A layered approach to AI in legal work

The concept of the “end of lawyers” – replacing legal professionals with automated services – has floated around the industry, but can technology actually supplant highly trained and experienced humans? In many cases, the legal product is a delivery of certain data, augmented by legal advice between two groups of humans – the actual delivery is a human-to-human endeavor. AI might be able to create presentations or write certain briefs.

82% of surveyed lawyers in the previously mentioned study agreed that generative AI “can” be applied to legal work.* However, in that same survey, only 52% of respondents agreed with the statement that generative AI “should” be used for legal work.*

As one respondent noted, "There are too many intricacies and nuances in legal work that require human reasoning and judgment, and there’s no way some computer programmer could take those into consideration."* AI cannot deliver an efficient legal argument without involving human analysis. That requires a specific ability to digest and analyze information and deliver a response – an ability that attorneys possess.

So, where can AI and other technology be useful? During investigation or litigation against a company, lawyers often need to go through very large volumes of data to identify what is responsive to the request as well as what is considered privileged or confidential. Analytics technology has always been useful during this discovery process, and the recent boost in technology specific to AI has sped up the process even further.

That said, using emerging technology – including AI-specific technology – in the discovery process does present some challenges. First of all, technology doesn’t stand still. Companies are constantly implementing new products and processes to address business and communication needs (the shift from email to instant messenger programs, for example), so early adoption of emerging technology is critical. Second, the volume of data continues to grow, and that data is easier than ever to keep – which can make it more difficult to find what is needed (and identify what isn’t).

That’s where AI comes in. Every lawyer needs the right tools to develop and deliver on the basic protocols that are expected, and AI and analytics can be among those tools. Plus, clients are not going to pay for the extra time it would take to dig through data manually – which means lawyers need to get on board with using AI and analytics to narrow down the data.

In addition to conducting discovery, attorneys base legal arguments on precedent. When attorneys write a brief and argue a point, they’re not coming up with that argument without background – and the strength of their argument is greater if they’re quoting precedent or case law. Benefits of AI really shine when lawyers use it to deliver the components (legal research, information gathering, and so on) that make the argument more successful. In fact, the legal profession has relied on analytics technology for many years to do things like deliver research, locate evidence, and even perform some due diligence.

The incorporation of AI and technology should be layered. Attorneys should not trust AI to develop legal strategy, but strategizing to bring in the right aspects of AI at the right time in the process can make a big difference in the final product. It's not about the machine doing all the work – rather, it’s about an integrated approach with constant verification and calibration. After all, technology does not run by itself to create a legal argument. Once the strategy is developed, attorneys should break it into components and then decide which components can be augmented and assisted by technology – and which cannot.

No lawyers like to stare at a blank screen or empty page when trying to deliver legal services for their clients – and when everything is at their fingertips (through use of the right technology, including AI), it makes the job easier.

A recent survey notes that respondents who said they use or are planning to use generative AI were interested in using it for contract drafting and review (76%) and legal research (69%).*

But with this more sophisticated technology comes the need for more support, which allows attorneys to pass off the more mundane parts of their work, so they can focus on what they’re trained to do – delivering complete legal opinions based on a variety of complex inputs, including evidence and case law.

While some practicing attorneys are uncomfortable with technology overall, the industry appears to be heading in that direction. As one survey participant said, "In five years, this is going to explode. It will be like the computer, … it will touch everything. It is just amazing and it’s not going away."* And attorneys won’t have to explore this technology alone.

Legal consulting professionals can help attorneys with the transition, using their own legal background to work alongside attorneys and help them implement technology and interpret the results. These professionals understand the available technology and tools and how they can be altered based on the specific needs of attorneys. Lawyers are trained to think a certain way, and using technology augmented by people who can identify, deliver, and interpret the law allows attorneys to focus on the most important parts of their work.

It’s important to note that when current, accepted technology first became part of the legal profession, few people who were practicing lawyers were excited. Many wondered whether they could trust the evidence and research done by technology. The answer was yes, as long as the input sources were sufficiently vetted and the output was used merely as a resource and reviewed by legal counsel.

It’s been proven time and time again that certain tasks can be done more efficiently and precisely by technology – for example, databases and electronic discovery are now well-known aspects of any case development. The bottom line is, it’s all about how well the technology is trained – a human operator is always needed to train and run the technology, verify the results, and make the results defensible.

Attorneys don’t need to fear AI – it cannot replace the human brain to make the sophisticated types of arguments that prevail in legal cases. But the tremendous pressure from corporate entities to reduce the costs and time for legal proceedings means lawyers should be welcoming the inclusion of AI and analytics in their processes. And some already are. About one in 10 corporate legal professionals report already using or planning the integration of generative AI into their department operations.* Not only can it shorten the span from beginning the case to making the legal argument, it also can make arguments more effective and efficient.

* Thomson Reuters Institute, “ChatGPT and Generative AI Within Corporate Law Departments,” May 2023.