New AI Legal Specialist role proposed for global AI governance

As AI regulation explodes worldwide — from the EU AI Act to frameworks in the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, China, and beyond — the market has responded by asking data protection officers, privacy lawyers, and compliance managers to stretch their existing roles. But a new paper from Nicola Fabiano argues this is insufficient. The paper, 'The AI Legal Specialist: A Juridically Autonomous Professional Profile for AI Governance,' contends that a wholly new professional identity is needed: the AI Legal Specialist. This is not just a rebranded privacy lawyer; it is a jurist whose existence derives from the structure of regulatory obligations wherever AI is substantively regulated, making it 'juridically autonomous' from technical standards or adjacent roles.

Fabiano grounds the definition in legal reasoning rather than technology, then proposes a reference competence architecture aligned with the European e-Competence Framework (e-CF, EN 16234-1). The paper also articulates conditions for measuring the profile’s effectiveness through key performance indicators. This contribution aims to serve as a foundation for international standardization of the AI Legal Specialist role, informing practice, curricula, and adoption across jurisdictions. For companies navigating the patchwork of global AI laws, this signals a clear need: dedicated legal expertise built specifically for AI governance, not borrowed from other domains.