The push to modernize and innovate has never been stronger. Like it or not, Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly emerging as a transformative force. With tightening budgets and growing demands for efficiency, legal teams are seeking smarter ways to empower their staff, automate workflows, and simplify complex, time-consuming tasks. 

According to a Foundry MarketPulse survey, 41% of enterprise legal teams are currently evaluating GenAI’s potential, and 43% of Am Law 200 firms report having a dedicated GenAI budget line.¹

Payoff is too compelling to ignore—yet many teams are unsure where to begin and how to validate the reliability and accuracy of AI-generated outputs.   

This blog kicks off a two-part series highlighting how legal professionals can successfully initiate their GenAI journey. 

In Part 1, we focus on one way to jumpstart GenAI use: building foundational skills needed to leverage this powerful technology.   

Reskilling and upskilling: Building GenAI literacy  

The legal workforce is evolving quickly, with advanced technical skills being emphasized alongside traditional legal competencies. Forward-looking legal leaders are embracing the shift: 60% believe AI creates opportunities to perform more impactful work, empowering professionals to shift to more strategic endeavors.   

As GenAI adoption gains momentum, both law firms and legal departments are rethinking their talent strategies. It's no longer just about hiring smart, analytical professionals—it’s about fostering and investing in AI literacy through hands-on training. 

Law schools are also stepping up, incorporating AI training into curricula: offering students practical experience to build expertise without the risks associated with real-world case outcomes. 

Mastering AI literacy: The art of the prompt   

It is not about being a programmer. At the heart of GenAI success is an important skill: writing effective prompts. Whether you're asking GenAI to summarize files or focus on key concepts, the quality of your output depends on how well you instruct the system. That means learning how to: 

• Write clear, structured prompts 
• Refine them iteratively 
• Evaluate AI-generated responses critically 

Human judgment remains the gatekeeper. Your team’s ability to direct, validate, and contextualize GenAI output is what turns automation into an advantage. 

Dipping toes in GenAI waters: Gaining real-world experience  

Courses and webinars alone can’t teach effective prompting. The best way to build skill and confidence is through hands-on experience. 

Working with real case data allows teams to test GenAI in a safe but relevant environment where they can uncover patterns and insights that might otherwise be overlooked. This practice not only sharpens prompt engineering skills but also helps guarantee AI-generated results are reliable and legally sound.

Looking beyond technology: Partner with trusted experts  

Technology is only part of the solution. Legal teams also need expert guidance to effectively build and operationalize GenAI skill sets.

OpenText eDiscovery Aviator provides legal teams with powerful and intuitive automated document classification, from the company that has been a leader in technology-assisted review for more than a decade, but maximizing the value of the technology requires practice.

To build confidence, legal teams need the ability to experiment with prompt refinement and develop best practices for testing, review, and validation workflows.  

Unlike other technology vendors, OpenText provides the people and process expertise to back the tool—seasoned AI specialists, legal technologists, and analytics consultants ready to help your team adopt GenAI with confidence.

This combination of people, process, and technology equips legal teams to confidently explore GenAI’s possibilities while maintaining defensible and high-quality outcomes. 

Exploring GenAI with confidence: Introducing the Assisted Aviator Review Jumpstart Package   

To provide cost-certainty while your team gains GenAI skills and confidence, OpenText now offers the fixed-fee Assisted Aviator Review Jumpstart Package. This offering pairs your legal team with our AI experts to: 

• Apply GenAI to your review data with OpenText eDiscovery Aviator 
• Fine-tune prompt strategies 
• Build and validate defensible workflows 

You’ll walk away with more than just results. Your team will build essential skills to operate independently and confidently with GenAI—prompting, refining, and validating AI-generated results quickly and accurately. 

GenAI and document review: A smarter, more strategic future 

The potential gains are significant. By shifting first-level document reviews to GenAI, legal teams can cut costs, improve consistency, and accelerate early insights. GenAI reduces reliance on large review teams, which often produce variable outcomes, and helps attorneys focus more on strategic work—like early case assessment, legal strategy, and client counseling.  

This transition not only supports legal modernization but also strengthens a legal team’s ability to deliver greater value to the business through responsible, innovative use of AI. 

Equip your legal teams for a GenAI-powered future  

Legal work isn’t going away—but the way it gets done is changing fast. Teams that blend legal expertise with GenAI literacy will lead the next generation. 

Jumpstart your journey to GenAI-powered eDiscovery the right way—with trusted technology, expert guidance, and hands-on experience. 

Speak with an OpenText Account Executive to learn more about the Assisted Aviator Review Jumpstart Package and discover other Jumpstart offerings tailored to your litigation and investigation support needs.  

Stay tuned for part two, where we’ll explore how legal teams can scale GenAI adoption through a true GenAI-first Managed Document Review. 

¹ LexisNexis, Investing in Legal Innovation Survey, 2024 

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