How Law Firms Can Use Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Cultural Competency

Artificial intelligence — better known as the technological simulation of human intelligence — is a current trending topic. It is swiftly transforming different industries and reshaping the way the legal profession interacts with advancing technology. One area where artificial intelligence’s application remains underexplored is the enhancement of cultural competency, a concept that is arguably vital across all professions. As law firms continue to face clients and lawyers of different backgrounds and worldviews, integrating artificial intelligence to support cultural competency is a unique opportunity. This article explores how law firms can utilize artificial intelligence to help enhance cultural competency within the organization and the impact of doing so.

What is Cultural Competency?

Although there is no universal definition of the concept of cultural competency, the various definitions that exist have similar traits. The loose, more surface level definition of cultural competency refers to the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people with different backgrounds, cultures and worldviews (In Search of Cultural Competence, American Psychological Association, March 2015). This definition is often expanded to include people’s behaviours, economic status, social status, linguistic abilities, and more. Three key components of cultural competency are often highlighted when training organizations on how to be culturally competent. These components are as follows (Cultural Competency, Oxford Review, n.d.):

1. Awareness: Understanding one’s own cultural biases and perspectives allows individuals to acknowledge how their background influences their perceptions and interactions with others;
2. Knowledge: Gaining information about different cultures is vital to building respectful and productive relationships with individuals; and
3. Skills: Developing the ability to communicate effectively and empathically with individuals from different backgrounds. This includes active listening, adapting communication styles and displaying cultural sensitivity.

The Impact of Cultural Competency

Fostering cultural competency within organizations leads to institutional change and creates a more inclusive and equitable environment. In turn, this leads to various benefits, including higher levels of satisfaction and retention among both lawyers and clients, improved organizational performance, and a stronger bottom line. In the context of law firms, focusing on the concept of cultural competency and its practical application can have a meaningful impact. Specifically, it can:

• Enable lawyers and employees to collaborate within diverse teams, leading to more effective problem-solving, innovation and overall efficiency;
• Improve satisfaction and retention among lawyers and employees by creating a workplace where individuals feel valued, respected and understood;
• Enable lawyers to better understand and serve the needs of their diverse clients, ultimately bettering client relationships and increasing client satisfaction; and
• Enable the law firm to attract a broader client base and stand out in the legal market by having lawyers of different backgrounds and linguistic abilities.

Conversely, failing to recognize and respect differences in cultures, background and worldviews can result in negative consequences, including a breakdown of trust with clients, high turnover rates, and more.

Enhancing Cultural Competency

Traditionally, organizations used more conventional tools such as workshops, seminars and in-person training to improve cultural competency and its practical application. While these approaches are still important, there is potential to enhance them through the use of artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence tools can complement traditional tools and further support cultural competency by offering new ways to detect bias, monitor organizational satisfaction and support multilingual communication. To detect biases and discrimination in hiring and recruitment, law firms can integrate artificial intelligence to anonymize resumes and use structured questions that emphasize equity and identify biased language in job descriptions. When utilizing artificial intelligence systems for this purpose, it is vital to thoroughly vet the systems to ensure they are not perpetuating existing biases and discrimination.

To monitor organizational satisfaction, artificial intelligence tools can also be used to collect data from lawyers and employees to assess morale and detect areas for improvement. According to recent studies, leveraging artificial intelligence can allow organizations, such as law firms, to address morale-related issues proactively. Examples of artificial intelligence tools focused on employee engagement and retention include Culture Amp and Leapsome.

Lastly, artificial intelligence tools can be used to make legal services more accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency. For example, incorporating artificial intelligence language translation features on a law firm’s website may allow potential clients to navigate the website in their preferred language, thereby improving both reach and client experience. One example of an artificial intelligence tool that offers language translation features is Weglot.

Ethical Considerations

Despite its various advantages, the use of artificial intelligence in enhancing organizational cultural competency comes with important ethical considerations. For one, law firms must be vigilant about upholding privacy and confidentiality obligations, such as by ensuring artificial intelligence tools safeguard any sensitive data. Another important consideration is internal biases that exist within various artificial intelligence tools themselves, thereby making it crucial for law firms to thoroughly vet artificial tools to avoid inadvertently perpetuating biases and discrimination. Furthermore, it is also crucial for law firms to stay informed about evolving rules set out by the Law Society regarding technology and ensure artificial intelligence tools are used to complement, not replace, human judgment.

Conclusion

Integrating artificial intelligence presents a unique opportunity to enhance organizational cultural competency within law firms. By utilizing artificial intelligence to detect bias, monitor organizational satisfaction, and support multilingual communication, law firms can create more inclusive, equitable and responsive environments for lawyers, employees and clients. Although the use of artificial intelligence must be approached carefully, taking into account ethical considerations and pairing traditional tools with artificial intelligence to enhance cultural competency can help law firms better reflect the diverse world in which they operate.