Foundations
Understand legal AI
Learn what automation, extraction and generated reasoning can and cannot do in a legal workflow, then see how confidentiality, verification and supervision change the decision.
Margo Legal learning centre
Learn the decision before choosing the technology.
Start with the question your firm is actually trying to answer. Each path joins a concise explanation, a practical tool and the evidence or boundary needed to use it responsibly.
Written for independent law firms in England and Wales. Operational guidance, not legal advice or accreditation.
Six decision paths
Go directly to the question in front of you.
The paths overlap where the evidence overlaps, but each has one clear starting point and one practical next step.
Readiness
Check whether the firm is ready
Separate organisation-level foundations from the suitability of one repeated workflow. A firm can have good systems and still choose the wrong task for a pilot.
Workflow
Measure the work as it happens
Define the trigger, finished output, people and exceptions. Freeze monthly volume, qualified review time, turnaround, corrections and write-offs before comparing a product or pilot.
Evaluation
Test a tool without protecting it
Use representative inputs, an agreed answer, a named qualified reviewer and a failure condition. Compare completed and supervised work rather than the first generated draft.
Governance
Make human review meaningful
Name who checks sources, who corrects output, who can stop the work and which evidence must survive. Review is an operating step with time and responsibility, not a disclaimer.
Contract review
Decide where AI fits in review
Check whether the playbook, precedents, represented side, exceptions and approval route are stable enough to support a controlled comparison.
Need a short answer
Start with the direct questions.
The answer library covers baseline measures, suitability, ownership, test data, review time, stop conditions and process-first decisions. Each answer points to one deeper route.
Read the AnswersNeed a working document
Use the open resource library.
The library includes browser-only checks, original guides, decision examples and downloadable worksheets. The useful material opens without requiring an email address.
Browse the ResourcesPrefer a guided decision
Bring one repeated workflow, not a general AI ambition.
The Workflow Value Workshop uses the same learning path to produce a current-state map, a baseline, a governance route and a written recommendation.
Put the answer to work
How can a legal team learn AI without starting with an organisation-wide rollout?
Start with repeated tasks and explicit review rather than an organisation-wide claim. Compare five bounded workflow types and choose one for evidence-led testing. Distinguish generation, retrieval, classification and automation without replacing judgment, then separate safe operation from qualified legal approval.
These optional PDF worksheets are available without an email address, booking or client data. They are operational aids, not legal advice.
- Five AI Workflows for Legal Work (PDF): A test sheet for summarising, extraction, comparison, drafting support and triage.
- Understanding AI in Legal Practice (PDF): Definitions, limits and control questions for legal teams.
- AI Role Guide for Paralegals (PDF): Define permitted use, review, escalation and competence evidence.
Read the practical legal AI guide, or browse all 63 ungated guides.