What does AI transformation mean for lawyers? Hear how Microsoft’s legal team is rethinking how it delivers advice at scale – while keeping people at the centre.
In this episode of AI Now, Microsoft’s Head of Legal for Australia and New Zealand, Ben Gilbert, joins Mallesons partner Bryony Evans and head of cyber Cheng Lim to explain how his team is using AI and what he’s seeing at other ‘AI frontier’ organisations.
From agentic workflows and AI-powered triage to the shift from ‘legal as service’ to ‘legal as a platform’, the discussion offers practical lessons for legal teams navigating their own AI transformation. Listen to real examples of how legal operating models are changing wherever you get your podcasts.
What it means for business
AI’s greatest impact may be less about automating individual tasks and more about redesigning how organisations scale expertise, manage risk and deliver services.
“You cannot start with technology and retrofit culture. You can’t go, ‘Here’s a licence. We’re going to give you some training and then that’s it.’” - Ben Gilbert
Listen to these moments
- The three foundations of an ‘AI frontier’ legal team (2:46)
For Ben’s team at Microsoft, becoming ‘AI frontier’ means making legal knowledge more accessible, shifting towards ‘legal as a platform’, and scaling through technology before headcount. - From AI assistants to AI workflows (4:51)
Agent-based workflows have the potential to free up lawyers to focus on strategic work by streamlining routine internal processes and reducing manual coordination. - Why AI adoption depends on culture, not just technology (8:16)
Curiosity, experimentation, psychological safety and repeated reinforcement are central to entrenching AI use and habits. - Gamification, champions and leadership from the top (9:24)
Microsoft is using AI champions, sharing leadership-led use cases and gamification to encourage experimentation and embed new ways of working. - Building a ‘front door’ to legal (15:06)
Microsoft is moving towards an AI-powered triage model, reserving lawyers for novel, high-risk and jurisdiction-specific issues. - From legal services to legal platforms (17:48)
AI may fundamentally change legal operating models, reshaping how expertise, services and decision-making are delivered at scale.
What’s next?
For legal teams and business leaders, the challenge is no longer whether AI plays a role, but how to redesign access to knowledge and expertise while maintaining trust, governance and professional judgment.
AI Now is a podcast series from Mallesons exploring the evolving use of AI, the legal landscape and what it all means for business. Listen to the full conversation with Ben Gilbert and subscribe for upcoming episodes.
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