Relying on well-selected tools may help you increase efficiency, which can improve client service and free up more hours in the day for busy attorneys. You may be wondering how, or if at all, you might use artificial intelligence (AI) in your legal practice given its recent rise and the practical applications it has shown to improve productivity across a wide range of industries.
The most recent AI technologies offer numerous potential to help solo practitioners and major legal firms increase productivity while enhancing client outcomes, from eliminating time-consuming administrative activities to expediting case analysis and research. However, a number of ethical concerns may potentially arise from the application of AI in law. Anytime we consider employing AI in the practice of law, we must always prioritize honesty and good human judgment to make sure these technologies are being used in a way that adheres to the highest professional standards.
In this article, we’ll examine the relationship between artificial intelligence and the legal industry, offering some suggestions for implementing AI in law firms along with some starter AI tools. We’ll also talk about the possible drawbacks of applying AI.
Software names in this article are merely examples; Vanilla does not support or have any affiliation with any of the programs mentioned. We urge you to conduct in-depth study on your own before implementing any software in your firm, as we haven’t reviewed every piece of legal AI available. The software samples in each category are derived from an examination of software directories and websites that compare various AI software solutions. Furthermore, not all the risks associated with employing AI are covered in this blog post.
AI: What Is It? And What Kinds Of AI Are Frequently Used By Lawyers?
Systems that mimic human-like thought processes and behaviors, such learning and problem-solving, are referred to as artificial intelligence. There are two main classifications for it: general and narrow.
You may be familiar with general artificial intelligence (also known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI) from science fiction and motion picture literature. With the use of big data sets, it can learn nearly anything and draw findings that appear to be original.
General AI may be engaged with as though it were a human being, unlike artificial intelligence systems such as algorithms or scripts. Its programmers’ limitations are the only things limiting it.
On the other hand, narrow AI, also referred to as weak AI, is designed for specialized applications such as recommendation systems used by streaming platforms, language translation algorithms, image recognition software, and virtual personal assistants (like Siri or Alexa). This targeted AI can expedite legal domain operations by reducing tedious and labor-intensive processes like document review and case law research.
Generative AI, or artificial intelligence that generates a work product, is another crucial concept to understand while discussing this subject. This type of AI uses structures and patterns discovered from preexisting data to produce content. This kind of AI might be used by a lawyer to generate regular legal papers. The important thing to remember, though, is that anything produced by this kind of software incorporates information from manually produced original works. Everything that is cited in this manner should be carefully reviewed and edited because the results may contain biases and inaccuracies.
What Advantages Does AI Offer Attorneys?
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help law companies lower operating costs, increase productivity, and provide legal services more effectively by automating repetitive processes and optimizing workflows. AI not only frees up more time for lawyers to meet with clients (or find new ones), but it also helps paralegals and assistants with research, document review, and administrative duties.
AI can also assist in making decisions that are more objective and well-informed. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analytics and predictive modeling can make connections between legal documents, case law, and regulatory frameworks by finding patterns, trends, and insights that people would miss.
AI technologies have the ability to swiftly locate pertinent statutes, precedents, and regulations. This allows them to speed up the resolution of cases, which can lead to satisfied clients, more referrals, and possibly even higher income growth for your legal business.
Five Categories Of AI legal Tools
Although there are numerous AI tools available for each of the aforementioned use cases, we’ve included a few representative tools in each area based on how well-liked they are among search engines. Vanilla does not promote any of these particular programs, and we advise everyone to conduct their own study before deciding which AI tool is best for them.
E-Learning
E-Learning Efficient management of emails, papers, databases, social media, and web content can be achieved with the aid of AI solutions. They can also assist with writing case summaries and deposition summaries.
Examples of e-Discovery AI tools are as follows:
One Relativity
RelativityOne is a cloud-based platform that offers legal practitioners an extensive toolkit to handle the whole electronic discovery process. This includes centralized case management to maintain order in your e-Discovery workflow and AI-driven analytics for digital document evaluation.
DISCO
Another cloud-based analytics program with an emphasis on legal e-Discovery is called DISCO. In order to expedite the review process, it employs predictive coding to find pertinent documents. It also offers decision-making support by offering visual insights into case data.
Legal Scholarship
When working on a case, conducting legal research is frequently one of the most time-consuming duties. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems that search through statutes and case law to locate relevant material can save a lot of time for any legal practice.
You might find the following two AI legal research tools helpful:
The Intelligence Of ROSS
Natural language processing is used by ROSS Intelligence to expedite the legal research procedure. In order to provide you with the most up-to-date legal knowledge possible, it searches through large legal databases and provides concise and pertinent insights into statutes, case law, and legal precedents.
CoCounsel
ChatGPT-4 powers CoCounsel, an AI legal assistant. It is intended to make tasks like case analysis, document review, and deposition preparation easier for you.
Mechanization
By relieving you of tedious scheduled duties, automation AI solutions free up your time so you can concentrate on more important things, like taking care of your clients.
To assist you automate time-consuming tasks like contract review, have a look at AI automation technologies like the ones listed below:
LawGeex
Redlining and contract evaluation are handled by the AI program LawGeex. It assists you in identifying warning signs in contracts and understanding the entire contractual environment to support your particular position.
Kira Systems
Kira Systems assists you in examining voluminous legal material and specializes in contract analysis. It expedites the completion of your due diligence by extracting important information from legal documents.
Management Of Documents
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems for document management can act as a virtual assistant, helping you remain on top of your caseload and even creating documents.
An illustration of an AI document management tool for lawyers is as follows:
Net Documents
Emails and documents may be safely stored and managed in the cloud using NetDocuments’ central repository. It provides a smooth means for you and your team to work together on editing and evaluating papers while enabling you to upload and arrange legal documents.
Analysis Of Litigation
Analysis of litigation As you prepare cases for your customers, AI can assist you make better strategic decisions by extracting important insights from legal papers.
Law Mation
LegalMation generates relevant pleadings, discovery requests, and discovery responses while taking jurisdictional requirements into account, aiding in the document creation process. It may produce this information while taking into account the lawyer’s particular response plan, formatting choices, and style.
Machina Lex
Large volumes of case data are analyzed by the AI-powered legal analytics program Lex Machina, which yields insightful information on judges, opposing counsel, and legal tactics. In order to support crucial legal judgments, it also offers an extensive synopsis of previous cases and their resolutions.
Possible Effects Of Utilizing AI Improperly In The Practice Of Law
Needless to say, artificial intelligence was never intended to take the place of professional legal work. Although many lawyers who utilize AI are sincere individuals who exercise caution, there have already been multiple instances of lawyers who have used AI improperly and destroyed their professional careers.
For instance, a Colorado lawyer who used ChatGPT to create a motion that contained multiple fictitious court cases was suspended.
The employment of artificial intelligence in the legal system is a topic that judges are continuously attempting to resolve. Some are forbidding the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, according to the Washington Post. Some are requesting lawyers to attest to the fact that they will reveal whether or not they have used artificial intelligence in their practice. The Florida Bar is even suggesting that in order for attorneys to employ AI to work on a client’s case, the client may need to grant authorization.
Researching and comprehending the myriad privacy, ownership/intellectual property, and security issues associated with the use of AI in legal practice is also essential. The industry’s potential for misusing AI emphasizes how crucial it is to have adequate human oversight when using AI capabilities.
AI’s Role In Law In The Future
According to Goldman Sachs research, up to 44% of legal work could be automated in the future by artificial intelligence. This may make it possible for lawyers who support the moral application of AI technologies in their legal practice to grow to new heights and provide their clients with higher caliber representation.
In response to the worry that legal AI software may eventually take the place of attorneys, it is evident that a trustworthy AI lawyer will never exist. Professionalism, ethics, and sound human judgment are the cornerstones of the legal sector.
As long as they do their work honestly and sincerely care about helping their clients solve their issues while preserving the highest professional standards, attorneys who follow these principles won’t have to worry about being replaced by AI.