Stéphanie Corbière on Why Governance and Trust Will Define the Next Era of Legal
- Cosmonauts Team
- Jun 16
- 6 min read
As legal AI conversations become increasingly focused on governance, adoption, and measurable value, we were particularly pleased to sit down with Stéphanie Corbière, Group Head of Legal, Board member AFJE, Co-lead, AI Scientific Group at AFJE, and AI Ambassador to the French Ministry of the Economy (DGE).
Having integrated AI into her own routines across contract work, regulatory intelligence, compliance, and risk management, Stéphanie brings a distinctly practical perspective. Just as importantly, she understands the harder side of innovation. Throughout her work, she has seen that meaningful transformation depends on changing perceptions, building trust, and helping new ways of working take hold across the organisation.
From AI governance and legal operations to the evolving relationship between legal teams and technology, the conversation that follows offers thoughtful reflections on where the profession may be heading.
It's also a perspective she will bring to Legal Innovators Europe - France 2026 later this month, as she joins our In-House Day panel, "AI, Compliance, And Legal Data".
We invite you to settle in and explore. Chances are, a few ideas will stay with you long after.
What does your day-to-day relationship with AI tools look like, and how do you incorporate them into your work and routines?
AI has become part of my daily workflow, but not as a replacement for legal judgment. I mainly use it in three areas. First, productivity: reviewing contracts (such as NDAs), comparing versions, identifying unusual clauses. This allows legal teams to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on business decisions.
Second, information management. One of my preferred applications is personalized legal and business intelligence. AI can monitor regulatory developments, litigation trends, competitors, and sector-specific risks, transforming large volumes of information into actionable insights for management. For lean organizations, this can significantly improve decision-making without increasing headcount.
Third, compliance and governance. AI tools are increasingly used to support third-party assessments, sanctions screening, risk mapping, Analyse impact data assessment under the GDPR and, also the categorization of AI systems under the EU AI Act. These applications are less visible than contract automation, but often create more value because they help organizations scale compliance processes efficiently.
Looking back on your work on legal innovations, what was the hardest change to advocate for, and how did you build support around it?
The hardest change was not introducing a technology. It was changing the perception of the legal function itself. Many organizations still see legal departments primarily as risk controllers rather than business enablers. Demonstrating that technology can strengthen legal quality while accelerating business processes requires a cultural shift.
The most effective approach is to start with concrete business problems rather than technology. Instead of asking whether we should deploy AI, we should ask how to reduce contract cycle times, improve compliance coverage, or provide management with better information. When business teams see measurable benefits, support grows naturally.
My experience with the AFJE's Scientific AI Group confirms this. The discussion should never focus exclusively on tools. It should focus on governance, value creation, and responsible adoption. That is why the AFJE will be launching, together with Microsoft, an AI ethics and adoption program designed to help thousands of in-house lawyers understand both the opportunities and the responsibilities associated with these technologies.
Many organisations invest heavily in legal technology but struggle to achieve meaningful transformation. What distinguishes successful innovation efforts from expensive experiments that never gain traction?
I sometimes joke that law school taught me many important things, but not necessarily how businesses make money, how people adopt technology, or how to drive organizational change.
Successful innovation starts with a business objective, not a technology objective. Organizations that achieve meaningful transformation typically focus on a small number of high-value use cases where the impact can be measured clearly.
Innovation projects rarely fail because of legal complexity. They fail because stakeholders do not see enough value or because adoption is overlooked. Understanding incentives, change management, and business priorities is therefore as important as understanding the law itself.
This lesson becomes even more relevant with AI. The question is no longer whether lawyers understand legal rules. It is whether they can help organizations deploy innovation responsibly while remaining competitive.
When evaluating a new legal technology or innovation initiative, what metrics do you consider most important, and why?
First, I assess whether it helps the legal department make better decisions and manage risk more effectively. For example, can it improve contract visibility, strengthen third-party due diligence, enhance compliance monitoring, or help classify AI systems under the EU AI Act? For me, legal technology should not simply automate existing tasks; it should improve the quality and consistency of decision-making.
Second, I look at business value. Does it accelerate contract negotiations, reduce time spent on low-value activities, improve access to information, or allow the legal team to support business growth more efficiently? Practical examples include AI-assisted responses to data subject access requests, automated third-party due diligence questionnaires, or contract drafting solutions that rely on approved clause libraries and negotiation playbooks. These are not futuristic applications; they are already helping legal departments handle growing workloads without increasing headcount. In lean organizations, every investment must demonstrate a tangible contribution to performance. The best innovations are often the ones that free lawyers from repetitive work so they can spend more time advising the business and managing strategic risks.
Finally, I focus on adoption and scalability. The best solution is not necessarily the most sophisticated one. It is the one that employees actually use and that allows a small legal team to support a growing organization without continuously adding resources. If a tool improves productivity, strengthens governance, and is widely adopted, it is usually a worthwhile investment.
What changes do you expect to see in legal practice over the next five years that would surprise many lawyers working today?
Many lawyers still view AI primarily as a drafting assistant. I believe the bigger transformation will occur in legal operations and governance. AI will increasingly support risk identification, regulatory monitoring, compliance assessments, and strategic decision-making. The real value will not come from generating more documents, but from helping organizations make better and faster decisions.
Another significant shift will be the emergence of legal departments as governance hubs for AI systems. Lawyers will not simply advise on regulations; they will help design internal governance frameworks, oversee AI risk categorization under regulations such as the EU AI Act, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams responsible for trustworthy AI deployment. In many organizations, legal teams will become central actors in AI governance, alongside technology, compliance, and business functions.
I also expect a profound evolution in the relationship between in-house legal departments and external counsel. Law firms are increasingly integrating AI into their workflows, while some are investing heavily in proprietary AI platforms and internal knowledge systems. This transformation cannot happen in isolation. Clients will increasingly want transparency regarding how AI is used, what safeguards are implemented, how confidentiality is protected, and how efficiency gains are reflected in the services provided. This is one of the topics currently being explored by the AI Scientific Group of the AFJE, because AI is not only changing how lawyers work; it is also reshaping the expectations and economics of the client-law firm relationship.
Finally, legal departments will become more data-driven. Decisions about litigation, compliance priorities, contract risks, and resource allocation will increasingly rely on structured information rather than intuition alone. The lawyers who thrive will be those who can combine legal expertise, business understanding, and the ability to leverage data and technology responsibly.
What do you hope the audience takes away from your session at Legal Innovators Europe - France 2026?
I hope participants leave with a practical understanding of how AI can create value today while remaining aligned with legal and ethical requirements. The conversation around AI is often polarized between excessive enthusiasm and excessive caution. In reality, organizations need a balanced and operational approach.
I would also like attendees to recognize that innovation is not reserved for large organizations with extensive budgets. Some of the most impactful initiatives involve relatively simple use cases: contract productivity tools, personalized regulatory intelligence, automated third-party assessments, or AI governance frameworks. These solutions can generate significant value even within lean teams.
Most importantly, I hope lawyers leave with the conviction that they have a central role to play in shaping the future of AI governance. The legal profession should not simply react to technological change; it should actively help design it.
Perhaps the most thought-provoking idea in this conversation is that AI is challenging lawyers to master disciplines that traditional legal training rarely addressed. Technical knowledge remains essential, yet the ability to understand business realities, build trust, and guide organisational change may prove equally decisive in the years ahead.
With that in mind, we are particularly eager to hear Stéphanie Corbière’s perspective at Legal Innovators Europe - France 2026, as the profession begins to define its place in a world where governance, judgement, and trust carry renewed significance.
Join us in Paris to continue the discussion together.
📅 June 24th - 25th, 2026
📍 Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, Paris, France
🎟️ 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻-𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀:
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