Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming a ubiquitous technology that facilitates more effortless and convenient navigation of both our personal and professional lives. AI affects your daily life whether you realize it or not, whether it’s through ChatGPT, Live Chat on your preferred online store, your phone’s facial recognition technology, or the estimated time of arrival for your Uber journey. Everything from what you see in your Twitter feed and the Google advertising that show up when you search to Amazon product recommendations (like “customers who bought this item also bought”) is influenced by predictive AI-driven algorithms.
AI is still in its early stages of adoption across a wide range of industries, but its effects are already evident in a number of business functions, including accounting, HR, legal (e.g., Harvey AI), sales and marketing (e.g., chatbots like ChatGPT), IT systems management, building maintenance (heating and cooling systems), and manufacturing (inventory management).
Even though the legal sector has historically been slow to embrace new technology, artificial intelligence is starting to have an impact on law firms. AI in law firms can help automate repetitive processes like document management, legal research and analysis, and billing, which can significantly improve practice efficiency and save costs. Let’s examine artificial intelligence (AI) and how it might benefit your legal practice.
Artificial intelligence: What Is It?
A machine trained to do one or more jobs performed by humans is referred to as artificial intelligence, or AI. For instance, you can set a reminder on your smartphone to give your friend Alex a call at 5:00 p.m. every Wednesday. You’ll also get that reminder every Wednesday, unless you instruct your smartphone to stop delivering them. Here’s an example of how AI mimics human intelligence to complete a task: this automated notification.
It’s possible that you’ve also heard of “machine learning.” Despite their frequent interchangeability, machine learning and artificial intelligence are two distinct ideas.
Will Artificial Intelligence Take The Position Of Lawyers?
Without a doubt, lawyers may benefit from AI tools. Lawyers that use automation can free up more time to assist clients and take on more billable work.
But legal practitioners also need to be cognizant of the challenges that AI brings. It’s critical that attorneys are aware of their moral responsibilities when utilizing AI technology.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not come to replace humans in the legal industry, even while it can save lawyers time, promote automation, and even add flair to their legal writing. Fear of technology, which has the potential to save you and your company time, may also be preventing you from serving additional clients.
AI Vs. Machine Learning
AI includes machine learning as a subset. It describes how people teach robots to learn through the input of data. Instead of merely carrying out (or imitating) a human activity, machine learning makes inferences by searching for patterns in data. The machine may apply its learned conclusions to new data once it has learned to draw one accurate conclusion.
Using the phone call reminder as an example, suppose you have been calling Alex every Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. for the last two months but haven’t established a weekly reminder to do so. This pattern would be detectable by a smartphone using machine learning. As a result, because it recognized the pattern, it might automatically remind you if you don’t contact Alex on Wednesday.
How May AI Be Used By Attorneys In Law Firms?
On a desk, a small, disassembled machine is placed in front of an open laptop computer.
AI is currently being used in various areas of the legal sector. Although it might not be immediately apparent, artificial intelligence in law companies improves the work that paralegals and attorneys accomplish. In particular, AI in law firms enables attorneys to revolutionize their practice by placing clients first in a way never seen before.
Here are just a handful of the ways forward-thinking legal companies might use AI in their operations.
E-Learning
E-discovery, the process of searching through electronic data to find non-privileged information pertinent to a case or claim, is the most basic and prevalent application of artificial intelligence in the legal field. Lawyers can scan documents with e-discovery software by entering search phrases or utilizing specified parameters, such dates or geographic location. Lawyers receive nearly instantaneous responses as a result, which is substantially quicker than scanning paper documents. This additional time enables attorneys to find more pertinent material.
Legal Investigation
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered legal research software, akin to e-discovery software, enables legal practitioners to swiftly scan and explore vast databases containing rules, statutes, practice areas, jurisdictions, case laws, and more. A lawyer can use legal research software to obtain information and assist in understanding previous rulings. Faster and more thorough research saves time and money for clients of attorneys. Users of practice management software, including Casetext and Fastcase, can do research and append pertinent case facts directly with the help of integrated tools.
Automation And Administration Of Documents
Electronic document storage presents comparable difficulties to hard copy document storage, even as legal companies continue to move away from paper records. Even while electronic records require less physical space, finding and organizing papers can still be difficult.
AI-driven document management software stores and arranges legal files, such as contracts, case files, notes, emails, etc., using tagging and profiling features. Documents are much easier to find with this digital file organization and storing technique in addition to full-text search.
To preserve version control and security, document management solutions additionally provide document ID and check-in/check-out privileges. Moreover, document management software facilitates easy file sharing with others by connecting to other platforms, such as Microsoft Office.
Legal experts can automatically fill up form fields directly from case records into the templates, saving time and effort. Document automation assists law firms in creating documents using intelligent templates. A unified and effective procedure for generating letters, agreements, motions, pleadings, bills, invoices, and other legal documents is offered by legal document automation.
AI technology is being used by attorneys to assist with document-related due diligence.
Extensive Diligence
When performing due diligence, lawyers frequently have to go through a lot of paperwork, including contracts. AI can speed up the document review process for legal practitioners, just like it can for other document-related issues. Certain papers, such as those with a certain clause, that are necessary for due diligence can be retrieved by an AI-based solution. AI due diligence software is also capable of identifying document discrepancies or alterations. The finest aspect? AI can quickly scan over documents. Although human assessment of the data is still recommended, lawyers can reap benefits from a significant reduction in the manual labor associated with document inspection.
Analysis Of Litigation
Examining precedent-setting cases in great detail is necessary to assess whether a lawsuit is worth pursuing or not. Attorney AI can swiftly examine these prior rulings and, using that information, assist attorneys in drafting more appropriate and correct documents.
How Can AI For Lawyers Help The Client And The Firm?
The use of AI in law companies enhances the capacity of legal practitioners to carry out their duties. In general, AI helps cut down on the amount of time spent on manual chores, giving more time to engage in client-focused and relationship-building activities. There are several advantages that law firms might enjoy for their clients and their bottom line:
Boost Output
Automation of repetitive manual operations with AI boosts productivity throughout the company. AI-driven workflows increase productivity by doing away with labor-intensive, time-consuming tasks like finding a contract, carrying out due diligence, or producing an invoice. Attorneys who increase their efficiency can devote more time to billable work and still spend more time with their clients.
Boost The Availability Of Justice
Machine learning and artificial intelligence have the potential to lower obstacles to justice, most notably the high expense of hiring an attorney. Lawyers can lower estimates and prices for clients by saving time on manual and regular legal labor. For instance, if research that used to take 20 hours now only takes two, attorneys can pass those savings forward to their clients. Lawyers can also help more clients with the time saved by not having to spend it on laborious research. Although the legal sector has not yet fully embraced AI, there is still room for growth.
Better Client-Centered Experiences Should Be Offered
The primary benefit of utilizing artificial intelligence in law companies is that it frees up more time for attorneys and other legal professionals. With artificial intelligence (AI) generating labor and time efficiencies, attorneys can devote more time to developing deep connections with their clients. Attorneys should be able to assist clients with more than simply legal issues. With more time on their hands, attorneys can properly comprehend their clients’ needs and how and why they arise.
Your reputation will precede you if you establish yourself as a reliable advisor who takes the time to get to know your clients and provide prompt, effective service. You will receive more recommendations and receive better internet reviews if you can win over your clients’ faith and trust. In the end, this strategy may bring in more business and clients for your legal practice.
AI’s Ethical Implications For Law Firms
A desk-mounted computer workstation with two monitors, displaying brief passages of code on the screens.
Legal AI is a component of a complicated, quickly developing technology sector where new applications and insights are made practically every day. The complete effect and possible applications of these instruments are still unknown to us. And in a field where compliance is paramount, such as law, being cautious is the best course of action.
Model Rules For The ABA
The first rule of the American Bar Association addresses “competence” and the duty of an attorney to offer “competent representation to a client.” In 2012, a note was added to the rule stating that comprehension of “the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology” is a need for practicing law competently.
Is there enough knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence, especially machine learning, for lawyers to employ it in their daily work? We have enough data to say that the response to research and database queries is yes. However, additional research is needed as machine learning and artificial intelligence for lawyers enter the field of predictive analysis.
Unconscious Prejudice
Implicit bias is one of the biggest inherent concerns in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Humans create machines, and despite our best efforts to be impartial, humans are prejudiced by nature. There is proof that, for instance, facial recognition software has trouble correctly recognizing persons that are black, female, and in the 18–30 age range. People attribute this disparity to the technology’s early adopters and inventors, who were primarily white men. The disparity is concerning since law enforcement organizations frequently employ these technology to assist in identifying criminal individuals.
It would be as troubling if comparable biases were discovered in the instruments used by attorneys to forecast case outcomes. We frequently think that the current legal system is skewed. The risk of comparable biases in the anticipated results of our legal system becomes all too real, given that the data these systems employ comes from our actual legal system.
AI For Lawyers And Legal Responsibility
Concerns about legal ramifications exacerbate the risks associated with racism. Who bears the responsibility if an AI-driven system yields a biased or inaccurate result? Is it the tool’s seller or the lawyer who utilized it? Imagine, for instance, that the defending attorney does not employ an AI solution, whereas the prosecution attorney does. Is the defense lawyer responsible if the prosecutor wins thanks to the AI-powered solution because they didn’t employ all the resources at their disposal to effectively represent their client? On the other hand, is the prosecuting attorney responsible for its use if the lawyer AI solution fails?
These and other questions remain unanswered. These inquiries lend credence to the notion that lawyer AI will take some time to fully replace lawyers.
AI Tools For Lawyers
Meanwhile, attorneys can become more client-focused and efficient in their practice by utilizing a number of potent AI-driven technologies. Here is a summary of the five main participants:
Smith.ai
An outsourced platform called Smith.ai employs a “virtual receptionist” to take calls from attorneys and legal firms. The computerized receptionist is a real person. On the other hand, Smith.ai makes use of AI for both its chatbot functions and call routing and logging decisions. Clio is integrated with the receptionist and chat services.
Gideon
Another AI-powered chatbot solution that can efficiently qualify leads and respond to inquiries from prospects is called Gideon. Gideon can frequently replace laborious, time-consuming intake paperwork entirely with a brief chat. Gideon and Clio blend as well.
Casetext
Casetext, an AI-powered legal research platform, makes it simple and quick for attorneys to locate cases. Legal practitioners can do searches within Clio with only one click thanks to Casetext’s integration, and the results can be saved immediately to the active case. In order to make sure cases are pertinent to the topic at hand, Casetext also examines cases.
Diligen
Diligen uses machine learning to scan contracts for particular terms, provisions, or revisions and provides a handy summary in a timely manner. This assists lawyers in performing due diligence. Professionals in the legal field can import documents directly between Clio and Diligen.
AI For Lawyers: Enhancing The Client-Centered Experience
Although there are still concerns regarding AI’s use in law companies, the legal sector has benefited greatly from the technology. Lawyer AI technologies are a good fit for companies that want to improve efficiency, profitability, and client-centeredness while also advocating for greater access to justice.