1. The Challenge

The firm a multi-site legal services organisation handling sensitive client matters, case files, and regulated data had seen a rapid rise in staff using generative AI tools to assist with research, drafting, and administrative workflows.

However, this introduced significant risks, including:

• employees pasting confidential case information into unapproved AI tools
• no visibility into which apps were being used or what data they processed
• inconsistent understanding of what “safe usage” looked like
• no governance, monitoring, or escalation procedures
• regulatory exposure and compliance concerns around data handling

With client confidentiality a core obligation, the organisation needed a structured way to enable AI safely while reducing shadow AI risk.

2. Our Approach

Peritus delivered an AI Governance and Monitoring engagement designed specifically for professional services and legal environments.

Our work included:

• Mapping AI usage across the organisation to identify risks and patterns
• Implementing monitoring to track interactions with AI platforms
• Establishing acceptable-use policies tailored to legal-sector requirements
• Creating guardrails for sensitive data handling and prompt security
• Providing executive and staff training on safe AI usage
• Recommending configuration changes to reduce risk from unapproved tools
• Defining governance processes and escalation pathways for incidents

This allowed the firm to embrace AI innovation while protecting client data and meeting regulatory expectations.

3. The Outcome

The introduction of structured governance and monitoring delivered measurable improvements:

• 70% reduction in unapproved AI tool usage
• Clear, firm-wide AI usage policy aligned to legal confidentiality standards
• Full visibility into AI interactions, enabling early detection of risky behaviour
• Reduced exposure of client information to external AI platforms
• Improved staff confidence and understanding of what “safe AI” means
• A repeatable governance framework supporting future AI adoption

Peritus helped the organisation move from unmonitored, high-risk AI experimentation to controlled, compliant, and secure AI enablement.

“Peritus helped us get ahead of the risks around AI. Their guidance was clear, practical, and tailored to the realities of a legal environment. We now have visibility, control, and confidence in how AI is being used across the firm.”    

— Director of Operations, Legal Services Firm