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The Generative AI Era: Embracing Innovation and Good Governance

September 15, 2026 By Serena Dederding, General Counsel and Company Secretary

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“82% of lawyers are using, or planning to use generative AI technology”

 

Generative AI is rapidly changing how legal professionals work. CLA research found that 78% of UK professionals already use generative AI, while Lexis Nexis reports that 82% of lawyers are using or planning to use generative AI technology. The rapid uptake by the legal profession comes as no surprise with many efficiency and productivity gains on offer; legal professionals can now summarise legal documents, identify key points in a case, and conduct legal research with greater speed and efficiency.

However, integrating generative AI into legal workflows raises a number of operational risks, as well as legal and ethical issues. CLA’s research reveals that over three-quarters of UK professionals surveyed admit to uploading, copying, and pasting third-party content into prompts. Without the appropriate permissions in place, this practice exposes organisations to potential risks including copyright infringement.

Key considerations for AI governance framework

Good governance is crucial when seeking to implement new and innovative technologies like generative AI. Law firms should consider putting in place considered frameworks and policies early on to provide clear guidance to staff and provide training to aid understanding of the opportunities and limitations of the technology to manage the risks associated with its use. This includes implementing workplace policies that identify permitted and prohibited tools and uses of generative AI and other parameters as well as ensuring appropriate licences are in place to support lawful use of third-party content as prompts.

  • Copyright and content licensing: Ensure employees understand what third-party content is protected by copyright and ensure appropriate permissions.
  • Tool evaluation and security: Regularly assess the security and compliance credentials of generative AI tools, with particular attention to data handling and reuse. Tools should meet internal security requirements and confirm that inputted content is not used to train underlying models.
  • Generative AI usage policies: Develop internal policies on the use of generative AI tools, specifying approved tools and permissible content.
  • Monitoring and auditing: Bring in systems to track how generative AI tools are used across the organisation, identifying potential risks and adherence to policy.

The CLA Law Licence and Generative AI Permissions

The CLA Law Licence plays a pivotal role in supporting good governance and managing compliance risk within the legal sector. This licence provides law firms and Chambers with the permissions needed to copy and use copyright-protected third-party content within the CLA repertoire in their daily operations. The CLA Law Licence extends copyright permissions beyond a legal database, to include industry publications, websites and journals. The CLA workplace gen AI permissions, included within the Law Licence, supports the responsible use of generative AI tools in the workplace.

Theses permissions allow professionals to lawfully copy and use certain published content as prompts for permitted generative AI tools, subject to the terms and conditions of the licence. This enables firms to leverage the potential benefits of generative AI while ensuring that any use of third-party content protected by copyright complies with copyright law in the UK.

Joel Smith, a partner in Simmons & Simmons’ London IP group, discusses how CLA’s extended licence permissions support innovation without compromising compliance;

“The CLA has made a point of engaging proactively with stakeholders to produce a business-friendly licence, intended to meet the needs of the legal sector. This framework enables law firms to responsibly explore the benefits of innovation that generative AI tools have to offer, whilst also using high-quality published content in prompting.”

Empowering creativity through licensing

Using third-party content as prompts in generative AI tools without permission may come with the risk of copyright infringement, potentially impacting a law firm’s reputation, its governance and its social responsibility efforts. The CLA Law Licence update seeks to address these risks, supporting firms to explore the benefits of generative AI responsibly and remain competitive in an evolving digital landscape. What’s more, CLA’s licensing revenues are distributed back to authors, publishers and visual artists, ensuring creators and rightsholders are remunerated for the use of their work. This approach supports the sustainability of the creative ecosystem, incentivising creators to continue to invest their time and effort to create new, quality and original content.

Embracing the future of gen AI

As the legal sector embraces the transformative potential of generative AI, it is essential to do so with a commitment to good governance practices and legal compliance. The CLA Law Licence supports responsible use of generative AI at work, allowing firms to innovate while respecting copyright law. By adopting these practices, law firms can lead the effort in ethical and sustainable generative AI innovation.

Explore the CLA Law Licence

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