Turning AI interest into evidence: A practical approach for the legal sector
Written by Pia van Antwerpen from Birmingham City University, SuperTech WM
AI adoption becomes meaningful when organisations can move from interest to evidence.
For legal organisations, that means being able to test competing technologies consistently, understand where they could create genuine value and make investment decisions with greater confidence. The Legal AI Adoption & Evaluation Toolkit from SuperTech WM provides a practical framework for doing exactly that, grounded in hands-on testing by legal professionals using real-world legal scenarios.
As organisations navigate an expanding AI landscape, the challenge is not simply identifying new technology. It is establishing which products are right for their organisation, where they can deliver genuine value and how investment decisions can be made on a more informed basis.
That is the challenge SuperTech WM’s Legal AI Adoption & Evaluation Toolkit has been created to address. The resource is designed to help legal organisations assess, implement and scale their use of AI with greater confidence and clarity.
From experimentation to informed evaluation
The toolkit was developed through SuperTech WM’s Open Innovation Lab programme, working with law firms Fieldfisher, HCR Law and Mills & Reeve, and refined with academic input from Aston University and Oxford Brookes University.
Crucially, its development involved legal professionals testing AI through real-world legal scenarios, helping to create a resource based on practical experience rather than technology in the abstract.
At the centre of the toolkit is a comprehensive evaluation scorecard covering eight key dimensions. The framework is practical, repeatable and technology-neutral, enabling organisations to compare different AI products consistently, identify areas where AI could offer genuine value and make better-informed investment decisions.
It is designed to support organisations at different stages of their AI journey, whether taking their first steps or looking to scale existing adoption, and can be used by different teams and levels of seniority.
Building confidence and capability
The toolkit goes beyond evaluating individual technologies. It also brings together resources intended to support organisations as they develop their wider approach to AI adoption.
It includes:
- practical legal AI use cases
- example prompts and testing methodologies
- guidance on interpreting evaluation scores
- adoption and implementation advice
- best-practice approaches to engaging technology vendors
- recommendations for developing organisational AI readiness.
This structured approach is particularly relevant for organisations that want to make informed decisions about AI rather than assessing products on technological promise alone.
The toolkit has been developed for a broad range of organisations across the legal sector, with particular focus on smaller law firms, legal clinics, pro bono services and organisations that may not have access to dedicated technology or AI specialists. It also offers guidance for lawtech vendors to help them better understand the needs and expectations of legal professionals.
Putting measurable value at the centre
The experience of HCR Law demonstrates how a consistent evaluation framework can support decision-making.
David Hall, Partner, Technology and Innovation at HCR Law, said the toolkit helps put the key factors involved in evaluating AI products on the table, while embedding the principle that evaluation should be measurable and focused on finding and evidencing return on investment.
HCR Law used the toolkit to evaluate almost 10 legal AI products. According to David Hall, this gave the firm confidence in its evaluation and helped it refine what it wanted from AI products, with the firm looking to develop and use the toolkit further within its business.
Hilary Smyth-Allen, CEO of SuperTech, said the toolkit reflects SuperTech’s approach of bringing the legal sector together to test ideas, share learning and build confidence through real-world collaboration.
She highlighted the combination of insight from law firms, legal technology innovators, academics and sector partners to provide practical guidance for teams seeking to adopt AI responsibly and effectively.
A more informed route to AI adoption
The significance of the toolkit lies in helping organisations bring greater consistency to a decision that can otherwise be difficult to navigate: which AI technologies warrant further investment and where could they create genuine value?
By providing a repeatable, technology-neutral framework, the toolkit gives legal organisations a practical basis for comparing products and approaching AI investment with greater clarity.
For Greater Birmingham’s wider business and professional services community, it also provides an example of what more considered AI adoption can look like: moving beyond interest in the technology itself and towards structured evaluation, measurable value and informed decision-making.
The Legal AI Adoption & Evaluation Toolkit is available to all organisations to download from SuperTech WM.