AI has already trickled down into day-to-day legal operations, including contract drafting, policy summarization, and knowledge discovery. Some firms are even piloting predictive due diligence and litigation AI models. In this article, we discuss 6 of the top AI use cases in law, explain the risks associated with ungoverned implementation, and provide tips to help you transform your practice compliantly.
AI has taken the legal sector by storm, with over two thirds of legal professionals already using generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Claude, on a daily basis.
When harnessed effectively, these tools have the power to streamline arduous tasks, enhance productivity, and even improve the selection and outcome of client cases.
But how exactly are law firms using AI in their workstreams? And what, if any, are the potential risks of this widespread adoption?
Most AI implementations in the legal sector sit within heavy-volume workstreams. Think long research tasks and document reviews. The sort of work that eats up billable hours and prevents lawyers from clocking out of the office on time.
Though some firms have ventured into using AI for strategic and decision-based tasks, such as early case assessment, this percentage is much smaller. This is largely due to lingering mistrust. (While the standard of AI output is getting better and better by the minute, there’s no replacement for the expertise and experience of your human legal professionals.)
In the following 6 examples, we highlight examples from both of these areas.
An overwhelming number of legal professionals are currently harnessing AI for research. 58% of these individuals use it for general research purposes, with 38% adopting it for legal-specific research.
The breadth and specificity of this research varies depending on the AI tools used.
Open LLM models, such as ChatGPT, can analyze vast amounts of content from across the web, and then summarize and contextualize its findings. This can be useful when researching historic cases. More specific tools, such as those found within digital workplace or matter management software solutions, can only research information stored within the respective system. This is helpful for familiarizing oneself with an internal case or client, as well as internal policies and SOPs.
Over 40% of legal professionals have either partially or fully deployed AI for document review.
Intelligent document and policy chatbots, such as those found within Claromentis, can:
The result? Lawyers can quickly identify contract changes, familiarize themselves with case information, and better understand regulatory obligations.
According to Thomson Reuters, lawyers spend around 40% to 60% of their time drafting documents alone, distracting them from more high-value strategic work.
Law firms that harness AI for this purpose cut this time in half.
Dedicated legal drafting tools analyze your historic documents in depth and — based on your internal standards, playbooks, policies, clauses, and contract language — allow you to:
However, as with any AI usage, it’s important to thoroughly review any output to ensure there are no fabrications or instances of non-compliance.
It’s every lawyer’s dream: the ability to predict the outcome of any case before you decide whether or not to take it to court.
This kind of predictive litigation and risk analysis is possible without AI, but it requires hours and hours of extensive research and cross-checking. AI shortens this timeframe significantly. Predictive tools pour through relevant cases, historic judgements, and trends in claims outcomes, and help litigators assess the best course of action. All in a matter of minutes.
This may be why 33% of legal professionals are either evaluating or planning to implement AI for this very use case.
Knowledge accessibility (or the lack thereof) remains a sticking point for many industries, with 85% of workers spending upwards of two hours per day searching for information. This makes it a top contender for AI transformation.
The most effective AI solutions for e-discovery are ones that sit alongside your wealth of legal knowledge.
Let’s take Claromentis as an example. Our comprehensive digital workplace contains native AI search and overview capabilities, empowering users to find information and get accurate summaries in seconds.
Unlike keyword-based search, the AI understands the sentiment and intent behind every query. It then pours through all of the content within your digital workplace — including pages, communications, documents, policies, training courses, and processes — to produce relevant links and intelligent, cited overviews. The model respects user permissions settings, too, meaning lawyers will only see the information they’re authorized to.
With so many other tasks to juggle, it’s not surprising that client onboarding often takes a backseat in law firms.
AI chatbots can autonomously handle daily communications and website queries, ensuring potential clients are never left waiting for support. In addition to this, intelligent intake models can screen clients, automatically unearth conflicts of interests, and determine the value and priority of each case. This makes it easier for lawyers to accept and progress cases, without hours of manual research or scrolling through databases.
It’s as plain as day; law firms far and wide are adopting AI in their droves. Yet, as we recently explored in another article, this adoption has unearthed a series of risks.
The first is a lack of governance.
Most AI use cases are localized. In other words, legal professionals have taken it upon themselves to find AI tools and streamline their individual workloads — without any guardrails or governance frameworks to stop them. This, in turn, has increased the likelihood of:
On top of this, a majority of law firms are facing significant integration challenges as a result of fast-tracked AI implementation. When asked ‘what challenges are you currently experiencing with your legal technology systems?’, respondents of Consolio’s survey answered:
Firms are tacking on AI to these growing “Frankenstein” ecosystems. Resulting in increased inefficiencies, bottlenecks, data silos, and fragmentation. This has a direct impact on employee productivity. Indeed, 50% of UK lawyers lose 6 or more hours per week due to outdated or inefficient platforms.
At its heart, AI must be secure, trustworthy, and implemented in a way that drives efficiency — not hinders it.
Law firms are no stranger to tedious busywork. Their daily operations are full of document reviews, contract drafting, and client intake procedures.
This makes the sector a prime candidate for AI. With secure, well-governed tools, firms can reduce the time spent on heavy-volume tasks and make room for more strategic, billable work.
However, while there are many highly specific tools on the market, we’d advise choosing AI that integrates with your existing systems, knowledge, and operations. That way, you’re less likely to suffer from tech fragmentation and all the inefficiencies that come with it.
An AI-powered digital workplace like Claromentis centralizes all of your firm’s operations, communications, knowledge, processes, and training in one intuitive hub. Our built-in AI capabilities aren’t bolted-on for the sake of it; they’re designed to deliver real value everyday, without compromising security or quality.
In addition to this, our integrated automation platform, InfoCapture, empowers you to create custom processes that optimize your operations even further. One of our legal customers, Switaliski’s Solicitors, uses InfoCapture to streamline internal support requests and policy reviews. In doing so, the firm has eradicated inefficient back-and-forths between employees, reduced manual work, and improved transparency into performance.
Eager to learn more about our secure, AI-enabled digital workplace? Get in touch with one of our experts. We’d love to give you a bespoke tour of the solution.