From Library to Intelligence Engine: The Research Function Reimagined for the AI Era

As generative AI accelerates legal research, the research function is evolving from answer delivery to intelligence creation. This session explores how research teams are becoming the interface between lawyer judgment, structured insight, and firm-wide AI and strategy systems. Attendees will learn what analyst level research looks like in practice, where research fits in human in the loop AI workflows, and how structured insight supports better decision making across the firm.

Case Study: Benchmarking AI Tools - Why Research Is Becoming the Front Line of AI Verification, Accuracy, and Trust

As firms invest in multiple AI tools, many are now confronting a harder question: which tools actually work in real research workflows and which do not. This session presents a case based discussion of how research leaders are benchmarking AI tools using real firm queries rather than demos or vendor claims.

The conversation focuses on how research teams evaluate accuracy, reliability, workflow fit, and hallucination risk, and the role of human researchers in verifying output and ensuring trust. Rather than comparing specific tools, the session offers a practical framework for deciding what delivers value, what requires oversight, and what should be reconsidered.

Evaluating AI Tools Without the Hype

How Research and Library Teams Bring Rigor to AI Pilots and Purchasing Decisions
With firms piloting multiple AI platforms, research teams are increasingly responsible for separating substance from marketing. This session examines practical approaches to benchmarking tools using real firm queries, measuring usefulness, and deciding what to keep, scale, or walk away from.

Licensing, Contracts, and AI Risk

Why Research Vendor Agreements Now Shape What Firms Can Do With AI
AI has fundamentally changed what a research license means. This session looks at how contract language around usage rights, data ingestion, training restrictions, and retention now creates long-term strategic and risk implications, and why libraries are being pulled into enterprise-level decisions.

Content Literacy in an AI-Driven Firm

Why Understanding Sources, Coverage, and Gaps Matters More Than Ever
As AI tools obscure where answers come from, research judgment becomes a risk discipline. This session focuses on source transparency, content provenance, and the role research teams play in helping lawyers understand what AI tools know, what they miss, and when trust is misplaced.

Research, KM, Innovation, and IT

How Firms Are Navigating Overlapping Roles and Shared Ownership
AI is collapsing traditional functional boundaries inside law firms. This discussion tackles the real-world ambiguity around who owns what, how research teams are collaborating with KM, innovation, IT, and data functions, and how firms are resolving friction without creating turf wars.

Proving Research Value to Firm Leadership

How to Translate Research Work Into Metrics and Narratives That Matter
Research teams often collect data but struggle to communicate impact. This session explores how leaders are reframing metrics to align with firm priorities such as revenue, risk, efficiency, and client outcomes, and how storytelling determines budget, headcount, and influence.

From Silos to Shared Intelligence

Why Data Integration Is More Political Than Technical in Law Firms
Connecting internal and external data remains one of the hardest challenges firms face. This session examines why data integration stalls, where ownership and authority break down, and how research and library leaders are navigating governance, access, and internal politics to make progress.

Career Paths Beyond the Research Desk

How Research Professionals Move Into KM, Innovation, Data, and Leadership Roles
Many senior KM, innovation, and data leaders began in research or library roles. This session explores those career paths, the skills and mindsets that enabled advancement, and how research professionals can position themselves for broader leadership opportunities.

Building and Leading the Next-Generation Research Team

Staffing, Upskilling, and Managing Change in a Volatile Environment
This session focuses on the human side of transformation. Speakers will discuss how teams are being restructured, how leaders are upskilling existing staff, and how research managers are navigating ambiguity, fatigue, and constant change while keeping teams effective and engaged.