Michael Adler, a former counsel at Amazon, is joining Akerman in a new role focused on AI governance and data protection. The appointment, announced August 6, 2026, puts a lawyer with firsthand experience inside one of the world's largest technology companies at the center of the firm's AI strategy.
Akerman has placed a heavy emphasis on generative AI, both as an internal tool and as a service offering to clients. Adler's arrival tracks that priority; his job is to oversee the governance and data protection questions that come with it.
The role covers AI governance and data protection, the two areas where law firms face the most pressure as they integrate more AI tools into their work. Document review, contract analysis, and compliance automation increasingly run on large language models, and firms must manage the risks that come with them.
That pressure comes from clients as well. Companies hiring outside counsel want to know how their data is handled, what safeguards the firm has in place, and how AI-generated work product is reviewed before it goes anywhere. An AI governance and data protection lead sits at the center of those questions.
Akerman's focus mirrors a broader shift across the legal field. Firms are integrating Generative AI and LLM tools into daily workflows, which changes what lawyers need to know about the technology itself.
For lawyers looking to build that knowledge, focused training has become a practical option. AI for Legal courses cover how firms apply these tools to document review, contract analysis, and compliance work - and where the technology falls short.
An in-house perspective
Adler's background at Amazon gives him direct exposure to how a major technology company develops and deploys AI systems. That is a different vantage point from a traditional law firm career, and it is one that AI governance roles increasingly require. He will also be responsible for advising on data protection, an area under continuous regulatory scrutiny.
Why this matters for legal professionals
For lawyers, the takeaway is concrete: AI governance is becoming its own specialty. A firm hiring a dedicated lead for it means legal employers now separate the task of using AI tools from the task of managing their risks. Attorneys who understand data protection rules and how AI systems actually behave will be better positioned as that distinction grows.
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