The legal industry presents a unique contrast: many of its principles have remained the same for 150 years, yet the way we practice law is constantly changing.
Today’s legal professionals regularly look for ways to streamline processes and improve practices while relying on tried and true methods.
In recent years, and especially in the last six months, artificial intelligence (AI) has held enormous promise for revolutionizing the way legal services are delivered. AI is disturbing industries – from journalism to manufacturing – and we are seeing a similar revolution in the practice of law.
As General Counsel of G2, I was particularly interested in how this innovation is impacting the legal industry. I began my legal career at a large law firm, working on some of the largest M&A deals in the country. The contracts we produced were hundreds of pages long and the diligence required to produce them meant reading many thousands of pages. I thought – there has to be a better way! Could AI be the answer?
From legal research to document analysis to contract review, AI software has already begun to make its mark on the legal industry, and the possibilities for future innovation are endless. Let’s take a closer look at the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal industry and explore the potential benefits and challenges of this transformative technology.
Understanding the evolution of AI
The term “artificial intelligence” has been around for many decades, origin back to computer and cognitive scientist John McCarthy in the 1950s. But artificial intelligence has taken a giant leap forward in recent years through a type of neural network called a “transformer.”
Neural networks are a type of computer program architecture loosely based on the neurons of the human brain.
Just like neurons in the human brain, neural networks are made up of nodes and neurons—the nodes act as connections between the various neurons. Nodes and neurons work together to arrive at a coherent conclusion or understanding.
In 2017, a new type of neural network architecture called a transformer was introduced, which greatly advanced AI technology. The transformer enabled large language models (LLM).
In short, LLMs take a string of words and predict the next word over and over again. You can give him a prompt like, “tell me about the role of artificial intelligence in the law” and he might have learned from the body of text that appears on the internet and come up with something similar to this blog (although this blog written by a human). This is notable because, for the first time, AI has a human-like interface. an interface on which it physically communicates.
This is powerful for the law because the language of the law is the written word. Suddenly, AI can speak the language of the law, as it can communicate in written form and can understand and generate text much faster than humans.
The positive impact of artificial intelligence on the legal industry
In-house legal professionals have access to dozens of tools that incorporate AI, most often contract lifecycle management systems;.
How artificial intelligence is impacting in-house legal practices
Contract lifecycle management tools can summarize contracts and offer suggested contract language, which any in-house lawyer knows can save a lot of time. These tools can also support anomaly detection by helping lawyers identify how certain contract terms deviate from their standard forms.
How artificial intelligence is affecting law firms
Currently, many AI software tools are being adapted to law firms. These tools are effectively used to speed up the work of a more senior attorney, producing a work product similar to that of a junior associate.
In traditional law firm models, junior partners provide leverage for more senior attorneys. Now, more senior lawyers can rely on AI to gain that leverage, ultimately resulting in a more cost-effective business model for both the firm’s clients and the firm itself.
AI on trial
Artificial intelligence has been part of the legal discovery process for a long time. Companies that provide eDiscovery software solutions such as Relativity and Everlaw help attorneys sift through thousands of pages of discoverable material with greater speed and accuracy.
The future of artificial intelligence and the law
Will we ever get to the point where there is a lawyer who “plays” an AI engine from start to finish?
An example I’ve seen attempt this is a company called I do not pay, a somewhat impressive example of a robot lawyer. Users can turn to DoNotPay to dispute their traffic tickets as the tool generates everything required for the dispute using AI. With solutions like DoNotPay, users can now respond to spammers as well.
No matter how good AI tools may become, AI will never truly replace the lawyer. In fact, the lawyer’s job will be even more powerful because lawyers will use higher-order thinking skills even more strategically as they build the product that AI produces. As AI continues to improve in the legal space, this is an extremely exciting time to be practicing law and taking advantage of all the innovation happening.
The final verdict
Like most other industries, AI is adding a lot of value to the legal space. The integration of artificial intelligence into the legal industry has the potential to revolutionize the way legal services are delivered overall. Ultimately, successfully integrating AI into the legal field will require a balance between leveraging its benefits and addressing its challenges.
Wondering what AI ethics really looks like? Check out this article to learn more about AI ethics and how you can stay compliant.
