Linklaters Launches GenAI Expert Training Programme
Linklaters launches its GenAI Expert Training course, designed to enhance the technical and practical expertise of its lawyers in generative AI (GenAI). This initiative represents the latest step in the firm’s ongoing commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology into its legal practice. The training has been designed and prepared by Linklaters’ GenAI Programme Team in collaboration with The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London.
Building on the successful launch of the firm’s foundational GenAI training which saw over 80% of Linklaters’ staff complete the course, the new GenAI Expert Training course aims to take proficiency to the next level as the sophistication of these tools continues to develop.
The Expert training programme’s objective is to provide participants with in-depth understanding of GenAI and prompt engineering when applied to legal practice. Classroom sessions taught by internationally renowned experts will be augmented by practical learning exercises, including a hackathon. At the end of the course, participants will be able to identify use cases for their practice groups and functions, as well as work with data science and development teams to bring those use cases to life.
The Expert programme, alongside the firm’s Foundation training, will form part of a three-tiered GenAI training package – which will be complemented by an Advanced online course that Linklaters is developing in-house, enabling anyone in the firm to continue developing their understanding of AI and creating a team of GenAI experts.
This is the latest development in Linklaters’ GenAI journey, following the firm’s rollout of Microsoft 365’s Copilot globally earlier this summer. Copilot slotted into Linklaters comprehensive technology stack which includes a variety of tools including, Laila, Linklaters’ self-built chatbot.
Partner, Shilpa Bhandarkar, who heads up Linklaters' client tech and AI offering, commented:
“This unique collaboration underlines the firm’s continued commitment to investing in GenAI. Offering a global cohort of our people the opportunity to learn from leading academics and each other will help embed GenAI expertise across our business. We've already built the foundation on which this cohort can now bring their knowledge and creativity, identifying use cases and designing solutions that will help them transform the way they work and deliver client service.”
Professor Dan Hunter, Executive Dean, The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London commented:
“It is fantastic to be running this innovative training programme alongside Linklaters. We live and work in a rapidly changing legal and technical landscape, and equipping legal professionals with the tools to be able to utilise GenAI in their practice is vital to ensure we can keep up with these developments. I look forward to seeing how participants navigate the risks, mitigations, benefits and ethical issues they are presented with when considering how they use GenAI in legal practice.”
