How AI and Human Expertise Are Transforming Legal Careers at A&O Shearman

AI, Innovation and Life as a ‘Hybrid Lawyer’

Francesca Bennetts, partner at A&O Shearman, shares her experience working at the intersection of law and technology, and offers advice for lawyers adapting to the changes AI brings to the legal profession.

From Theology to Law and Technology

Bennetts didn’t study law initially. Instead, she earned a degree in theology, which sharpened her critical thinking and research skills. Despite this, law remained her goal, leading her to complete a one-year conversion course before starting her legal career at Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman).

Her decision to join A&O was influenced by a personal touch during her interview, where a conversation about kitchenware made the firm feel more human and approachable. This connection mattered more than the firm’s prestige.

Early Career Challenges and a Shift Toward Innovation

Bennetts’ first rotation was in derivatives and structured finance—a complex area unfamiliar to her at the time. Under the guidance of David Wakeling, she encountered a team eager to rethink traditional approaches by using technology to streamline processes. That early exposure planted the seed for her future focus.

After exploring other areas like litigation and a stint abroad, she returned to derivatives, drawn by its blend of complexity and innovation. When regulatory changes demanded contract repapering, Bennetts’ team partnered with Deloitte to create MarginMatrix, a platform that automated this tedious task. This solution allowed them to handle eight clients’ contracts at once, compared to one or two manually.

The Markets Innovation Group and Generative AI

Building on that success, the firm launched the Markets Innovation Group (MIG), dedicated to legal tech solutions. Bennetts now co-leads this group, which focuses heavily on generative AI. One key project is ContractMatrix, developed with AI start-up Harvey and Microsoft.

This tool lets lawyers query legal documents directly within Word using generative AI. What sets it apart is that AI responses are grounded in the user’s own data, allowing instant comparison with trusted precedents. This ensures the insights are reliable and relevant.

A&O Shearman’s commitment to AI adoption is clear. The firm was the first to roll out generative AI across the board and develop its own tools in-house. Bennetts emphasizes that they prefer to experiment and learn rather than react slowly. The firm’s close collaboration between lawyers and developers creates tools built by lawyers for lawyers, ensuring practical usefulness.

What This Means for Junior Lawyers

Bennetts stresses that new lawyers don’t need to be tech experts on day one. The firm offers extensive training and encourages juniors to use tech tools responsibly and share feedback to improve them.

She believes the core qualities of a good lawyer remain unchanged, with one addition: curiosity about technology. Bennetts recalls a time early in her career when she had to manually compare contract drafts because track changes wasn’t enabled—something that seems inefficient now. Technology doesn’t replace legal skills; it removes repetitive tasks so lawyers can focus on analysis and judgment.

Similarly, AI tools handle the grunt work, speeding up the critical thinking and problem-solving that junior lawyers are training to master. However, lawyers must still critically assess AI outputs rather than accepting them at face value.

A Memorable Moment and Looking Ahead

One highlight for Bennetts was beta-testing a Brexit contract automation tool. When the system generated a complex draft correctly, it felt like a proud achievement. Since then, MIG has grown and become a recognized driver of AI use in law.

Future lawyers interested in how technology intersects with legal expertise can hear from Bennetts at ‘The Hybrid Lawyer: Where human expertise meets artificial intelligence — with A&O Shearman’, a virtual event on Monday 8 September. Apply now to attend.