How law firm Gilbert + Tobin governs and scales AI with OpenAI
Summary
Gilbert + Tobin, an Australian law firm, adopted ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI's Codex (AI tools that generate text and code) across operations, marketing, finance, and other departments to improve efficiency while preserving professional judgment and client confidentiality. The firm achieved 87% adoption by combining visible leadership support with role-specific training, clear governance guidelines on what data employees could input, and use of OpenAI's Australian data residency (storing data in Australia rather than elsewhere) to meet client requirements. The AI tools reduced routine tasks like recruitment research from four hours to 20 minutes, demonstrating operational improvements without displacing the legal expertise core to the firm's services.
Solution / Mitigation
The source describes governance measures Gilbert + Tobin implemented: clear guidance on approved tasks and what employees could enter into the AI, review requirements for outputs, assessment of contractual protections, role-based access controls, data-processing requirements, and administrative controls. The firm also moved to an OpenAI environment with Australian data residency to give greater confidence in expanding access while meeting internal requirements and client expectations. No technical patches, software updates, or vulnerability fixes are discussed in this content.
Classification
Affected Vendors
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Original source: https://openai.com/index/gilbert-tobin
First tracked: September 2, 2026 at 02:01 AM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 92%