How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Legal Practice

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a common technology used to efficiently deal with high volumes of data to constantly improve and refine how businesses manage operations. AI is becoming part of everyday business practices and one industry that’s embracing the tech is the legal sector.

Working alongside skilled litigation lawyers who effectively utilise AI capabilities can help businesses deliver significant results and minimise risks during cases. It can also be used to automate routine tasks like legal analysis and research.

Here we’ll delve into what AI actually is and how it’s enhancing how law firms operate.

What is artificial intelligence?

AI refers to a system that is taught to perform human-like tasks based on the input of data. Rather than simply performing this task, however, the machine looks for patterns in the data to draw conclusions whenever new data is presented.

How can AI be used in the legal profession?

The legal industry uses AI in many different aspects of its work, which may not always be explicitly evident. In particular, AI can aid legal professionals by assessing risk and predicting outcomes in litigious matters, which can eliminate time-consuming legal tasks.

Below are just a few of the ways that legal firms can task advantage of AI processes:

Litigation analysis

Determining whether litigation is worthwhile or evaluating the value of a lawsuit involves extensive analysis of cases. AI can quickly review cases and aid lawyers with drafting more accurate documents based on the available data.

Using AI to eliminate time-consuming tasks allows lawyers to focus on client tasks and increases the time spent on billable work. It can also improve relationships with clients, allowing more time to be spent getting to know customers and understanding what legal assistance it is that they require.

Due diligence

Regularly performing due diligence is necessary in the legal profession in order to review a high number of contracts and other legal documents. AI-based due diligence systems can effortlessly acquire the documents needed, such as those containing a certain clause.

Additionally, they are able to identify any alterations or variations in documents within seconds. While it’s still best to have someone manually review the data, this can drastically reduce the time and effort spent on document review.

E-Discovery

E-discovery is a method of digital investigation that gathers evidence in business communications and data that can be used in litigation proceedings. This allows lawyers to swiftly gain access to non-privileged information relevant to a case.

It even allows for specific parameters to be included, such as location or dates. Results can be obtained within seconds and are much more efficient than scanning through hard copies. A reduction in time spent doing so can enable professionals to find more relevant information pertaining to a case.