Why Should The Legal Industry Start Using AI?

The technology of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is spreading like a wildfire in the legal world. Many people in the United States are afraid that AI will replace their jobs. 

Since complaints about lawyers are common, many would love to find ways to replace lawyers with AI.  However, far from replacing a legal practice, AI is best used to augment and amplify the capabilities of legal professionals, helping to deliver a better client experience.

But why use AI in the legal industry? Why can’t the status quo just continue?

Well, for one, change is inevitable and happening fast. Legal tech companies leveraging AI are beginning to engulf the legal industry. Harvey AI recently raised $80M from Kleiner Perkins, OpenAI Startup Fund, and Sequioa to take on the legal industry. LegalMente AI is revolutionizing the legal industry by reducing the cost of legal work through AI-assisted contract reviews. It’s only a matter of time before legal professionals will need to adapt to this new reality.

I know what you’re thinking: this must all be hype about AI’s benefits.

But there’s actually measurable evidence that proves AI augments and enhances human productivity.

Harvard University & Boston Consulting Group did a study that found consultants using AI were significantly more productive. They completed 12.2% more tasks on average, completed tasks 25.1% more quickly, and produced 40% higher quality compared to a Control group for realistic consulting tasks within the frontier of AI capabilities. Their analysis also showed two distinctive patterns of human-AI integration: “Centaurs” (half human/half AI) and “Cyborgs” (continual interaction with AI).

Those that don’t use AI are going to get left behind in the economic and labor markets.

So what are some ways AI can help legal professionals achieve this level of significantly improved human capability?

This article outlines a few ways.

AI Can Help Optimize Document Review and Compliance

AI will play a pivotal role in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of document review and compliance checks. The rationale behind the usage of AI is automating these routine yet essential tasks, so that legal professionals can concentrate on delivering quality services. Specifically, in the realm of document review and compliance, AI works by employing sophisticated algorithms to scan, review, and analyze vast arrays of legal documents quickly and accurately. It identifies discrepancies, ensures adherence to relevant laws and regulations, and flags potential issues, thereby significantly reducing manual workload and mitigating risks of human error.

AI Can Be Used to Predict Legal Outcomes

Predictive analytics, powered by AI, offers invaluable insights into potential judicial outcomes. More specifically, predictive modeling harnesses AI to analyze historical case data and identify patterns, thereby offering lawyers insights into probable judicial outcomes and litigation risks. This data-driven approach empowers attorneys to develop more informed strategies, manage client expectations, and make more accurate assessments of case viability. All this ensures a strategic advantage in legal proceedings.

AI Can Enhance Client Interaction and Communication

In client interactions, AI can significantly automate and streamline communication processes. Virtual assistants and chatbots, powered by large language models like ChatGPT, can handle initial client inquiries, schedule appointments, and manage routine tasks, thereby freeing up lawyers’ time.

Lawyers often spend a significant part of their time replying to clients. However, thanks to the recent technological advancements and efficiency brought by AI and large language models, lawyers can dedicate more time to understanding and addressing the nuanced and complex needs of their clients and let AI do the rest.

Using AI Can Result in Cost Savings

In the examples shown above, using AI can result in significant cost savings in the legal sector by automating routine tasks, optimizing research processes, and enhancing accuracy in document review and compliance. These efficiencies reduce the time lawyers spend on administrative tasks, allowing for a focus on higher-value activities and ultimately leading to reduced operational costs and potentially more cost-effective legal services for clients.

Eventually, human expertise integrates with Artificial Intelligence to refine legal practices and improve client relationships. It can be concluded that Generative AI’s use in law is here to stay. The rate of development is phenomenal, and it will likely be ubiquitous across the profession over the next few years.

But AI Still Requires a Human-In-The-Loop

Lawyers do more than simply share legal knowledge.  Good lawyers serve as counselors and use their experience and knowledge of human emotion to guide clients, not just state the law. A contract must be a “meeting of the minds” so one must understand your client’s mind and needs.  Human imagination helps to predict situations that need to be covered in a contract.

Lawyers read what others don’t want to read, but AI can help quickly summarize so that reading is more focused and takes less time. In the legal industry, time literally equals money.  If one can save time, one can save costs.   

However, humans can still make mistakes.  We are not perfect.  As a computerized system, AI can review documents repeatedly without getting tired. 

With that said, AI can still produce hallucinations so it can generate mistakes of its own. This requires humans to still check on the AI.

But with AI and humans working together, they can augment the accuracy of legal deliverables.

Conclusion 

AI excels in streamlining analytical tasks in the legal field, but it does not replace the essential human qualities of ethical judgment and empathy. These attributes are central to the practice of law, fostering trust and understanding between lawyers and clients. AI supports lawyers by managing routine, mundane tasks and providing data-driven insights, thereby enabling them to focus more on the human aspects of their work. This balance between AI and human touch reinforces the foundational values of the legal profession.

To sum up, for those concerned about AI replacing lawyers, this will not happen. There is a central human aspect that no technology can substitute. Nonetheless, Artificial Intelligence does provide a strong boost in enhancing Human capabilities.

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