The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, Law360, Bloomberg Law and Global Legal Chronicle were among the national media outlets covering the appointment of Tom Trujillo as McGuireWoods’ chief innovation and AI officer.
In this new role, which he began July 22, 2024, Trujillo manages the development and deployment of business solutions, including the use of AI-enhanced tools, to better serve clients and improve firm operations.
In a July 22 interview with The American Lawyer, Trujillo discussed how the firm continues to pilot generative AI tools to understand their best uses and any drawbacks. One such tool under consideration could be used for depositions and document review and summarization, among other tasks.
“The whole point is to learn what we don’t know. We’re still in the investigatory process,” he said. “The next few months . . . will be focused on peeling the onion back a bit and understanding the practical impacts for the firm around training and development.”
Generative AI is not just a trend but a business necessity for large law firms, Trujillo acknowledged. “It’s definitely one of those things where you can’t sit on the sidelines and watch. You need to get involved in how to use it and what it means for your specific firm. There certainly will be some competitive advantages to being agile and smart with how to use the tools.”
In an interview with American Lawyer Media’s Legaltech News published July 24, Trujillo said the excitement about generative AI is tempered by the need to “find out what the technology can actually do.”
“[H]ow we use something might be much different than how another firm does, just because we approach business differently, or are set up to operate differently,” Trujillo said. “So you have really got to figure out what it means for your firm. And that takes time, patience and resources.”