Artificial intelligence is the science and engineering of getting computer programs to exhibit intelligent behavior byunderstanding and solving problems without human intervention. Large language models (LLMs) or machine-learning modelscan look at written text or images, understand them, and provide answers in a language readable by humans.
No profession is more resistant to change than the legal profession. Nevertheless, Artificial Intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs), and machine-learning models are poised to disrupt the profession in the following ways:
For common legal problems, people might be tempted to use AI tools to analyze the facts, spot issues, perform legal research, or draft legal documents, especially when hiring an attorney is cost-prohibitive.
The extent to which AI tools will replace legal services traditionally provided by lawyers is difficult to predict. AI tools have a long way to go in helping self-represented litigants using ChatGPT-type tools to navigate the American judicial system.
Law firms seeking a competitive edge are scrambling to embrace AI to attract tech-savvy clients and improve their productivity. These tools help attorneys brainstorm ideas, write legal documents, and conduct legal research.Some law firms implement AI tools without fully understanding the problems of maintaining confidentiality and protecting sensitive data.
Attorneys and law school students are beginning to use more AI tools for free. Law schools are slowly incorporating AI and technology courses into their curricula. Law school courses on AI focus on algorithmic explainability,cybersecurity, privacy, ethics, bias,AI personhood, and autonomous operation.
Lawyers are learning about data analytics, machine learning, and the ethical implications of AI through continuing legal education (CLE) programs.
States are starting to implement bar rules or advisory opinions to address AI-created problems in the legal profession.
In 2024, legal chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming commonplace. These AI-powered tools can be used to:
By handling these routine and repetitive tasks, law firms might improve client service and reduce administrative burdens on their staff. Handling these tasks might allow lawyers to engage in the more complex and creative aspects of practicing law.
Some legal problems might be solved without an attorney. Companies like LegalZoom, ZenBusiness, or Rocket Lawyer use generic or boilerplate legal forms and contracts that can be customized by the user. These companies cannot provide legal advice. Instead, only offer document templates and guidance on filling them out.
The forms offered tend to focus on the following types of issues:
Some of these forms might create significant legal problems that could have been avoided by hiring an attorney. AI tools might solve some problems while dramatically compounding others. Read more about AI tools for contract law.
Legal research is one of the most time-consuming tasks for lawyers. By automating routine research tasks, AI might allow lawyers to make better arguments and cite better sources to support those arguments. At the same time, AI might help the attorney counter-arguments made by the other side.
AI tools leverage natural language processing (NLP) to understand the context of legal queries. Although AI might eventually automate routine research tasks by providing accurate and relevant case law, statutes, and legal precedents, it has a long way to go. Companies providing AI-powered legal research tools include:
The time saved conducting legal research can be focused on higher-value activities, such as strategy development and client counseling.
AI algorithms can quickly analyze vast amounts of documents, identify relevant information, and organize the data. For this reason, AI promises to revolutionize document review for all types of litigation.
For example, AI-driven contract analysis tools can streamline the contract management process by identifying and extracting key clauses, comparing terms against predefined standards, and suggesting revisions.
Predictive analytics is another area where AI is making a significant impact. By analyzing historical case data, AI can predict the likely outcomes of legal proceedings.
This information is invaluable for lawyers advising clients on whether to settle or proceed to trial. Predictive analytics can also help law firms better allocate resources by prioritizing cases with higher chances of success during complex litigation.
AI can help with E-discovery, the process of identifying, collecting, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) for litigation, by quickly sifting through large volumes of ESI, identifying relevant documents, and uncovering hidden patterns that might be crucial for a case.
In addition, AI-powered tools can assist in trial preparation by analyzing courtroom data, identifying trends in judicial behavior, and suggesting optimal strategies for presenting a case.
Despite the benefits of using AI in the legal profession, ethical considerations and challenges must be examined. For example, AI algorithms can potentially compound existing problems with bias and unfairness.
For example, if the data used to train AI systems is biased, the outcomes generated by these systems can also be biased. To help guard against this bias, AI tools should be transparent and regularly audited.
The biggest problems for AI in the legal profession revolve around ensuring data privacy and security. AI systems require access to sensitive and confidential information, and lawyers will have difficulty implementing security measures to protect this data. Regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) currently provide little protection.
Pending legislation includes "SB 1047: Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act" which requires that a developer, before training a model, comply with various requirements, including implementing the capability to promptly enact a "full shutdown," and implement a written and separate safety and security protocol.
SB 942, the California AI Transparency Act, requires AI-generated content to have a visible disclosure that it was created by AI and include provenance information to verify its authenticity. The pending AI legislation in California also requires developers to provide tools that allow users to detect AI-generated content.
Other problems will arise in the courtroom. The advent and increased availability of image-generating artificial intelligence (AI) present unique challenges in authenticating videos and photographs, which are susceptible to alteration before they are submitted into evidence to be relied on by the court or a jury.
On July 29, 2024, the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility at the American Bar Association (ABA) published Formal Opinion 512 on "Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools." The opinion concludes:
"To ensure clients are protected, lawyers using generative artificial intelligence tools must fullyconsider their applicable ethical obligations, including their duties to provide competent legal representation, to protect client information, to communicate with clients, to supervise their employees and agents, to advance only meritorious claims and contentions, to ensure candor toward the tribunal, and to charge reasonable fees."
The procedural rules in most states require that legal pleadings, motions, and other documents must be signed by a pro se litigant or at least one attorney of record. By signing the pleadings, the self-represented litigant or attorney certifies that existing law warrants the claims and defenses and that the factual contentions have evidentiary support.
Self-represented litigants or attorneys must use caution when submitting legal pleadings, motions, and other documents drafted using generative artificial intelligence. The submission should be checked for accuracy by traditional means. Violating those rules might lead to sanctions, including nonmonetary directives, a penalty payable to the court, or payment to the opposing party of attorney's fees and expenses directly resulting from the violation.
Some states have begun implementing bar rules or advisory opinions on attorneys and law firms using artificial intelligence (AI). For example, on January 19, 2024, the Florida Bar issued Ethics Opinion 24-1. While the advisory ethics opinion is not binding, it recognizes that lawyers may use generative artificial intelligence in the practice of law while still complying with the bar rules.
The opinion explains that to comply with Florida Bar rules, attorneys using AI must:
Attorneys using AI in legal filings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai'i must submit a declaration that:
See United States District Court for the District of Hawai'i, General Order 23-1, In Re: Use of Unverified Sources (Nov. 14, 2023).
This article was last updated on Friday, August 23, 2024.