Gilbert + Tobin has moved from open experimentation to defined, multistep agentic workflows built on ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Work and Codex, OpenAI says in a Q&A with Partner and Chief Executive Officer Sam Nickless. People still define the task, check the output and take responsibility for the final work. The stated aim is better service and a better workplace, not fewer lawyers.
The number that sticks is about $62.
Nickless said he used ChatGPT Work for a confidential annual review covering 120 partners. The system updated files from a spreadsheet, created PDFs and bundled the finished material in minutes, he said. The usage dashboard later showed a cost of about $62 for that run, work he said would otherwise have taken several people multiple days. It is a concrete step removed from the CEO workflow, not a pilot slide.
Adoption is unusually high, with 87% active usage among enabled ChatGPT users, according to the firm. That is more than twice the rate Gilbert + Tobin typically sees for other tools, the firm said. There were no usage mandates.
What replaced the mandate was visible use. Nickless built a custom GPT as a digital twin from his writing, feedback and working style, then shared it so direct reports could test thinking before meeting him. The business transformation team showed role-specific workflows, while showcases, challenges and an early AI bounty surfaced ideas beyond the technology team. Nickless said, "Getting started yourself...sets the tone and encourages others."
The limit is governance, and the firm names it. Early work barred client data, then scale came with Australian data residency, contractual protections, role-based access and admin controls, OpenAI says. Inside AI framed the same rollout around cost savings and efficiency gains, while Nickless told OpenAI the value so far "hasn’t been about reducing cost or needing fewer people, but freeing our people to focus on the more human side of their work." The test for peers is whether partners will do real client work in the tool and still own the check.
