Recently, AltaClaro held a panel at the NALP-PDI conference titled “The Power of Prompting: Teaching Lawyers How to Leverage Generative AI,” bringing together legal industry leaders to discuss how law firms can effectively integrate Gen AI training into their organizations. Moderated by Abdi Shayesteh, CEO and founder of AltaClaro, the session featured Kate Orr, Global Head of Practice Innovation at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. The insights and strategies shared here are inspired by that discussion, highlighting the key themes and takeaways.

Generative AI is already changing how legal work gets done. The hardest part of keeping up with technological shifts in the legal industry has little to do with access to tools. The real challenge is cultural. Even with the best tools in place, adoption often stalls unless people feel curious, motivated, and confident enough to try something new.

Instead of mandates and detailed announcements, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP leaders discovered that the strongest motivator is the influence of the people sitting next to you. When attorneys see colleagues experimenting with AI, showing small wins, or talking about a new workflow that makes their process easier, curiosity spreads. Questions begin to surface, interest grows, and the idea of trying the tool no longer feels risky or strange.

Kate Orr, the Global Head of Practice Innovation at Orrick, explained this dynamic clearly.

“People want to attend training because they are hearing everyone talking about it. They do not want to feel behind the curb or miss out.”

FOMO (or “fear of missing out”) is a quiet force that shapes real adoption because it taps into the awareness that the firm is moving in a certain direction, and you want to move with it.

How Peer Influence Creates Momentum

At Orrick, AI adoption spread when AI use became visible in everyday work. Attorneys talked about prompts that helped them revise a first draft, paralegals compared approaches to research, and teams shared examples of use cases in meetings. Each moment, however small, signaled that the technology was worth exploring.

As AI usage became more visible across Orrick, the momentum of AI adoption increased. Training sessions filled up quickly because people wanted the same skills their colleagues were gaining, and sessions felt more collaborative. Participants learned from instructors, but they also learned from each other.

The Role of Internal Champions

To further promote AI adoption across the firm, Orrick created space for early enthusiasts to share what they were learning. Orrick identified internal champions across departments to provide social support for peers who are just getting started, as well as concrete use cases for AI based on established workflows. These individuals became trusted guides inside the firm, and their enthusiasm invited others to participate. They showed what worked, talked openly about what did not, and helped colleagues find approaches that matched their workflows.

These champions made AI feel approachable and also helped colleagues learn how to apply AI tools into their workflows.

A Culture That Learns Together

When people recognize that others are building new skills and participating in a firm-wide shift, they want to be part of that progress, and they want their work to reflect the same level of quality and productivity as their peers.

While peer influence sparked interest, Orrick turned to AltaClaro to ensure attorneys firmwide were using AI ethically and effectively. Orrick chose AltaClaro to provide experiential training on GenAI because the program mirrors the realities of legal work and offers a clear path from exploration to competence.

Through the “Learn. Do. Review.” model, participants first build essential knowledge, and they then practice through assignments drawn directly from common legal tasks. This approach removes uncertainty and encourages genuine skill development. Attorneys feel comfortable experimenting because AltaClaro provides a safe environment that invites questions and exploration.

The impact of the training reached beyond the sessions themselves. Attorneys brought new ideas back to their teams, practice groups compared approaches, and staff members swapped tips during informal conversations. 

Peer influence brings attention to AI. AltaClaro’s experiential model turns that attention into capability. Together, they create a culture in which adoption feels natural, collaborative, and aligned with the way lawyers already learn.

To explore how AltaClaro can support your firm’s GenAI readiness and help your teams build practical, sustainable fluency, book a demo and learn how experiential training can accelerate adoption across your organization.