AI in Legal: Robin AI's Frederik Muelke on Simplifying Adoption and Building Trust

Frederik Muelke, head of alternative assets at Robin AI spoke to Alice Murray of The Line, about the opportunities of building AI into legal workflows in financial firms.

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The Line: AI adoption is increasingly being likened to the early days of the internet. How well does that analogy hold? 

Frederik Muelke: With the internet, yes, we eventually got it. Tech moves fast; we often start confused and then figure it out. In the case of AI and private markets, Robin is positioning itself as one of the few trusted suppliers. Rather than requiring every lawyer to understand the nuances of AI’s fast evolution, we’re meeting them where they are: By creating an intuitive interface that integrates with their workflows. We partner with Anthropic and AWS, two trusted names with embedded safety measures. Our job is to make AI as easy to use as making an online payment.

The Line: So it requires a leap of faith. How willing are industry practitioners to make that jump?

Frederik: We engage with legal, operations, or compliance professionals—sophisticated, well-educated people who are naturally risk-averse. Building trust isn’t easy, but we’ve been around longer than many new entrants, giving us an advantage in meeting those expectations. 

Our job is to make it easy to use and instil in them the trust that it works; that it gets them to the right outcome. Same as making a payment online to buy a new shirt from Net-a-Porter. 

The Line: But are there real risks, like hallucinations, privacy breaches, or job loss?

Frederik: There are risks, and acknowledging them is the first step to mitigation. Yes, AI can hallucinate if misused or if asked something it’s not trained to answer. But human professionals make mistakes too. We can catch AI errors with systems like citations. The regulatory landscape for AI is still developing, which can be challenging, but trusted sources and forums are key. As for replacing jobs? No, lawyers using AI will replace those who don’t use AI – but the overall legal market will grow. At Robin, we believe combining AI with human oversight delivers the best results—faster, more consistent, and cost-effective.

The Line: What are simple steps people can take to get more comfortable with AI?

Frederik: In-house legal teams are overburdened, and AI can makes the burdens manageable. I don’t recommend overwhelming yourself with newsletters or books, as information can quickly become outdated. Instead, find a couple of credible, up-to-date sources and incorporate them into decision-making. Remember, no one has all the answers—this is new to everyone. There are lots of conversations happening, and it’s crucial to join those discussions to learn and adapt.

The Line: Is AI inherently more confusing than other technologies?

Frederik: There’s a famous quote: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” AI is creating infrastructure-level changes, much like the internet did, which can be disorienting. But I’m optimistic. Every risk has an opportunity. AI has the potential to make life infinitely better and easier, so that’s where the focus should be. The confusion will fade, and what will remain are the use cases that make life easier. Right now, it’s about getting credible information from trusted partners to feel comfortable using the technology.

The Line: What are the most common concerns you hear from market practitioners?

Frederik: One concern is the expectation that AI can instantly solve everything with the press of a button. While there are significant benefits already, it’s important to manage those expectations and paint a picture of what’s possible. The second concern is trust. Practitioners want to know if they can trust the technology, can I trust you with my data, will you look after me, will you give me adoption training and make sure I don’t fall behind the fastest, latest models 

At Robin AI, we can confidently say yes to all of that. We have a strong signal from our sophisticated customer base, which helps build momentum and trust in the market.

— This interview first appeared in The Line, and has been edited for length

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