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Guest Post: Ken Crutchfield on Agentic AI in Legal and the Critical Need for Human Supervision
human-oversight

Guest Post: Ken Crutchfield on Agentic AI in Legal and the Critical Need for Human Supervision

Ken Crutchfield explores how agentic AI can transform legal work and why human oversight is essential for success and risk management.

July 26, 2025
5 min read
Bob Ambrogi

Ken Crutchfield explores how agentic AI can transform legal work and why human oversight is essential for success and risk management.

OpenAI has introduced a groundbreaking advancement: ChatGPT Agent now can access calendars, interact with external systems, and autonomously perform tasks. For legal professionals, this marks a significant shift. AI is evolving beyond answering queries to actively managing workflows, submitting court filings, and orchestrating complex legal operations. But this evolution raises a crucial question: Are law firms and legal departments ready for AI that acts autonomously rather than just assists? In his recent column for LawNext, Ken Crutchfield cuts through the hype surrounding "agentic AI" to reveal what it truly means for the legal profession. His article, Agentic AI in Legaltech: Proceed with Supervision!, argues that while semi-autonomous AI agents have the potential to revolutionize legal work, their success depends entirely on effective supervision, governance, and human oversight. Crutchfield, principal of Spring Forward Consulting and former executive at LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, and Wolters Kluwer, highlights the practical challenges legal innovators face today:
  • How to harness AI agents' power while managing cybersecurity risks
  • What essential guardrails must be in place
  • Why some existing legal processes may still outperform cutting-edge AI solutions in accuracy
    • As the legal industry balances innovation with risk management, Crutchfield offers concrete guidance:
  • Require human oversight for all workflows driven by AI agents
  • Expand AI governance frameworks to address new risks and responsibilities
    • His insights provide a roadmap for legal professionals navigating the shift toward agentic AI, emphasizing that human supervision is not optional but critical. Read the full analysis on LawNext: Agentic AI in Legaltech: Proceed with Supervision!

    About the Author

    Bob Ambrogi is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. He has been writing and speaking about legal technology and innovation for over two decades. Bob writes the acclaimed blog LawSites, hosts the LawNext podcast, and moderates the weekly legal tech journalists' roundtable, Legaltech Week. Source: Originally published at LawNext on July 25, 2025.

    FAQ

    What does AI's advancement mean for legal professionals?

    The advancement of AI in legal tech, particularly the introduction of ChatGPT Agent, means that legal professionals can now leverage AI for managing workflows, submitting court filings, and orchestrating complex operations beyond just answering queries.

    How should law firms prepare for autonomous AI?

    Law firms should implement effective supervision, governance, and human oversight for all workflows driven by AI agents, ensuring cybersecurity and maintaining essential guardrails.

    What are some challenges in adopting AI in legaltech?

    Key challenges include managing cybersecurity risks associated with AI, ensuring accurate and reliable AI processes, and adapting existing legal processes that might still outperform AI solutions.

    Crypto Market's Take

    The integration of autonomous AI agents, like those discussed in the legal sector, aligns closely with innovations in the cryptocurrency market. For instance, our platform at AI Crypto Market is exploring similar advancements with AI-driven crypto trading tools, which enhance market strategies with sophisticated algorithms (https://crypto-market.ai/ai-agents/ai-analysts/ai-driven-crypto-trading-tools-reshape-market-strategies-in-2025/). As the world of AI continues to expand, ensuring effective governance in AI agent deployment remains pivotal, similar to our practices in maintaining cutting-edge compliance across crypto trading operations (https://crypto-market.ai/compliance/).

    More to Read:

  • The AI Gig Economy is Here and It Pays in Crypto
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  • Agentic AI Turns Enterprise Cybersecurity into Machine vs Machine Battle
  • Perplexity AI Predicts the Price of XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano by the End of 2025