As technology continues to advance, one of the most recent, yet controversial, advances has been the wide sweeping development and application of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). AI, in its simplest form, has been around since the 1950s with the development of modern computing, and has since become a part of everyday life through its application in services such as Siri, Alexa, email filters and even Google searches. As such, AI has been increasingly integrated across various industries, including the legal industry. As with all new technological developments, the use of AI in the legal industry has challenges that arise for law firms and lawyers who utilize this technology.
AI in Legal Drafting: the Why
Historically, legal drafting entailed lawyers spending hours preparing legal documents with a strong focus on meticulous attention to detail, language, structure and legal research. Lawyers spend much of their time crafting contracts, legal opinions, pleadings and other legal documents, relying on extensive legal research. This drafting process can be highly time-consuming, expensive and often repetitive as lawyers are frequently drafting similar types of documents for different clients and matters (i.e., purchase and sale agreements, lease agreements, or employment contracts).
The time-consuming and repetitive nature of certain legal work can lead law firms and lawyers to seek methods of increasing efficiency. AI has recently become one of these methods. The use of AI technology, such as generative AI, has become a powerful tool in analyzing a vast amount of legal and other data. However, the integration of these AI tools not only provides the benefits of increasing efficiency and productivity but also comes with some risks and challenges.
Key Benefits
- Efficiency/Time & Cost Savings. The use of AI allows for mass amounts of documents, research and due diligence to be analyzed in a matter of minutes, thereby reducing the amount of time spent on drafting by automating routine tasks and allowing professionals to dedicate more time to higher-level and more strategic legal tasks. By expediting these more routine tasks, individuals can save time and expense on such tasks.
- Improved Accuracy & Consistency. Through the use of various AI tools, large datasets can be analyzed to determine if legal documents are consistent with current laws, regulations and policies. Some AI tools can even be used to detect errors and potentially inaccurate language, thereby reducing the chance of human error. Features as simple as autocorrect and spell check utilize AI technology and provide for more accurate and professional work product.
- Enhanced Analysis & Insight. AI can be used to analyze a greater breadth of case law, judicial trends and industry standards to instantaneously provide lawyers with valuable insights to inform strategic drafting decisions.
Key Risks and Challenges
- “Hallucinations” and False Results. Although AI can be used to expedite what would traditionally be hours of legal research, the results produced by AI tools are not always factual and, in some cases, could be completely fictional “hallucinations” these tools may inadvertently create. In a recent case, Mata v. Avianca, a lawyer “submitted non-existent judicial opinions with fake quotes and citations created by the artificial intelligence tool Chat GPT.” Mata and similar cases have created doubt around the trustworthiness and accuracy of some information generated through AI tools.
- Confidentiality & Data Privacy. Legal documents often contain confidential information about clients or ongoing transactions, which are not meant to be disclosed on a public level. This gives rise to concerns of lawyers using AI tools and inputting this confidential information in order to have the desired documents or analysis generated, thereby risking a breach of confidentiality as well as potential breaches of the rules of Professional Responsibility and the code of ethics by which lawyers must abide.
Recommended Best Practices with AI
As it has become increasingly clear that AI tools may not be wholly reliable in providing data analysis and legal information, it is highly recommended for law firms and lawyers who are using AI to implement a review or independent verification procedure for materials generated using AI. Although AI can be very helpful in legal drafting, it is important that lawyers review and verify their work product before putting it out into the hands of clients. Ensuring that proper review and verification procedures are in place will allow law firms to take advantage of the benefits of AI, while at the same time mitigating any risk of misinformation or liability on the lawyer or law firm’s behalf. The American Bar Association and other regulatory bodies are actively exploring and providing further guidance on the use of AI in the legal profession.
In Conclusion: Draft with Care
AI can be a helpful tool used in advancing legal drafting. By automating routine tasks, enhancing accuracy, increasing efficiency and reducing costs, AI has the potential to make providing certain legal services more efficient and accessible. However, it is important to note that the use of AI comes with its own risks as well. Law firms and lawyers must ensure they are diligent in how they utilize AI tools, and implement appropriate review and oversight procedures when AI tools are used.
This post is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please contact our office.
1 Rockwell Anyoha, The History of Artificial Intelligence, Harvard Blog: Special Edition on Artificial Intelligence (Aug. 20, 2017), https://perma.cc/JC66-TWRR
3 Mata v. Avianca, Inc., No. 22-CV-1461 (PKC), 2023 WL 4114965, at 1 (S.D.N.Y. June 22, 2023).
4 Limitations and risks of using AI in legal practice, Legal Practitioners Liab.Comm., https://lplc.com.au/resources/lplc-article/limitations-risks-ai-in-legal-practice (last updated Aug. 17, 2023).
