Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Rick Campbell, the executive chairman and CEO of @Group, and Matt Winlaw, the CEO and managing director of @ID, which is one of three divisions within @Group that also includes @Docs and @Soft.
They discussed open-source intelligence, why it has become vital to modern legal operations, the blind spots in traditional legal risk models, predictive behavioral artificial intelligence use cases, and practical ways for legal teams to integrate AI and open-source intelligence without overwhelming their workflows.
Ari Kaplan: Tell us about your background and the genesis of @Group.
Rick Campbell: @Group evolved from what was originally Campbell & Partners Consulting, which provided document management solutions that developed into a comprehensive vendor-independent approach to various services, including cybersecurity and custom software, leading to the formation of @ID, @Docs and @Soft.
Ari Kaplan: Tell us about your background and your role with @ID.
Matt Winlaw: @ID has united some of the world’s leading tech point solutions or collaborated on solutions to help firms across various industries tackle insider and external threats.
Ari Kaplan: How do you see corporate legal departments and professional services firms evolving in 2025?
Rick Campbell is the executive chairman and CEO of @Group, and Matt Winlaw is the CEO and managing director of @ID, which is one of three divisions within @Group that also includes @Docs and @Soft.
Rick Campbell: The nature of risk, now more than ever, is multifaceted and continually evolving, manifesting in various ways for legal departments and professional services firms, including reputational and cyber risks. While there are external and insider threats that Matt referenced, firms also face peer-based competition from technologies adopted by other firms and internal legal departments within organizations. Firms that proactively adopt a well-planned AI-based technology strategy can mitigate specific evolving risks. However, AI also introduces its own risks to legal departments and professional services firms, as it alters the legal landscape in the coming years or decades, potentially replacing certain tasks with behavioral AI platforms.
Ari Kaplan: What is open-source intelligence, and why has it become vital to modern legal operations?
Matt Winlaw: Open-source intelligence (OSINT) utilizes publicly available information to support legal strategy, manage risk and conduct enhanced due diligence. In litigation support, OSINT assists legal teams in fact-checking claims using social media, news articles, public records and corporate registries. OSINT includes any publicly accessible information and can be utilized for client due diligence and compliance. When firms seek to take on new clients or assess mergers or acquisitions, OSINT can reveal red flags, reputational risks, conflicts of interest or sanctions. It provides a robust method for conducting thorough background checks without crossing legal boundaries. It also enhances intellectual property and brand protection, cybersecurity, internal investigations, e-discovery and evidence gathering. OSINT can assist in collecting and preserving online content legally, sometimes even to reconstruct timelines of events based on a digital footprint.
Ari Kaplan: What are some blind spots in traditional legal risk models, and how are law firms avoiding them?
Rick Campbell: Each firm, office and employee has points of continuity. However, there are often firm-specific and culturally geographic idiosyncrasies that evolve with their risk profiles. Therefore, considering all major threats, including deepfakes and identity theft, is crucial. AI-based cyberattacks and the ever-emerging risk of insider attacks are just a few blind spots that firms may not fully recognize when planning. Maintaining continuity in how a firm addresses these challenges—ensuring a proactive and offense-oriented approach to risk mitigation, rather than a purely reactive and defensive one—is essential for developing and sustaining a firm’s risk posture. At @Group and @ID, we always emphasize that when it comes to mitigating risk, it is better to be proactively on the front foot than to end up on the front page.
Ari Kaplan: What are some predictive behavioral AI use cases helping legal teams respond more effectively to risk?
Matt Winlaw: Some people believe that behavioral AI, or predictive behavioral AI, is science fiction, but it is not. It’s a reality today, and it’s shaping how legal teams manage risk by moving from a reactive to a proactive approach. We can now identify early signs, whether from within an organization or from external sources, such as client risk profiling. By examining online comments, social media activity or overall industry sentiment, AI can pinpoint early reputational or compliance concerns related to a client or insider threat detection. It uses predictive models to detect unusual patterns, like increased access to sensitive data that might indicate a disgruntled employee or a potential breach. We devote a significant amount of our time to the predictive aspect of external threats, which we sometimes refer to as the weather forecast, because it involves spotting signals of emerging external threats. This enables teams to predict, block and stay ahead of malicious campaigns before they occur.
Ari Kaplan: What are some practical ways that legal teams can integrate AI and open-source intelligence without overwhelming their workflows?
Rick Campbell: There is a high expectation of technology teams within legal departments without a significant increase in resources, so leveraging tools as a force multiplier is becoming increasingly important for law departments. While tools are continually evolving, the main point of differentiation, in our experience, is the depth of data sets they utilize and the resulting real-time nature of the available source data. It is crucial for firms to understand the power and practical functionality of OSINT to specifically determine what they wish to achieve and across which social media platforms, including the surface, deep or dark web. Our platform offers a wide range of options for enhanced due diligence that can be applied to various applications, including M&A transactions, e-discovery, investigations, insurance and importantly KYC and KYE for vetting clients and employees. The applications are virtually limitless, so having a defined plan for their utilization, based on a clear understanding of the applications, is essential for firms to adopt.
Ari Kaplan: What advice would you give to legal professionals or operations leaders just beginning to explore the intersection of AI and risk management?
Matt Winlaw: Don’t be scared or concerned. It is a fast-changing and complex environment, but there is a significant opportunity for teams to position themselves for growth and long-term success. From our perspective, firms that effectively leverage and utilize AI and open-source intelligence will be in a significantly better position in the long run. It’s not just about technology; they must stay ahead of regulatory changes and adapt to evolving client expectations.
Ari Kaplan: What advice would you share with professionals and leaders who are beginning to explore this intersection?
Rick Campbell: As we used to say in the military, time well spent on reconnaissance is time very well spent, so my primary advice would be to do your homework. Engage with industry peers, seek specialist advice and, where possible, collaborate with discussion groups to gain a thorough understanding of the available technology and its associated future roadmaps to assist in achieving your preferred outcome. Conversely, this process should also help you understand how others are currently utilizing or planning to utilize AI to better manage their risk profile, which may further assist in determining how to apply the available tools to best meet your evolving requirements.
Listen to the complete interview at Reinventing Professionals.
Ari Kaplan regularly interviews leaders in the legal industry and in the broader professional services community to share perspective, highlight transformative change and introduce new technology at his blog and on Apple Podcasts.
This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.
