Legal & Compliance: From Roadblocks to Strategic AI Partners

In many organisations, legal and compliance teams have an uncomfortable relationship with AI. They are called in late, asked to approve something already built, and cast as the people who say no. This adversarial dynamic serves no one well.

The organisations getting AI right take a different approach. They bring legal and compliance in early, treat them as partners rather than gatekeepers, and build systems that are compliant, trustworthy and effective from the start.

The old model: legal as roadblock

Traditional technology development often relegates legal and compliance to a late-stage review. Product teams build what they want to build. Near launch, legal is asked to review. Issues are discovered that require significant rework. Launch is delayed, relationships are strained, and compromises are made under pressure.

This model treats compliance as an obstacle to be navigated rather than a capability to be leveraged. It leads to poor outcomes as shortcuts are taken to meet deadlines, friction between functions that should be collaborating, and missed opportunities to build trust with customers and regulators.

Why AI changes the equation

AI makes early legal and compliance involvement more important than ever. AI regulation is evolving rapidly across jurisdictions—the EU AI Act, sector-specific requirements, data protection laws and emerging standards create a complex landscape. Legal expertise is essential to navigate it.

AI systems can cause harm in ways that are not always obvious during development. Bias, privacy violations, automated decision-making impacts—these issues require careful analysis that compliance teams are equipped to provide. AI failures make headlines. A system that discriminates, violates privacy, or makes harmful decisions can damage an organisation’s reputation for years. Early compliance involvement helps prevent these outcomes.

New regulations require organisations to demonstrate how AI systems work, why they make certain decisions, and who is responsible. This documentation is easier to create when legal is involved from the beginning.

The new model: legal as partner

Effective AI development brings legal and compliance into the process early. Include legal and compliance representatives on AI project teams from the outset—they should participate in design discussions, not just reviews. Invest in helping legal teams understand AI capabilities and limitations, and help technical teams understand legal and compliance requirements. A shared vocabulary enables better collaboration.

Conduct legal and compliance risk assessments during the design phase, when changes are still easy to make. This prevents costly late-stage rework. Legal teams should aim to enable safe AI development, not just identify risks. This means offering practical solutions, not just objections. And legal and compliance involvement should not end at launch—ongoing monitoring, incident response and regulatory engagement require sustained participation.

What legal and compliance teams need

To be effective AI partners, legal and compliance teams need AI literacy—understanding what AI is, how it works, and what it can and cannot do. This does not mean becoming technical experts, but having enough knowledge to engage meaningfully. They need deep knowledge of applicable regulations and how they apply to AI, an evolving area that requires continuous learning. They need tools and methodologies for assessing AI-specific risks, including bias, privacy, safety and accountability. They need a seat at the table from the beginning, not just at the end, which requires organisational commitment to collaborative development. And they need sufficient staffing and budget to engage with AI projects effectively. Compliance cannot be an afterthought if teams are stretched thin.

What AI teams need from legal

For collaboration to work, AI teams also need to shift their mindset. Bring legal in at the design stage, not when the system is nearly finished. Share relevant information about data sources, model behaviour, intended use cases and known limitations—legal cannot provide good advice without good information. Treat legal feedback as valuable guidance, not obstacles to be overcome. The goal is to build better systems, not to win arguments. And build legal review time into project timelines rather than treating it as an unexpected delay.

The benefits of collaboration

Organisations that treat legal and compliance as AI partners gain significant advantages. Issues caught early are cheaper and faster to fix than issues caught late. Systems designed with compliance in mind are less likely to cause harm or trigger regulatory action. Customers, partners and regulators have more confidence in AI systems built with proper governance. Cross-functional input leads to more thoughtful design choices. And as regulation increases, organisations with mature compliance capabilities will be better positioned.

What leaders should do

If you want to transform legal and compliance from roadblocks to partners, mandate early legal and compliance involvement in AI projects. Invest in AI literacy training for legal teams. Create cross-functional governance structures with real authority. Measure legal and compliance teams on enabling safe AI, not just blocking risk. Celebrate successful collaboration, not just successful launches. And provide resources that match the scope of AI ambitions.

The shift from adversarial to collaborative relationships takes time and deliberate effort. But the payoff—in risk reduction, speed and trust—is substantial.

The bottom line

Legal and compliance teams are essential to AI success, not obstacles to it. Organisations that bring these functions in early, give them the knowledge and resources they need, and treat them as genuine partners will build AI that is more trustworthy, more compliant and more effective. The alternative—late-stage friction and compromised outcomes—is not sustainable.