How AI Can Positively Impact the Legal Tech Space

Over the past few years, artificial intelligence language models, such as ChatGPT, have taken the world by storm. Professionals across industries have heralded the AI revolution, saying it is making their jobs much easier.

However, there are some industries in which artificial intelligence must be treated with additional caution, such as the legal profession. According to Rob Scott, Chief Innovation Officer at legal services firm Monjur, there are exciting ways that lawyers can implement artificial intelligence for certain duties, but only if they are responsible about its use.

How lawyers can use AI in their operations

The main legal applications in which artificial intelligence models have shown extraordinary potential are e-discovery and legal research. Traditionally, the discovery process is extensive, as lawyers have to scour voluminous documents for potential evidence, identify documents that are subject to privilege, and quickly retrieve evidence during depositions and hearings.

One of the advantages of artificial intelligence is that these programs can process and analyze data much more quickly than humans. With this, lawyers can use AI to identify potentially relevant witnesses and pieces of evidence, then use this as a starting point for their deeper research.

The result is that lawyers can conduct the initial stages of the trial process much more efficiently and accurately. Because of the significantly improved processing power of artificial intelligence, these programs can better survey the data available.

For lawyers operating on an hourly rate, rather than a contingency basis, implementing AI programs for e-discovery could save their clients money in the long run. By substantially speeding up the discovery process, lawyers have to spend less time on the case, saving time and money. Alternatively, the lawyers’ time freed up by the artificial intelligence model can be used to provide better service and counseling to clients.

Privacy considerations for lawyers and AI usage

Still, it is important to remember that client confidentiality is one of the core facets of the legal industry. Critics of artificial intelligence have brought attention to potential privacy violations associated with the use of AI models.

For instance, if a lawyer inputs sensitive personal information into an artificial intelligence program, this information could become part of the database for the AI to freely use when it comes to other users. In other words, if a lawyer uses AI irresponsibly, they could expose their client’s information and compromise their confidentiality.

Scott recommends lawyers exercise extreme caution when implementing artificial intelligence into their operations. “Lawyers should exercise caution before loading client data into AI tools or adopting new solutions containing AI,” he asserts. “AI tools often require the service provider and law firm to enter into a formal data processing agreement.” As always, it is important for lawyers to thoroughly read and understand these agreements before entering into them.

Additionally, Scott reminds lawyers that artificial intelligence in the legal profession could “have implications for international, federal, and state privacy laws.” Although the ever-developing nature of these AI language models will require new interpretations, there are already existing frameworks for the regulation of machine learning.

There have long been data privacy laws in place that regulate the collection, use, disclosure, transfer, and processing of data. Lawyers must ensure that any use of artificial intelligence they pursue is in line with these restrictions.

Other potential concerns for AI use in the legal profession

Beyond the privacy concerns associated with artificial intelligence, lawyers must also consider the ethical and intellectual property concerns that lawyers must address when implementing artificial intelligence tools. For example, a US District Court ruled that legal briefs are indeed considered copyrightable intellectual property.

Because artificial intelligence language models pull from pre-existing material in their databases, artificial intelligence could plagiarize the work of another lawyer. Thus, if a lawyer uses AI to write a legal brief, they must take caution — lest they risk ending up in hot water.

Scott suggests transparency may be a potential solution for potential IP concerns. “In our firm, we label all documents containing AI-generated content as such, so all internal team members know when it is being used,” he says. This flags these documents for additional review by the team.

Most importantly, Scott emphasizes that the output of artificial intelligence language models must be reviewed by experienced counsel. “AI in the hands of inexperienced lawyers is very risky,” he claims. “All work product still needs to be reviewed by experienced counsel who will know when the AI gets things wrong.”

Indeed, several industries have reported that AI has the potential to create misinformation and even outright falsehoods. In the legal profession, the perpetuation of this misinformation could have potentially significant consequences.

Artificial intelligence has many exciting potential applications in the legal profession, but it is essential that lawyers are informed and responsible about how they implement this technology into their operations. So long as lawyers keep a keen eye on issues of client privacy and confidentiality, these tools could help them be much more efficient at their jobs and provide their clients with improved service.