Navigating the legal and commercial realities of tech on Teesside
LAW
Advice – Alex Craig, head of commercial at Muckle LLP, says businesses embracing AI need to balance innovation with robust legal and commercial safeguards.
BEYOND THE HYPE
Navigating the legal and commercial realities of tech on Teesside
Opinion – Alex Craig believes businesses don ' t need all the answers on AI straight away – but they do need the right legal advice to help them innovate with confidence.
WORDS: PAUL FRASER
When business leaders gathered for the summer Tees Business LIVE panel, the conversation turned to the topic of the decade: artificial intelligence.
But for Alex Craig, head of commercial at Muckle LLP and a featured panellist at the event, the real question isn’ t whether businesses should embrace AI – it’ s what happens when they decide to do so.
Across the Tees Valley, AI adoption is no longer simply another technology issue. It has quickly become a fundamental business issue.
From boardrooms to factory floors, organisations are grappling with the same questions around data protection, contract terms, procurement, governance and regulation.
Many leaders recognise that emerging technologies will reshape their operations, yet they remain unsure of where the legal risks lie, whether their existing contracts are fit for purpose or how to balance rapid innovation with strict compliance.
Businesses don’ t need to have all the answers immediately. What they do need is the right legal and commercial advice to guide them.
“ I started as a trainee here at Muckle in 1998 and qualified in 2000. My career journey has followed the development of the internet and how the use of tech has developed,” said Alex, who is ranked as a leading partner by the independent directory Legal 500.
“ I have been on that journey and can see we have more shifting and changing coming too. I have seen a lot of change and development from a business perspective, and we want people to know they can get support with that from us.”
Ranked Tier 1 for both its commercial and information technology teams by Legal 500, Muckle has spent decades advising innovative businesses across Teesside.
With a client roster that includes Wilton Engineering, Everflow, The Expanded Metal Company, Tekmar, PX Group, PD Ports and Propipe, the firm’ s role is to enable innovation while managing risk – never to slow it down.
64 | Tees Business