Osborne Clarke associates Tom Sharpe and Thomas Stables discuss the transformative role of AI in reshaping legal practices, offering insights into their specialised approaches and the evolving landscape of technology law
Many lawyers and students alike are grappling with the intricacies of artificial intelligence (AI) after its headline boom across the legal industry. But what does AI law look like in practice? And what do training contract hopefuls need to do to prove their tech credentials?
Ahead of this afternoon’s virtual student event ‘AI, business and the law — with Osborne Clarke’, I sat down with two of Osborne Clarke’s tech lawyers leading the charge on AI at the firm. Tom Sharpe, associate director, and Thomas Stables, product regulation senior associate, offer their insights on the transformative impact of AI in law, detailing their innovative approaches and the broader implications for the legal industry.
SD: Could you walk me through your career journeys so far and what you’re currently working on at Osborne Clarke?
Stables: Sure! I’m a senior associate in regulatory disputes. I originally studied philosophy at Newcastle University, before jumping straight into the GDL. After that, I started my training contract at OC. I had a mix of seats—banking, regulatory disputes, a secondment at Tripadvisor, and six months in the commercial team where Tom [Sharpe] works. Over time, I’ve shifted from general regulatory work to becoming quite specialised in tech law, especially around AI. My job is mostly about keeping clients out of disputes before they happen—advising on compliance, helping them build products that meet regulatory standards, getting market access in different jurisdictions.
Sharpe: My path was along the more “traditional” law degree and LPC route. I studied law at Cardiff before doing the LPC in Bristol and then training and qualifying at OC. A couple of years after qualifying in Bristol, I decided to move to London, joining a Magic Circle law firm for a few years, before boomeranging back to OC — this time in the London office.
My practice is split into two buckets — digital transformation and AI. I started off with a practice very much focused on IT and outsourcing, which has now evolved into digital transformation which means advising on a wide range of technology-based agreements. Working in this space involves helping clients who are either transitioning from traditional business models over to an increasingly digital way of operating. At the other end of the scale, I advise other clients who are already very digital, but are pushing into new digital channels or adopting new and advanced tech (such as AI). Secondly, over the past 12-18 months, AI has really taken over an increasing share of my workload. So, basically, I badge myself as a digital transformation lawyer who also handles a lot of AI work.
SD: It sounds like AI and tech are huge parts of both your roles. I’d love to hear how the rise of AI, especially generative AI, has impacted your practices and career directions. How has it shaped the way you work?
Stables: I think the first hurdle is education. Over the past 18 months, the demand for training on AI has been huge. Clients are constantly asking, “What should we do about ChatGPT?” or “How do we prepare a policy for using these new tools?” It’s been a matter of getting the basics out there quickly. As people become more knowledgeable about AI, the challenge shifts to how fast we can move. We’re well positioned as the go-to advisors for our clients when AI-related issues come up; my career has definitely moved in that direction over the last 12-18 months. AI is a highly technical product, so my background in product compliance fits very neatly into advising clients on how to build and launch compliant AI systems.
Sharpe: Technologies like AI are exactly why I became a tech lawyer in the first place. It hits directly on one of the themes that I found super interesting when studying law at university — will regulation keep up with tech, or will the tech outpace regulation? AI is a great example of that race. Machine learning has been around for relatively quite a long time now, but what’s really captured imaginations and propelled AI to the front pages is the generative aspect. The release of AI tools like DALL·E and ChatGPT created a really rich interactive experience — AI was no longer something working in the background (doing things like filtering spam emails) — it’s now so tangible. That generative aspect is what has drawn the attention of the public, boardrooms and regulators.
We’re constantly advising clients on cutting-edge AI tools they’re developing – it’s really exciting to see “behind the curtain” and to advise on the bleeding-edge AI and use cases that clients are working on. It’s really cutting edge tech, and is such an interesting space given legislators are scrambling to catch up with the sheer pace at which AI is evolving.
SD: Are there any AI projects that Osborne Clarke is working on internally?
Sharpe: Absolutely. We’ve been rolling out AI solutions internally — one of which is our GPT-based chatbot, OCGPT. It’s designed to help with research and trained on our internal precedents, though no client data is involved. It’s really a tool for us to experiment with, figuring out how we can use AI to make our processes more efficient and deliver better client solutions. We also have some other exciting AI projects as a firm that we can’t quite talk about yet, but they’re coming soon!
Stables: Yeah, I used OCGPT this morning. It’s brilliant at cutting down time on routine tasks like summarising meeting notes. It’s an efficiency booster, no doubt. And we’ve got more AI tools in development, so watch this space.
SD: On the topic of AI regulation — there’s a lot of talk about whether regulation can keep up with the pace of tech. Does that pose unique challenges in your product regulation work?
Stables: Definitely. There’s a constant tension between encouraging innovation and ensuring safety. Last night, I attended a seminar led by one of the heads of the European AI Office, discussing how the EU is taking a risk-based approach similar to the way they regulate other products in Europe. The idea is to keep the market dynamic and allow people to innovate, but within solid guardrails to ensure safety. What’s exciting is how dynamic the regulatory structure is going to be. Legislators are making sure there’s room for rapid amendments to keep up with the industry’s fast pace. Sector-based regulators will also have a lot of power to tailor their guidance to specific risks, which allows for agility.
Sharpe: Yeah, and that’s key, especially for global clients. We’re seeing a patchwork of regulations pop up, with various jurisdictions taking different approaches — the UK approach is still taking shape and there are other areas where regulations are working their way through the legislative process (such as California). In the EU, the EU AI Act is now law (as of August this year) and much like the GDPR before it is widely considered to be the gold standard that clients will work towards in their compliance programmes.
SD: It sounds complex with different regulators and jurisdictions involved. Do you think that’s a challenge?
Stables: It can be. But that’s where we have an advantage at Osborne Clarke. We have offices across the world, with specialist tech lawyers in each jurisdiction. We work particularly closely with our colleagues in places like Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands to ensure we’re giving joined-up advice to clients.
Sharpe: Exactly. A client raised this point in a session I was at yesterday—if they’re operating globally, what does this patchwork of regulation mean for them? It’s an evolving challenge, but with the EU AI Act as a reference point, companies are using that as their compliance anchor. From there, we tailor advice for specific local regulations. It’s a lot of moving parts, but it keeps things interesting!
SD: Finally, for future lawyers wanting to get into this sector, especially with AI becoming such a hot topic, what advice would you give?
Stables: I think everyone entering the legal profession now should have at least a baseline understanding of AI. It’s going to be fundamental in so many areas. The great thing is, AI tools themselves make it easy to learn. You can experiment with generating code or images — it’s all about being curious and playing around with the technology. Firms are already screening for people with an interest or knowledge in AI, so it’s definitely something that will stand out.
Sharpe: At Osborne Clarke, there’s a huge opportunity to shape your own career. If you’re passionate about an area, the firm will support you and people will be really pleased and happy to involve you in that space. The firm is very much about backing you, especially where you’ve got an idea or a passion for something. To my mind, that’s what makes it fulfilling to work here — there’s so much room to explore and help shape the firm’s approach to a wide range of cutting-edge areas.
Meet Osborne Clarke at ‘AI, business and the law — with Osborne Clarke’, a virtual event taking place THIS AFTERNOON (Tuesday 24 September). This event is now fully booked, but why not check out our list of upcoming events.
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