A Practical Approach to Legal AI Engineering
Understanding the framework's purpose, structure, and how to implement it effectively within your organisation.
Purpose of the Framework
The Legal AI Engineering Framework addresses a critical gap in the legal profession: the lack of structured guidance for developing AI capabilities within legal teams. As artificial intelligence transforms legal practice, organisations need clear pathways to assess, develop, and advance their team's AI competencies.
This framework provides that structure by offering:
- Clear progression pathways from initial scepticism to advanced expertise across three core competency areas
- Measurable assessment criteria to identify current capabilities and skill gaps within your team
- Actionable development plans with prioritised next steps and concrete milestones
- Standardised role definitions to align expectations and career development across your organisation
How to Use This Framework
The framework is designed to be flexible and adaptable to different organisational contexts. Here are the primary ways to implement it:
Use the diagnostic metrics and behaviour descriptions to assess where individuals currently sit within each competency area, then create personalised development plans using the quick actions and exit checklists.
Map your entire team's capabilities to identify collective strengths and gaps, then prioritise training initiatives and resource allocation based on strategic needs and individual interests.
Establish clear career progression pathways within your organisation, using the framework levels to define roles, set expectations, and guide promotion decisions.
Focus learning initiatives on the most impactful skills by using the framework to identify priority areas and design targeted training programmes that address specific competency gaps.
Customising the Framework
While the framework provides comprehensive guidance, you may need to adapt it to your organisation's specific context, industry requirements, or strategic priorities.
Common Customisations Include:
- Adjusting diagnostic metrics to reflect your organisation's specific tools, processes, and performance standards
- Modifying quick actions to reference your internal training resources, systems, and available learning opportunities
- Adapting exit checklists to align with your organisation's project management, governance, and approval processes
- Emphasising specific competencies based on your strategic priorities and the roles within your legal team
Wordsmith AI can provide guidance and support for customising this framework to your organisation's needs. Our team has experience implementing similar frameworks across various legal contexts and can help ensure your adaptation maintains the structure's effectiveness while meeting your specific requirements.
About Wordsmith AI
This Legal AI Engineering Framework is part of Wordsmith AI's mission to train a generation of legal AI engineers. We believe that the future of legal practice lies not just in adopting AI tools, but in developing professionals who can thoughtfully integrate, govern, and optimise AI capabilities within legal organisations.
Our Platform & Academy
Wordsmith AI provides comprehensive training, tools, and resources to support legal professionals in their AI journey. Our Academy offers structured learning paths that align with this framework, providing the practical skills and knowledge needed to progress through each competency level.
From foundational AI literacy courses to advanced technical training, our platform is designed to support both individual development and organisational transformation in legal AI adoption.
Visit Wordsmith AIReady to Implement the Framework?
Start by exploring the core competencies and assessing where your team currently stands. The journey to legal AI engineering excellence begins with understanding where you are today.