Can A Human Resources Lawyer Use Extractive AI

A human resources lawyer typically specializes in employment law and provides legal guidance related to workplace issues. Their role can vary depending on the company's structure and needs, but generally, they are responsible for:

• Advising on Employment Law Compliance. Companies must comply with labor laws and regulations, including those related to hiring, firing, discrimination, harassment, and workplace safety. A human resources lawyer is responsible for these issues.
• Drafting and Reviewing Policies. Creating and reviewing employment-related documents such as contracts, employee handbooks, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and non-compete agreements fall under the purview of a human resources lawyer and their team.
• Handling Disputes and Litigation. Every company undergoes legal issues with employees. These can be wrongful termination claims, discrimination lawsuits, or labor union negotiations.
• Conducting Training. Company leadership and the training of HR staff need to understand the legal issues that affect the workplace. This includes compliance with employment laws and handling workplace investigations.
• Advising on HR Practices. Human resources lawyers offer legal advice on HR practices, including recruitment, compensation, benefits, and employee relations.

Regarding their placement within a company, a human resources lawyer can be part of either the legal department or the human resources department, depending on the company's organizational structure:

• Legal Department: In larger companies, HR lawyers may sit within the legal department, working closely with other legal professionals to address employment-related legal issues.
• Human Resources Department: In some organizations, HR lawyers may be embedded within the HR department to provide direct legal support and guidance on HR policies and practices.

Ultimately, the placement of a human resources lawyer within a company depends on the company's size, industry and specific needs.

What Is Extractive AI

Extractive AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to extract specific information from large volumes of data. These systems typically use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning techniques to identify, retrieve, and summarize relevant data from documents, databases, or other sources. Extractive AI is often used in applications like text summarization, information retrieval, and data mining.

How Extractive AI Benefits a Human Resources Lawyer

Specifically, let’s look at some of the benefits of extractive AI for human resources lawyers:

• Document Review and Analysis. Human resources lawyers often deal with large volumes of documents, including employment contracts, policy manuals and legal regulations. Extractive AI can quickly sift through these documents to identify key clauses, terms, or compliance issues, saving time and reducing the risk of oversight.
• Legal Research. Extractive AI can assist in legal research by retrieving relevant case law, statutes, and legal precedents from vast legal databases. This can help a human resources lawyer build stronger cases or provide more informed advice to their clients.
• Compliance Monitoring. HR lawyers need to ensure that organizations comply with labor laws and regulations. Extractive AI can monitor changes in legislation and automatically alert lawyers to new compliance requirements, helping them stay up-to-date and avoid legal pitfalls.
• Data Analysis. Extractive AI can analyze employee data to identify patterns or trends related to workplace issues such as discrimination, harassment or unfair labor practices. This can help HR lawyers address these issues proactively and advise on necessary policy changes.
• Efficiency and Productivity: By automating routine tasks such as document review and data extraction, extractive AI allows HR lawyers to focus on more complex legal analysis and strategic decision-making that helps them increase overall efficiency and productivity.

In summary, extractive AI can be a valuable tool for human resources lawyers by enhancing their ability to manage information, conduct research, ensure compliance, and analyze data, ultimately leading to more effective legal practice and better client outcomes.

Integrating Extractive AI with Human Resources Lawyers

Putting a human resources lawyer in the same vein as extractive AI benefits the legal department with work intake and managing the legal team’s workload. Legal departments that conduct work intake manually likely use spreadsheets to manage work requests or requests for legal support from business stakeholders. As the issues progress, they may become a matter and require more in-depth legal assistance, or they may be resolved with a quick phone call.

For legal departments that use extractive AI, the benefit is that some stakeholders can self-serve their requests for assistance. Some larger legal departments deploy enterprise legal management software that features a legal assistant called Ask Legal. This application is featured within Microsoft Teams, which permits business stakeholders to self-serve many of their requests for simple legal support.

When a human resources lawyer is tasked with developing standard reference materials for employees, they typically focus on creating documents that address common legal and policy issues within the workplace. Here are some key documents that could be developed for general company reference and that are accessible via the Ask Legal chatbot:

• Employee Handbook. A comprehensive guide that outlines company policies, procedures, and expectations for employees. It typically includes information on company culture, code of conduct, attendance policies, dress code, and disciplinary procedures.
• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). A legal contract that protects confidential information shared between the company and its employees. It ensures that sensitive information, such as trade secrets or proprietary data, is not disclosed to unauthorized parties.
• Non-Compete Agreement. A contract that restricts employees from working with competitors or starting a competing business for a specified period after leaving the company. This helps protect the company’s competitive interests.
• Employment Contract. A formal agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of employment, including job responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and termination conditions.
• Code of Conduct. A document that sets forth the ethical standards and behavioral expectations for employees. It often covers topics such as integrity, respect, and compliance with laws and regulations.
• Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy. A policy that defines unacceptable behavior related to harassment and discrimination and outlines the procedures for reporting and addressing such issues.
• Leave and Time-Off Policy. Guidelines on various types of leave available to employees, such as vacation, sick leave, parental leave, and unpaid leave, along with the procedures for requesting time off.
• Health and Safety Policy. A document that outlines the company’s commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment, including safety procedures and emergency protocols.
• Data Protection and Privacy Policy. A policy that explains how the company collects, uses, and protects employee and customer data, ensuring compliance with data protection laws.
• Remote Work Policy. Guidelines for employees who work remotely, including expectations for communication, productivity, and use of company equipment.

These documents serve as essential references for employees, helping them understand their rights and responsibilities while ensuring that the company operates within legal and regulatory frameworks. Likely, a human resources lawyer updates documents (or a paralegal) per evolving company policy and procedure.

Any of these basic documents used by the entire company can be added to the Ask Legal extractive AI assistant. A business stakeholder uses the ELM platform and adds a query for legal support into the work intake questionnaire. If the request is basic and the document is available to the company, the legal assistant combs the company human resources library and delivers the document to the requestor.

The combination of a human resources lawyer using extractive AI to access simple documents for company-wide accessibility is a game-changer. Time is saved by the legal team fielding requests, and the lawyers know that the requestor is referencing the most current document from the company resource library. Contact us to learn more about extractive AI and the technology for human resources lawyers and others.