Gilbert + Tobin rethinks the business of law with AI

Our Executive Function series features perspectives from leaders driving transformation through AI.

Gilbert + Tobin⁠(opens in a new window) is one of Australia’s leading corporate law firms, with work spanning capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, disputes, and technology. The firm operates in a profession built on specialist knowledge, careful judgement, and the secure handling of sensitive information.

Gilbert + Tobin began by giving its people room to experiment with AI, then introduced ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Work and Codex to move from individual assistance to defined, multistep agentic workflows, with people responsible for review and approval.

We spoke with Sam Nickless, Partner and Chief Executive Officer at Gilbert + Tobin, about leading adoption from the front, where he’s seeing the value of AI, and his advice for other CEOs.

We have three objectives: to use AI to deliver better services to our clients, make Gilbert + Tobin a great place to work for our people and firmly establish ourselves as a leader in our market.

The real value we’ve seen from AI so far hasn’t been about reducing cost or needing fewer people, but freeing our people to focus on the more human side of their work, meeting with clients, coaching their teams and mentoring the future leaders of our industry.

When ChatGPT first became available, we encouraged people to experiment with it and think about where it might create value. We were clear that no client data or confidential information should be entered. That gave people a safe, constrained environment to experiment.

The next step was to provide a secure channel to powerful AI. We introduced ChatGPT Enterprise in a controlled environment and expanded from there. Australian data residency, contractual protections, role-based access and administrative controls gave us the confidence to scale while meeting our requirements and those of our clients.

Governance should enable responsible use. Our message was simple: AI is not cheating. It is another tool people can use to apply their judgement. They still need to define the task, check the output and take responsibility for the final work.

Leaders have to use the technology themselves: experiment, push the boundaries and learn what works. When people see that AI matters to you, it sets the tone and encourages others to engage with it.

We did not mandate usage targets. Instead, we made the technology relevant. Our business transformation team demonstrated workflows tailored to different functions, while videos, showcases, challenges and an early AI bounty surfaced ideas from across the firm.

Gilbert + Tobin has always been willing to lean into new technology. What has been most encouraging is the creativity coming from every part of the organisation – not only the technology team.

To help manage my workload more effectively, I created a “digital twin” through a custom GPT (now shifting to Plugins) using examples of my writing, feedback I had received, context about the firm and the way I like to work. It started as a tool for me and became more valuable when I shared it with my direct reports.

My team is now able to use it to get “my feedback”, effectively, via ChatGPT. It lets them test their thinking against my context and working style before coming to me. It does not make decisions or speak for me; it helps our conversations start from a stronger place.

I also used ChatGPT Work in a confidential annual review process involving our 120 partners. I asked it to update files with data from a spreadsheet, create PDFs and bundle the finished material. It completed the work in minutes.

With a product as powerful as ChatGPT Work, it’s important to have the right admin controls behind the scenes, and it now provides detailed, granular data on usage. When I checked the usage dashboard afterwards, the cost for that annual review work was about $62. That was a good trade for the time I saved – and for work that would otherwise have required several other people over multiple days.

Start by using the technology yourself. Experiment with real work, understand its limitations and show your people that learning matters.

Pair that leadership with clear governance and practical enablement. Give teams examples tailored to their roles, create safe ways to test ideas and keep people responsible for the result.

The opportunity is bigger than doing the same work a little more quickly. Used well, AI can raise the quality and volume of what an organisation produces – and give people more time for the complex, strategic work where their expertise and judgement create the greatest value.

Find out more about Gilbert + Tobin’s work with OpenAI through the case study here.