The AI Wave Is Coming Here: Are You Ready?

In The Coming Wave, Mustafa Suleyman, Founder of DeepMind and Current CEO of Microsoft AI, describes AI as the defining inflection point of our time—a force so transformative that it represents both an unprecedented opportunity and an unparalleled risk. Coupled with this are predictions from two other luminaries in the AI space: Ray Kurzweil and Dario Amodei. Kurzweil, widely regarded as one of AI’s godparents, foresees “human-level” AI arriving between 2029 and 2032. Meanwhile, Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, paints a vivid picture of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) as “a country of geniuses in a data center,” and he believes we are just 2-3 years away from seeing its widespread adoption in the workplace.

What makes these voices so important is not just their expertise but their honesty about where we are—and the gravity of the changes already underway. They aren’t just offering predictions; they’re issuing a wake-up call. The AI wave isn’t on the horizon; it’s already forming. Whether or not these timelines are perfectly accurate, the bigger question is: What are you doing to prepare?

AGI: Already Here in Practice

While some continue to debate when AGI will arrive, the truth is that, in practice, it’s already here. The definition of AGI may be a moving target, but today’s tools already deliver capabilities that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Dario Amodei’s metaphor of a “country of geniuses in a data center” captures the staggering scale of these systems: they possess the combined expertise of countless specialists, operating at speeds and efficiencies that humans cannot match.

For those of us vigorously testing, evaluating and integrating these models into our daily workflow, this isn’t theoretical. Tools like Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-o1, and now a DeepSeek R1 allow individuals to replicate or outperform the majority of professionals across nearly every knowledge-based field—law, consulting, finance, healthcare, and beyond. With just a day’s worth of training on effective prompting, you could approximate the output of a McKinsey-level consultant, an AmLaw 50 lawyer, or even an attending physician.

What holds these tools back isn’t their capabilities; it’s their context. The real challenges lie in:

1. Data Input: The quality and completeness of the information you feed into these systems.

2. Interfaces: The usability and accessibility of these tools—specifically, how easily an average user can extract and apply their vast knowledge.

3. Human Interaction: Translating machine-generated outputs into meaningful, human-centered interactions.

The Wrong Question: When Will AGI Arrive?

Asking when AGI will arrive misses the point entirely. The real question isn’t when—it’s what does this mean for our industries, our work, and how we prepare?

This is particularly relevant for legal and professional services, where much of the focus has been on improving the practice management side of the business—efficiency, workflows, and operations. These are important, but they represent only a fraction of the opportunity. The business of law—especially business and relationship development—is where the next wave of transformation lies.

The Business of Law: Differentiation in the Age of AI

Why the Focus Has Been Elsewhere

It’s no surprise that much of the conversation around AI in the legal industry has centered on practice management—efficiency, workflows, and cost reduction. This focus reflects the industry's reactive nature, where many initiatives are driven by client demands. Clients want firms to articulate how they’re using AI to deliver counsel more efficiently, provide better outcomes, and reduce costs. These are fair and important priorities, but they leave an enormous blind spot: the business of law.

Looking at the business development side of legal isn’t a natural focus for many firms. After all, it’s not something clients actively push for—asking your outside counsel to sell better is like asking a vendor to perfect their pitch to you. And yet, clients are signaling their desires in more subtle ways:

• They want firms to understand their business, industry, and unique challenges.

• They want tailored insights and solutions that demonstrate you’re the best partner for their needs.

• They want more than just legal counsel—they want strategic advice and a competitive edge.

• And of course, they still want you to know them personally.

In this sense, the business of law is not just about selling; it’s about positioning you and your firm as an indispensable partner.

The Commoditization of Knowledge

In the age of AI, general knowledge is becoming a commodity. Laws, regulations, frameworks, and best practices are continually sucked up and stored in LLM's massive knowledge bases. Knowing the rules of the game is no longer enough to stand out. For firms, this means that simply knowing the law is no longer a differentiator.

Firms must focus on private knowledge: the unique data and insights they possess that cannot be replicated by an LLM or found by exclusively crawling publicly available sources. This includes proprietary client information, internal expertise, and contextual knowledge that adds depth and personalization to client engagements.

The key to differentiation will be in these proprietary insights your firm (emphasis on the collective) possesses that no one else does.

Private Knowledge as the New Edge

Private knowledge is the foundation for differentiation in the AI era. Firms that can harness and unify this data will create outsized value for their clients. Consider these examples:

• Client Intelligence: Every touchpoint—pitches, proposals, emails, meetings—holds invaluable data about a client’s preferences, goals, and pain points.

• Billing Trends and Buying Signals: Analyzing historical data can uncover patterns and opportunities that help anticipate client needs.

• Personalization at Scale: Knowing birthdays, family names, or even preferred communication styles can make your firm feel uniquely attuned to a client’s needs and get ahead of attrition.

• Contextual Insights: Combine private data with publicly available information—such as industry trends, competitor actions, and regulatory changes—to deliver hyper-relevant insights.

When done well, this approach transforms your firm from a service provider into a strategic partner. The firms that succeed will not just solve legal problems but also help clients navigate their industries, seize opportunities, and stay ahead of their competitors.

The Missed Opportunity

The business of law represents one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the legal industry. By focusing on business and relationship development, firms can:

1. Win New Business: Use AI-driven insights to identify white-space opportunities, nurture relationships, and craft personalized proposals that resonate.

2. Strengthen Client Relationships: Provide clients with insights that demonstrate a deep understanding of their business and challenges, cementing your value as a partner.

3. Stay Competitive: In a world where AI is leveling the playing field on efficiency, differentiation will come from how well you leverage your unique data and insights to serve clients in ways others cannot.

The firms that embrace these ideas will not only future-proof their practices but will also set themselves apart as leaders in the AI-driven future of legal services.

Preparing for the Coming Wave: Actionable Next Steps

The good news is that it’s not too late. While AI adoption is accelerating, firms—especially in legal and professional services—have not deployed solutions at scale. This means there is still time to act, but the window is closing. Firms that move now will secure a first-mover advantage, particularly in business and relationship development.

Here’s how to start:

1. Develop a Data Strategy

   • Unify your firm’s data into a single, accessible ecosystem. This includes historical client interactions, billing data, and relationship intelligence.

2. Establish a Common Tagging System

   • Create a firm-recognized taxonomy to classify and organize your data. Standardizing how data is labeled and retrieved will make it more actionable for AI tools.

3. Pursue Quick Wins

   • Identify small but impactful projects to demonstrate the value of data-driven insights. For example:

     • Automatically generating competitive intelligence reports on each client combining publicly available sources with internal data

     • Leveraging BI tools to surface relationship gaps or white-space opportunities.

4. Shift the Culture

   • Success with AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. Foster a culture where teams seek out data and use it to inform their decisions. Start small, build trust in the tools, and then scale.

Let’s Build the Roadmap Together

Becoming an AI-ready firm is not a distant goal—it’s an urgent priority. At Mount Insights, we specialize in helping firms navigate this transition. From creating a data strategy to designing actionable roadmaps, our expertise lies in helping firms move from reactive, siloed environments to modern, proactive organizations that are prepared to leverage AI’s full potential.

The firms that prepare now will thrive in an AI-driven future. Those who wait risk falling behind.

Are you ready to take the first step?

What’s Next?

In a recent post, A Tale of Two Firms, we explored the key differences between an sFirm (safe) and an iFirm (innovative), highlighting how firms can begin to think differently about their approach to business development, innovation, and alignment.

In our next post, we’ll take this a step further by outlining the practical steps to transition from an sFirm to an iFirm. This isn’t just about adopting AI—it’s about fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and alignment to drive real transformation.

Stay tuned for actionable insights on how to make the leap and position your firm as a leader in the AI-driven future.