How to leverage the full potential of Generative AI for legal professionals

Generative?AI?is an emerging technology that promises immense benefits?to?the?legal?sector, in terms?of?increased efficiency and cost savings, but it presents a number?of?risks, many?of?which are not yet?fully understood.?

What is?Generative?AI?

Generative?AI?is an umbrella term that describes automated technology, which, rather than operating on predetermined rules, generates its own content and attempts?to?mimic human creativity. It gathers information from vast datasets and interactions with human operators?to?continually enhance its capabilities, making it a very powerful?tool that can perform research, write?legal?documents and engage with clients.

What are?the?benefits?of?Generative?AI?

Generative?AI?can improve business efficiency by automating repetitive and time-consuming functions such as research and contract drafting. This allows more time?for?lawyers?to?engage in billable hours functions, increasing productivity and,?therefore, profitability.

1.?Legal?research.?Generative?AI?can expedite?legal?research by analysing vast quantities?of?historical case data, legislation and precedents, identifying patterns and nuances, and presenting a cohesive finding?to?legal?professionals?in a simple?format. This allows?legal?professionals?to?make decisions based on?the?insights provided more quickly than if?they were?to perform?the?research?themselves.

2. Drafting?legal?documents. Drafting?legal?documents is time consuming and takes lawyers away from?their clients.?Generative?AI?can streamline this process using specified criteria and templates?to?create contracts, briefs and pleadings, which can?then be reviewed and refined by human lawyers, saving time and without compromising on quality.

3. Engaging with clients. Chatbots are a?form?of?Generative?AI?which can enhance?the?client experience by engaging proactively with?potential?clients, answering?their questions, scheduling appointments and directing?them?to?appropriate?professionals?based on?their particular needs.?

What are?the?risks?of?Generative?AI?

As?Generative?AI?becomes more widespread and is adopted by more users, reliance on it will grow, leading?to?a number?of risks which could have a significant impact on?legal?professionals.?

1. Over-reliance. Putting?too much trust in technology can have devastating effects. Failure?to?adequately check?the accuracy and quality?of?output can harm a law firm's reputation, as happened in?the?landmark personal injury lawsuit Roberto?Mata vs Colombian?airline Avianca, and?potentially cause a case?to?be dismissed, affecting client outcomes.

2. Ethical considerations.?Legal?professionals?must exercise great caution when relying on?Generative?AI, as?their clients are relying on?their judgement and expertise?to?support?them in?their endeavours. Discovering that?their?legal?counsel is using?AI rather than?their own training and experience could have harmful reputation effects. This technology must be used transparently, and lawyers must retain?full?accountability?for?their actions.

3. Intellectual Property risks.?There is a risk that?Generative?AI?will source information that it should not when preparing its output, which could inadvertently expose private, corrupted, stolen, copyrighted or trademarked information which should not be in?the?public domain. Unintentional use?of?this information could lead?to?lawyers being pursued?for?misuse?of confidential information.

In order?to?leverage?the?full?potential?of?Generative?AI, lawyers must understand?the?capabilities?of?the?tools that?they use, implement appropriate strategies?to?utilise?the?technology, fact and quality check all output and be open and transparent about?the?way in which?they use?the?technology and?to?what end. By doing so,?they will be empowered?to?navigate?the?future?of?legal?practice with confidence.

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