Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly prevalent in the legal industry. Legal AI tools are more common than ever, and generative AI has stayed in the legal tech headlines since the 2022 debut of ChapGPT.
On the other hand, new AI legislation is being proposed, and many are concerned about the shortcomings and dangers of the legal use of AI.
This state of affairs leaves many legal professionals wondering where legal AI goes from here.
Here we discuss how the use of AI has already developed in the legal industry, as well as future developments on the horizon. Law firms can adapt to this new AI-dominant world, but they need to remain open to learning and clear-eyed about the risks.
Current use of AI in the legal industry
It is easy to see how widespread the usage of AI is in the legal industry when you understand the different types of AI.
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of AI that looks for patterns in data to reach conclusions.
Natural language processing (NLP) is another AI subfield that involves the analysis of large amounts of text or speech in order to interpret that data.
Generative AI creates output — in the form of blog posts, essays, or even legal briefs — in response to the user’s instructions, or “prompts.”
ML and NLP are already commonly used in legal research for such tools as Westlaw Edge, which attempts to understand the meaning of words in legal searches instead of simply matching keywords.
Other AI-powered research tools will help analyze legal briefs by identifying legal principles, suggesting relevant content, and linking to related resources.
AI is also being used for contract review, contract drafting, discovery — even prediction of legal outcomes.
An AI-powered tool can analyze contracts by identifying potential issues and errors and pointing out where contract clauses deviate from market standards. It can also identify documents for discovery purposes based on learned patterns.
Analytics based on AI can predict case outcomes based on public records related to the judge, the lawyers, and even the case itself.
The future of AI for the legal profession
Since the use of AI is already pervasive in the legal industry, what can we expect 5-10 years in the future?
The potential for AI tools to take the place of attorneys appears remote at best — even generative AI such as ChatGPT cannot “think” in any real sense. It simply creates human-sounding content based on NLP and large language models.
So, what changes will AI truly bring for legal professionals?
One likely outcome is that increasing amounts of mechanical and repetitive work will be performed by AI tools.
In fact, a recent Goldman Sachs study concluded that 44% of tasks in the legal profession were subject to potential automation. That should come as a relief to many legal professionals who feel bogged down by tedious clerical tasks every day.
Much of this legal work that can be reduced or replaced by AI is currently performed by paralegals, secretaries, and other legal support staff.
In addition, much of it is currently performed by low-level associates.
This means that AI tools will likely change the role of low-level law firm hires, leading firms to prioritize candidates that are well versed with technological tools over those who prefer a more traditional approach.
There may also be pressure to move away from traditional fee arrangements, such as the billable hour, and switch to value-based billing or flat fees.
AI-related dangers and concerns
While legal AI shows great promise, there are several dangers and concerns surrounding its usage.
With respect to generative AI, the well-known case of ChatGPT being used to generate a legal brief in federal court, and then creating citations to fabricated court cases, shows the inherent dangers of employing this technology recklessly.
This is why firms need to invest in the training and education required to use AI tools responsibly.
There are also ethical risks with the use of AI in the legal industry.
Your duty to provide competent representation means that lawyers using AI must also understand some essentials of how it works. For example, you owe clients a duty of confidentiality, which means you must be mindful of any confidential information that is input into AI applications and then stored or shared with third parties.
Keep in mind that AI-powered legal tools generally have built-in safeguards to mitigate risk. The riskiest uses of AI come from tools that aren’t designed by and vetted for legal professionals.
What can you do now to prepare for AI?
The best way for you to deal with the coming AI-related changes is to take the approach attorneys already know well — preparation.
One aspect of this preparation is staying up to date on AI developments through conferences, courses, and articles.
Another element is taking any provider-related training or outside courses for any AI tools your firm puts in place. Ask your sales representatives about training your team. You shouldn’t have to do it yourself.
AI is a newly emerging field that is still ever-changing, so legal practices should commit now to staying abreast of new legal AI innovations.
Legal AI bears a great deal of promise for the legal profession, but it will require us all to stay on our toes. AI is pulling the traditionally stodgy legal profession into the future. Instead of trying to hold back, legal professionals would be well-served to get ahead of the trend.
