Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in our personal and professional lives to make things easier and more convenient.
Although the legal sector has historically been slow to adopt new technologies, AI is also starting to impact law firms. AI in law firms may significantly increase productivity and reduce costs for your business by automating regular operations like document management, billing, and legal research and analysis.
Artificial intelligence: An Overview
A machine that has been taught to carry out one or more human functions is referred to as having artificial intelligence or AI. For instance, you can set a reminder on your smartphone to contact your friend Alex at 5:00 p.m. every Wednesday. And until you instruct your smartphone to stop sending reminders, you’ll get one every Wednesday. This automated message serves as an illustration of how artificial intelligence can imitate human intelligence.
Another term you may be familiar with is “machine learning.” Although the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning are sometimes used synonymously, they refer to two distinct concepts.
AI vs. Machine Learning
AI includes machine learning as a subset. It alludes to how people teach computers to learn from data input. Machine learning searches for patterns in data to make inferences instead of merely carrying out (or duplicating) a human task. Once the algorithm has figured out how to reach one accurate conclusion, it may apply those findings to fresh data.
How Lawyers in Law Firms Use AI
Although it may not be immediately apparent, artificial intelligence in law companies improves how well paralegals and attorneys perform their duties. In particular, AI in law companies assists legal practitioners in their practice by putting clients first in a previously unheard-of way.
A few examples of how legal companies might benefit from artificial intelligence in their businesses are as follows:
E-Discovery
E-discovery, the process of scanning electronic information to obtain non-privileged information pertinent to a case or claim, is the simplest and most popular type of AI in law. Lawyers can search documents using search phrases or specified criteria like dates or locations by using e-discovery software. As a result, attorneys receive responses practically immediately. This is much quicker than scanning paper documents. This additional time enables attorneys to find more pertinent material.
Legal Research
Like e-discovery software, legal professionals can quickly scan and explore huge databases of rules, practice areas, legislation, jurisdictions, case laws, and more using AI-powered legal research software. Legal research software allows professionals to gather information and comprehend precedents. More thorough research can be done more quickly, saving time for lawyers and money for clients. Users can perform research and link it immediately to pertinent case facts using tools that integrate with practice management software.
Management and Automation of Documents
The issues of electronic document storage are similar to those of hard copy document storage as legal firms continue to move away from paper records. Even though electronic records require less physical space, sorting and finding papers is still difficult.
AI-driven document management software stores and arranges legal documents, such as contracts, notes, case files, emails, etc., using tagging and profiling features. Finding documents is much simpler with this approach of storing and organizing digital files.
Document management solutions also support document ID and check-in/check-out capabilities to ensure version control and security. Moreover, Microsoft Office and other systems can be connected to document management software to facilitate file sharing.
In addition, legal experts can automatically populate form fields from case records into the templates, saving time and work. Furthermore, document automation enables law firms to prepare papers using intelligent templates. The creation of letters, motions, agreements, pleadings, invoices, bills, and other legal documents can be done in a centralized and effective manner with the help of document automation.
Due Diligence
Legal professionals frequently need to analyze a significant number of papers, including contracts, as part of due diligence procedures. Similar to other document-related issues, AI can speed up the document review process for legal professionals. The exact papers needed for due diligence, such as documents with a certain clause, can be pulled by an AI-based due diligence solution. AI-powered due diligence software can also detect document variances or alterations.
Litigation Analysis
It takes a thorough examination of precedent-setting decisions to determine whether a lawsuit is likely to succeed or to calculate its value. These precedents may be promptly reviewed by lawyer AI, which can then be used to help lawyers create more accurate and pertinent documents.
Conclusion
The use of AI in law practice improves the productivity of legal experts. Overall, AI helps decrease the time spent on manual chores, giving up more time to invest in activities that focus on developing client relationships.
