AI and In-House Empowerment: Insights from Tara Fishburne of GBG

In the fourth feature of our Legal Innovators UK 6.0 interview series, we sit down with Tara Fishburne, Principal Legal Counsel, Legal Operations at GBG.

Tara has built her career at the intersection of legal counsel, operations, and procurement, giving her a practical lens on how technology is reshaping in-house teams. She recognises both the promise and the challenges of AI: from ensuring accuracy and protecting junior lawyer development, to avoiding wasted time and complexity when implementations miss the mark.

For Tara, AI can be a powerful enabler of efficiency and strategic focus, but only when deployed thoughtfully, with clear use cases and strong human oversight. In this interview, she shares her insights on the evolving expectations of in-house lawyers, how technology may reshape skill sets, and why the future depends on balance between innovation and legal expertise.

Read the full conversation below.

In your opinion, what are the biggest risks of integrating AI into legal work? What is your advice on how to prevent or mitigate them?

The biggest risks I see with AI in legal are inaccuracies, erosion of core technical legal expertise, and wasted time and resources.

AI is only as effective as the quality of the data it learns from. If the foundational inputs are flawed, the outputs will be too. Even with well-trained models, technology can fail, producing incorrect or misleading results. That’s why it’s essential to apply a human sense check and never rely on AI 100%.

While AI is a powerful addition to the legal toolkit, over-reliance risks sidelining junior lawyers from developing the deep technical knowledge that underpins sound legal judgement. We could end up with teams of paralegals operating legal AI tools without truly understanding the law behind output.

Implementing legal tech is notoriously difficult with around 70% of implementations failing. When it doesn’t work, the cost in time, money, and effort can be substantial.

My advice? Be realistic about the problem you're trying to solve. AI may be the buzzword of the moment, but without a clear, viable use case that genuinely saves time or money, it risks becoming just another layer of complexity.

Looking ahead, how do you see technology transforming the legal profession? Will AI change the expectations placed on in-house lawyers, the way they deliver legal advice or the skill set required to remain effective in the future?

Technology has already reshaped the legal profession and the way legal teams operate, particularly over the past decade. While progress has been steady, it hasn’t been rapid, and I believe we should expect a similar trajectory with AI. Developing tools that are truly effective and deliver measurable value requires significant time, effort, and investment.

AI will undoubtedly continue to transform legal teams, but it also brings the risk of creating unrealistic expectations. There may be pressure to move faster and rely on AI to do all the work, which simply isn’t feasible. AI can enhance productivity, but it cannot replace the nuanced judgement and expertise of legal professionals.

It’s also likely to shift the skill sets required to remain effective. With AI offering instant access to legal information, precedent drafting, and reasoning, there’s a real risk that we begin to rely on it too heavily, allowing our critical thinking to atrophy. We must remain vigilant in maintaining our legal acumen and ensure that AI complements, rather than replaces, our expertise.

In your view, will AI ultimately be a net positive or net negative for the legal profession?

When implemented thoughtfully, and for the right use cases, AI will definitely be a net positive for the legal profession. It must be used to supplement legal expertise, not replace it. Success depends on clear use cases, robust training and governance and ongoing human oversight.

What are you hoping to take away from your time at the Legal Innovators UK conference?

I love connecting with others in the legal profession at Legal Innovators UK, so I’m really looking forward to some insightful conversations with attendees this year. It’s so great to have this space to share ideas, experiences and expertise with peers, and I’m really keen to understand how other in-house legal teams are navigating the use of AI in their processes.

You transitioned from a Principal Legal Counsel role into Principal Legal Counsel – Legal Operations, Business Systems & Procurement at GPG Plc. What prompted that move? What key factors did you consider in making the change?

As our in-house legal function grew, there was an opportunity to dedicate a specific role to operations and procurement, which is right up my street! It’s given me the opportunity to balance governance with business agility and work with the business as a trusted advisor on a huge range of initiatives. There have always been so many opportunities at GBG to embrace technology to improve efficiency and work more closely with the business, and that was really important to me. To have the business view the legal function as a business enabler rather than a blocker was a key factor for me. It’s been a really exciting 4 years, seeing so many positive changes to the way we work together and watching the business thrive.

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Join the Conversation

Tara will expand on these perspectives live at Legal Innovators UK 6.0, joining the In-House Day panel “From Talk to Transformation: AI and In-House Empowerment.” Together with other leaders, she will explore whether GenAI has truly given in-house teams greater autonomy, efficiency, and strategic influence.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from Tara and connect with other in-house innovators shaping the future of legal practice.

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