The rise of generative AI (GenAI) has been one of the most transformative events in the legal industry in the past few years. What was once a theoretical “next generation” technology became, upon the rollout of large language models (LLMs), a new reality for many legal professionals.
GenAI has the potential to change — in some cases radically — how legal professionals do their jobs in the years to come. Law firms using GenAI systems are already posting greater efficiencies in legal research and document management. These systems are on course to become an essential piece of a law firm’s due diligence efforts, enhancing its drafting capabilities, and becoming a valued “legal assistant” for a host of other functions.
A firm using GenAI technology is positioned to work faster, more comprehensively, and at a lower cost to clients than its less tech-savvy competitors.
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Ethical considerations for AI in legal work |
The great potential of AI in legal work |
Strategically integrating AI into legal work |
Building the future of legal work with AI |
Ethical considerations for AI in legal work
Many legal professionals are concerned that GenAI usage could compromise client confidentiality and data security, or expose lawyers to the risk that AI models could generate inaccurate results, contain inbuilt bias or even “hallucinate” (i.e., generate inaccurate answers). Currently, there is no specific legislation around AI in the UK, while the EU’s AI Act takes a more formalised approach. What lawyers have to do at present is monitor developments at national and international level to get a sense of how regulation and codes of conduct are evolving in the AI era.
For example, guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority indicates that:
- Firms must ensure that sensitive information is protected when using AI systems
- Firms will be held accountable for any errors in advice given, if it relies on AI outputs
- Staff must understand and should be able to explain how AI systems work
- Clients should be made aware of how AI is being used in their matters
- Firms must stay abreast of different regulations in all jurisdictions where they operate
Law firms may benefit from creating their own ethical playbook for using GenAI. So far, the industry has a rough consensus that AI should not be used as a final arbiter of any legal action but is fine to use for clerical duties and as a research aid, for example.
In a recent Thomson Reuters survey, respondents said they felt secure about using GenAI tools for question-and-answer services or administrative tasks. 72% of respondents said they felt that GenAI should be applied to non-legal work within a firm — over 20% more than those who said they felt it should be applied to legal work within the firm.
The great potential of AI in legal work
GenAI has a wide array of uses in the legal world. Among these are:
- Research: AI systems can plumb databases and scour hundreds of uploaded documents in minutes.
- Summarisation: AI tools can condense lengthy documents into two-paragraph summaries, allowing lawyers to assemble and rapidly integrate a set of core information from a vast collection of printed and digital matter.
- Analyses: AI-powered tools help a lawyer easily locate whatever terms they’re searching for. The systems are trained to look for inconsistencies in data, potential errors, any notable gaps in documentation, and any non-standard language in a contract, for example.
- Compliance and risk management: AI systems can monitor regulatory changes and update vital information in real-time, ensuring that a lawyer can keep clients in compliance with all applicable regulations and ethical standards.
- Predictive analytics: By analysing historical case data, AI can provide lawyers with a set of well-documented scenarios as to how a legal outcome could proceed, enabling lawyers to craft a compelling argument for their advice to clients.
Law firms also stand to reap notable time savings by using GenAI tools. A recent Future of Professionals Report found that AI could free up 12 hours per week over the next five years for professionals, or four hours per week over the upcoming year. That’s about 200 hours per person: the equivalent of adding a new colleague for every 10 team members on staff.
That said, it will still be essential for a legal provider to have vigorous peer review and fact-checking systems for any analyses that use GenAI tools. That’s because AI is only as good and as reliable as the inputs that it receives, and the technology still has potential to have “hallucinations” — inaccurate or unfounded summaries of data, for example.
It’s best to regard an AI system as “people plus technology,” says Zach Warren, manager for enterprise content for technology and innovation with the Thomson Reuters Institute. “Not as a technology that’s in any way designed to replace critical thinking in lawyering.”
Strategically integrating AI into legal work
Once a law firm commits to using AI in its operations, it needs to ensure that the technology gets regularly used by its lawyers. It’s not ideal, to put it mildly, if AI became an ignored icon on their desktop.
One way to encourage usage: having a smooth integration of GenAI functions into the law firm’s existing technology. Ideally, a lawyer would come into work on a Monday morning and start using a GenAI system installed over the weekend.
What you don’t want is for your lawyers to regard AI as a standalone system with a long, frustrating rollout that is more of a confusing addition to their workload. The more that AI prompts are nested within a legal professional’s sidebar — and become as intuitive to use as spellcheck — the more that AI will be part of a lawyer’s daily work routine.
Since many law firms have legacy tech infrastructures — sometimes for much longer than a decade — a law firm’s IT staff need to be fully involved in selecting and experimenting with a GenAI system. The staff’s input will help ensure that the system works and can be seamlessly integrated within the firm’s existing operations.
Building the future of legal work with AI
AI is remaking the legal landscape. It is already changing how lawyers conduct research, draft contracts, and run due diligence. Looking ahead, GenAI tools are poised to reshape the relationships between law firms and their clients. Now is the time for law firms to embrace this change, learn how to leverage it to their advantage, and confidently adapt to what will be a generational shift in legal operations.
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