How Is AI Changing the Legal Profession?
Artificial intelligence (AI) already has some history in the legal profession. Some lawyers have been using it for the better part of a decade to parse data and query documents. Today, some lawyers also use AI to automate routine tasks such as contract review, research, and generative legal writing.
Although the use of AI for legal professionals can give attorneys more time to focus on strategic planning and case analyses, the technology also introduces challenges, including bias, discrimination, and privacy concerns. So, while there are real benefits of AI in law, these risks have also led to skepticism among some legal professionals and left them wary of the rapidly evolving technology. Even with these challenges, AI is already disrupting the legal field in several ways.
How technology is changing the legal field
In recent years, related technological advances have allowed legal teams to automate or expedite work that has traditionally been done by entry-level colleagues. For instance, first-year legal associates at law firms commonly conduct legal research and produce legal briefs for supervising attorneys. Historically, this task has been time-consuming, but now search engines and legal research tools powered by machine learning can sift through massive volumes of documents to find the right information in a fraction of the time it would take a human. Additionally, AI-powered text generators can produce a first draft of a legal brief in just moments based on a short prompt.
Unfortunately, AI can also negatively impact the legal field. For instance, AI’s ability to create deep fake technology (images and videos of fake events) can spread harmful misinformation and disinformation. This is especially a concern for lawyers who work in intellectual property (IP) law.
Additionally, because generative AI (the production of entirely new creative works from simple prompts after AI is trained on vast quantities of preexisting material) relies heavily on massive data sets, there are also risks of private data ending up in the wrong hands. In fact, there have already been class action lawsuits alleging privacy violations associated with generative AI tools.
How are AI and machine learning impacting the litigation landscape?
Today’s litigators are expected to quickly make well-informed decisions and develop strong strategies and a big-picture perspective. To accomplish these goals in shorter time frames, some litigators are using AI to shorten their research time and streamline their document review process.
Identifying all relevant case law
Legal AI can help attorneys quickly sift through volumes of case law and then aggregate and summarize that data in a more meaningful way. Because AI and machine learning technologies can sift through so much more legal data than a human can, litigators can be more confident in the breadth and quality of their legal research. AI-powered case law research tools use powerful language learning models to make connections and associations that an attorney may not think to make, so they can rest easy knowing they’ve left no stone unturned and identified all legal precedents that strengthen their case.
Visualizing data trends to predict case outcomes
Litigation analytics can play a powerful role in helping an attorney decide whether to file a motion. Before litigation analytics were common, a partner may have asked a junior associate to find all summary judgment motions ruled on by a specific judge to determine how often that judge grants or denies them. Instead of spending hours manually searching PACER or reviewing court opinions, AI can aggregate the data and provide an answer in seconds.
Analytics aren’t a crystal ball – they won’t predict how the judge will decide a case. But they can help attorneys visualize trends and provide insight into how the judge is likely to decide the motion, which is an important data point to consider when advising clients on strategy.
Reducing litigation costs
Proponents of legal AI have pointed out that the technology has the potential to provide greater access to justice for litigants with limited resources. Because machine learning can help lawyers speed up the due diligence process by analyzing cases more efficiently, this decreases the risk that litigation funders need to take. Therefore, the technology could decrease the total cost of litigation and enable funders to finance matters that might have otherwise been overlooked.
Is AI the future of law?
It’s clear AI is impacting the legal profession, and this technology is here to stay. Not only will lawyers continue to use AI-powered legal tools to automate and simplify legal tasks, but there’s potential for AI to play a larger role in the legal decision-making process, too.
Predictive modeling tools
Some judges are already using AI-powered software to inform bail and sentencing decisions. The Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) software, for instance, uses an algorithm to predict the risk of a defendant committing another crime. Although this type of tool might help some judges feel more confident in their decisions, it also could insert implicit racial bias into the process by relying on years of criminal justice system data as a source. So, as AI technology continues to evolve and more tools enter the arena, legal professionals will need to be aware of these potential biases and ensure that they’re using these tools in an ethical manner.
AI in law schools
Many law schools and professors are proactively incorporating AI into the classroom. Some professors allow law students to use AI for research and writing activities and even require students to experiment with tools like ChatGPT. That said, students are typically held responsible for any incorrect information they submit from an AI output, which can teach crucial lessons about managing and fact-checking this evolving technology.
Will AI replace lawyers?
No. First, AI can’t replace the analytical skills and deep thinking needed by lawyers. Additionally, successful lawyers must develop and demonstrate excellent client relations and leadership skills – both of which require a human element.
Plus, many legal professionals themselves remain skeptical about the idea of this sort of replacement. In fact, 72% of surveyed legal professionals said they “strongly disagree” that generative AI will replace lawyers.
Will AI replace paralegals?
There is potential for AI to replace some entry-level paralegals who work on basic tasks such as:
- Gathering and analyzing legal information from various sources
- Organizing facts and findings
- Identifying relevant law and cases
- Reviewing documents prepared by attorneys
AI-powered systems and tools can already tackle many of these previously time-consuming tasks in just moments rather than hours.
However, it’s important to note that without human supervision to ensure the quality and accuracy of AI-produced work products, AI has the potential to do more harm than good. For example, the possibility of hallucinations (the phenomenon by which AI chatbots may confidently provide false information in response to a prompt) can jeopardize the accuracy of a lawyer’s work. It’s crucial, then, that humans review all content produced by AI. So, while there may be less risk for AI to replace the roles of paralegals in supervisory positions, their future duties may be redefined to include the monitoring of AI-produced content.
Stay ahead of the curve with Bloomberg Law
AI is disrupting the litigation world. But while AI for legal professionals can’t replace the need for attorneys to exercise their judgment and utilize their experience, it can support data-driven decision making and make legal research and writing tasks more efficient.
Download our report on AI and the Legal Profession in 2024 to explore the most compelling challenges generative AI will bring to legal professionals, including insights into the hot topics our analysts are watching.
Bloomberg Law’s AI-powered technology can help you become more productive and deliver more powerful legal insights to your clients. With the speed of AI layered into the world’s top legal intelligence platform, Bloomberg Law is the only legal software you need to execute a winning legal strategy. Request a demo to see it for yourself.