AI governance and competency are firmly in the spotlight this week. Akerman has created a new AI governance leadership role, appointing Michael Adler; the property sector is warning about the impact of EU AI Act transparency requirements; and a new BARBRI report highlights a significant gap in AI readiness, with most law firms still lacking a formal AI competency framework.
Akerman creates AI governance leadership role
US law firm Akerman has appointed Michael Adler as director of AI governance and data protection within Akerman Intelligence, as well as a partner in its Corporate Practice Group.
The newly created role reflects Akerman’s view that attention is shifting from AI adoption to AI governance, particularly as organisations begin to deploy increasingly autonomous AI systems. Adler will work with Akerman’s leadership team to develop governance and oversight frameworks for AI across the firm while also advising clients on AI governance, data protection, technology transactions and international AI regulation.
Akerman chairman and CEO Scott Meyers said the appointment comes as organisations face new questions around governance for agentic AI systems. Adler joins from software company Highspot, where he led global data privacy and AI initiatives, having previously held legal roles at Autodesk and Amazon.
While many law firms have focused on deploying generative AI tools, Akerman’s move highlights a growing recognition that governance, accountability and risk management are immediate strategic priorities.
Property sector warns over EU AI Act transparency requirements
Hundreds of thousands of businesses are at risk of misinterpreting Article 50 of the EU AI Act, say VerbaFlo and Homes For Students.
Article 50, which came into force on 2 August, establishes transparency requirements for certain AI systems, including those that interact directly with consumers or generate synthetic content. The paper, The EU AI Act, Article 50: What Businesses Need to Know Right Now, examines how the requirements apply across marketing, operations and resident engagement activities.
The guidance focuses on three areas: the allocation of responsibility between AI providers and organisations deploying AI systems; transparency obligations related to design choices and AI-generated content; and the need to assess high-risk AI use cases beyond customer-facing applications.
Although the paper is aimed at the property sector, many of the issues it raises will resonate with legal organisations grappling with AI regulation. The whitepaper is here: https://www.verbaflo.ai/stories/the-eu-ai-act-article-50-what-businesses-need-to-know-right-now
BARBRI report highlights AI adoption gap
New research from BARBRI Professional Education suggests that law firms are deploying AI tools faster than they are measuring their impact on lawyer behaviour and business performance. While the research is pitched at the need for L&D and training (BARBRI’s sweet spot) it shows that no firm has built the AI competency framework its associate pipeline needs. While this is a training requirement, it’s also a governance issue.
The report, Driving Change and ROI: Uniting Three Teams to Lead Law Firms into the Future, is based on interviews with 10 leaders across nine firms and examines the relationship between learning and development, knowledge management and innovation teams.
Among its findings, the report concludes that firms generally understand who has activated AI tools but have limited visibility into whether those tools are changing the way lawyers work. It also finds that while collaboration between innovation and L&D is improving, it’s still fragile, with one L&D director telling researchers: “Either there are too many cooks in the kitchen, or nobody is managing it. It’s feast or famine.”
BARBRI co-chief executive Lucie Allen said firms that succeed over the coming years will need to move beyond technology deployment and focus on frameworks, incentives and measurement.