As artificial intelligence continues its rapid advancement across the legal profession, fundamentally changing how work is done, two general counsel have argued that people skills are the defining power skill for in-house lawyers – setting the best apart in an AI-driven era.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, Ivana Kovacevic, a fractional general counsel, and Alison Huitfeldt, general counsel at RMIT University, highlighted how people skills are emerging as a critical power skill for in-house lawyers, as AI becomes increasingly embedded in the technical and operational side of legal work.
In the same episode, the pair reflected on the aspects that they love about in-house life.
Acknowledging AI’s growing ability to handle the technical aspects of legal work, Kovacevic stressed that it is the people skills embedded in in-house lawyers that ultimately set them apart.
“AI can do all the technical things for us, so we can refer to it to get the technical work done, but the people skills are still the differentiator for us,” Kovacevic said.
“When it comes to communicating with the business, listening to what they really need, communicating in a way that they understand, conflicts that come up, AI is great, but if Tom and Mary are having a fight, AI is not going to help you.”
Specifically, she emphasised that the ability to “understand conflicts”, “build relationships”, and form “trust” are embedded human skills for in-house lawyers – ones that AI can’t replace even in an era of rapid technological change.
Looking ahead to this year, Kovacevic predicted that reliance on AI will continue to grow steadily.
However, she emphasised that rather than distancing lawyers from the business, this shift will bring them closer – freeing up time for in-house counsel to strengthen relationships and provide critical judgement as routine tasks become automated.
“What we’re likely to see going forward is that the reliance on AI will probably grow for technical things,” Kovacevic said.
“But I’m hoping that lawyers get even more ingrained with the business, that they form these stronger relationships and that when it comes to judgement, critical judgement, again, something that people can do.”
Kovacevic noted that while AI is a valuable tool for in-house lawyers, it is the people skills they’ve honed and embedded that truly create value – both in their own work and in the ways they support and advise others.
“We have AI doing some of the technical churning, but it’s the people skills that other people in the business actually trust, so that’s where we add value,” Kovacevic said.
“People skills have always been important. Whenever I was in different organisations, the message to everyone on my team was that people skills are the differentiator. Technical skills are just the starting point. We all need that.
“But I think even more now with AI, we need good listening, we need good teamwork, we need good collaboration, good influence, good trust, all of that jazz.”
