record-breaking number of legal professionals turned out to attend the 2023 Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) Global Institute in Las Vegas in May, but it was more than attendance numbers that felt different about this year's event. CLOC released its "Core 12" functional areas of operational excellence — guidance in these areas will be instrumental as more in-house practitioners than last year had a stronger point of view on their needs, which points to the broader maturation of the corporate legal technology landscape. Here are some additional highlights. Generative AI: Varying Perspectives It's no surprise that generative AI was a major theme and topic of discussion throughout the conference; yet it's ironic that artificial intelligence was the driving factor that brought together human legal intelligence for what CLOC dubbed "brain dates." These ad hoc discussions brought together legal operators and legal tech providers on a range of topics, from developing a 90-day operator plan to the impact of AI on legal tech. One of the most highly attended events was a supersession on generative AI that was packed with hundreds of people — standing room only. Data privacy, security, and accuracy continue to be a concern, particularly with the proliferation of standalone point solutions. While some organizations are already piloting and using generative AI often driven by their enterprise IT department to support the overall business, most organizations seem to be taking a cautious "wait and see" approach. The prevailing sentiment for many in-house legal departments with whom I spoke was a general sense of urgency to understand the potential benefits and risks of generative AI — including privacy, security, and governance implications — without making any rushed or reactive decisions in the immediate term. However, most identify a need for Corporate and Legal leadership to develop and communicate guidelines for AI use within their individual organizations. I anticipate more adoption will occur as technology providers thoughtfully weave in the power of generative AI throughout their platforms so that security, intellectual property, and governance are maintained. CLM Focus Shifts to Workflows Walking around the Exhibit Hall last year, it seemed like every other booth was pushing contract lifecycle management (CLM). This year, the CLM hype was replaced by an abundance of automation and workflow offerings. This makes sense since most CLMs are based on early "It's no surprise that generative AI was a major theme and topic of discussion throughout the conference."

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