By Gravity Stack Staff
At Legal Innovators California, we hosted a panel with leaders from Meta, Google, Coherent, and eBrevia to answer a key question: how are in-house legal teams using GenAI in practice?
Moderated by Charlie Connor, Associate Director of Legal Business Consulting, here at Gravity Stack, the conversation focused on practical insights from teams already integrating GenAI into their workflows, and embedding it into their in legal operations.
The expectations for teams, tools, and outside counsel are shifting.
From Pilots to Practice
Panelists described the shift from exploration to adoption. Emmanuelle Brissaud, Director, Legal PMO at Meta, shared that it became clear GenAI had reached a turning point when daily usage across their legal department passed fifty percent. GenAI became a regular part of the work, not a side experiment.
In some cases, adoption was driven by top-down initiatives. In others, legal professionals began exploring AI tools independently. Regardless of where it started, usage accelerated once teams began seeing results in their own workflows.
The Role of Outside Counsel Is Evolving
GenAI is also reshaping expectations around outside counsel. Legal departments are asking their firms to be more transparent about the tools they use and how they deliver value.
Jacob Mundt, CTO at eBrevia, made the point clearly: legal teams want guidance, not just execution. If a firm is using AI to increase speed or improve margin, clients expect transparency and collaboration. The firms that bring process innovation to the table are becoming long-term partners.
Panelists also discussed how legal teams are adjusting their RFPs. Work is being segmented. Tasks that align well with internal AI tools are kept in-house. Firms are expected to outline their approach and contribute to more efficient delivery.
Three Traits Behind Every Successful Use Case
From different perspectives, panelists emphasized the same foundations behind effective GenAI adoption.
First, leadership matters. Executive sponsorship helps set priorities, but teams on the ground need support and space to experiment. Culture shifts when legal professionals are invited into the build process.
Second, structured data is essential. Kunal Tanwar, Director of AI, Business Intelligence and Data Management at Google, stressed the importance of information architecture. Teams with clean data, defined taxonomies, and consistent tagging are the ones unlocking real value.
Third, trust is built through evaluation. GenAI adoption scales when people know what to expect from the output. That depends on clear testing protocols, defined ownership, and human review where necessary.
Meg Cerullo Heil, VP of Strategy and Operations at Coherent, shared a story about a revenue recognition pilot. The AI tool delivered accurate results, but the assumptions behind the project were off. “It was a tough pill to swallow,” she said, “but it taught us how to scope smarter. That made it worth it.”
Culture Is the Differentiator
Technology adoption depends on behavior. That theme came through again and again.
At Meta, the legal team built a Center of Excellence to support adoption with coaching, hands-on training, and responsible use guidance. At Google, education efforts are tailored to role and comfort level. Coherent ties GenAI engagement to annual goals and shares prompt libraries and practical examples across teams.
Meg emphasized the importance of specificity. When people see exactly how a colleague used GenAI in a real task, they’re far more likely to try it themselves. Internal transparency creates momentum.
Where Legal Teams Go from Here
Emmanuelle summed up the shift clearly: the conversation has moved past demos. Legal teams are focused on outcomes.
Teams are moving from experimentation to operational integration. Expectations are rising. GenAI is becoming part of how legal work is planned, delivered, and measured.
At Gravity Stack, we’re helping legal departments navigate that shift. That means building internal workflows, evaluating vendor tools, and delivering measurable results.
The organizations investing in infrastructure and culture are setting the pace. Others are still watching. The gap is growing.
