Stop Pretending: Leila El Gharbi on Authenticity, AI, and Transforming the Legal World
Yes, AI is taking legal work, especially the grunt kind. In this episode of Mind At Work, Leila El Gharbi unpacks how AI is transforming in-house legal from reactive to proactive, why resistance to legal tech is really a trust issue, and how reinvention is the key to staying ahead.
In this episode of Mind At Work, I sat down with the one and only Leila El Gharbi: a queen of reinvention, social media influencer, legal tech expert, lawyer, and community founder.
Needless to say, Leila wears many crowns. Her journey spans multiple countries, industries, and identities. She has been an employment lawyer, a brand ambassador, a legal tech expert, and briefly a waitress who thought she would make good money on tips. Spoiler alert, she did not. But the throughline is a fierce commitment to reinvention, an openness to the unexpected, and a deep belief that success isn’t about sticking to a plan. Rather, it is about adapting, learning, and figuring things out along the way.
From Childhood Ambitions to Career Curveballs
Leila always knew she wanted to be a lawyer. Growing up in an Arabic family, law was one of the three golden career paths, right alongside medicine and engineering. Her dad used to call her the devil’s advocate because she would instinctively argue the other side of every debate at home, often just for the sake of it. So it made sense that she pursued law and trained as an employment lawyer in France.
Then life happened.
A move to the UK, initially meant to be a three-month adventure, turned into something much bigger. She found herself applying for all kinds of jobs, navigating a new culture, and realising that fluency in English does not always mean being able to effortlessly communicate in a professional setting. She had to get creative, fast.
Falling Into Legal Tech (and Loving It)
Leila did not set out to work in legal tech. She landed there almost by accident. After bouncing between different corporate roles, she eventually found herself working at a legal tech company. It was an unexpected shift, but one that made perfect sense in hindsight.
Legal tech gave her something she had not experienced before: a space to be creative. For most of her life, she believed creativity was her twin sister’s thing, not hers. But when she started working in legal tech, something clicked. She discovered a knack for breaking down complex legal concepts, using design tools like Canva, and making legal tech feel more human.
Four years ago, she never would have called herself 'creative' (would you believe it?!). Today, it is a core part of how she operates.
The Biggest Legal Tech Misconception
One of the biggest myths Leila wants to break? The idea that AI and automation are here to replace lawyers.
“There’s so much fear around legal tech, but the reality is AI isn’t taking anyone’s job,” she explains. “It’s freeing up time for legal teams to focus on work that actually requires legal expertise.”
AI-powered solutions can negotiate NDAs in seconds, generate playbooks in real time, and empower business teams to self-serve on routine legal requests.
She sees this fear play out in enterprise teams that are hesitant to embrace AI because they’re stuck on words like “hallucination” or worried about accuracy. But once they see the technology in action, mindsets shift. AI-powered solutions can negotiate NDAs in seconds, generate playbooks in real time, and empower business teams to self-serve on routine legal requests.
For legal leaders looking to implement AI, Leila’s advice is clear: start small and show tangible results. Resistance to AI is often a trust issue, not a technology issue. Build trust by demonstrating quick wins.
How AI is Changing the Role of In-House Legal
Leila believes that AI is not just making legal teams more efficient—it is redefining their role in the business.
“When legal tech is used properly, it transforms legal from a reactive function into a proactive business enabler,” she says.
She has seen companies implement AI-powered legal chatbots in Slack to handle repetitive internal questions, reducing the need for legal to act as a bottleneck. She has also used AI to fast-track the contract negotiation process, allowing legal teams to focus on strategic work instead of low-value redlines.
For legal teams that feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of AI tools on the market, Leila suggests a shift in perspective. Instead of focusing on the fear of getting it wrong, focus on how AI can augment the team’s strengths. AI is not a replacement. It is an extension of the legal team’s expertise.
The Future of Legal Tech: What’s Next?
Looking ahead, Leila sees AI and automation unlocking new opportunities for legal teams, but she also acknowledges the challenges. The biggest one? How to train junior lawyers in a world where AI is automating traditional training grounds like contract review and legal research.
She sees this as a pivotal moment for legal education and professional development. Firms and in-house teams will need to rethink how they structure junior training to ensure that new lawyers build foundational legal skills before relying too heavily on AI.
Legal tech is no longer a niche conversation. It is a business imperative. And for legal teams that embrace it early, the opportunities are endless.
Despite the challenges, Leila is optimistic. Legal tech is no longer a niche conversation. It is a business imperative. And for legal teams that embrace it early, the opportunities are endless.
A Reminder That Reinvention is Always an Option
Leila’s career is proof that there is no single way to build a successful legal career. It is okay to take detours. It is okay to change directions. It is okay to not have a master plan.
What matters is staying open to new possibilities and trusting that every experience—whether planned or not—is leading somewhere valuable.
This was one of my favourite conversations because it was such a strong reminder that careers are not linear, and they are definitely not one-size-fits-all. If you are navigating a transition, questioning your path, or simply feeling stuck, Leila’s story is one you need to hear.
🎧 You can listen to the full episode here.
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