How will generative AI shift the future of law?

The recent LexisNexis report, Generative AI and the future of the legal profession, aimed to understand awareness of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal sector, how the sector is using generative AI tools, and how the sector might use the tools in the future. The report demonstrated, among other things, that the majority of respondents (87%) were aware of AI and almost all of those respondents (95%) felt AI would have a notable impact on the legal sector.

A clear consensus exists: AI will play a significant role in the future of law. That much seems self-evident, but perhaps less appreciated is the current role that AI and generative AI plays in the sector. In this article, we look at the present and the future of AI. We explore the impact AI has already had on the legal sector and examine the ways in which AI might transform the sector in the future.

The current role of generative AI

AI is everywhere. Much of our daily life is made better by the use of AI. Consider, for example, that Google Maps uses AI to provide directions, that algorithmic AI dictates your next song choice or TV episode, that AI even guides you into purchasing decisions. Opening your phone relies on AI for facial recognition and all your social feeds rely on AI, too. Much of work life depends on AI: anti-virus software for our computers, email spam filters, legal research software, automated responders and customer services, invoice automation, contract analysis, internal comms systems, and so on.

Policy—use of generative artificial intelligence

But the conversation in recent months has shifted towards a particular type of AI, namely generative AI. Generative AI depends on huge data sets, complex algorithms, and advanced machine learning to produce responses to prompts. Generative AI platforms generate text (ChatGPT,Jasper, etc), images (DeepAI,DALL·E 2, etc), audio (Soundraw,Jukebox, etc), video (Synthesia,Pictory, etc), and so much more. Generative AI platforms are multiplying and extending, so much so that we’re witnessing increasingly specific AI platforms andAI-dependent AI aggregators compiling the various AI platforms.

Generative AI has been around for a long time – since, perhaps, the 1960s – but it has taken a massive leap forward in the past year, as evidenced by the arrival of increasingly advanced platforms. And those platforms have provided huge benefits: increased productivity, improved decision-making, reduction of errors, reduction of costs, and so on.

And lawyers have begun to apply AI to their work. Over a third (36%) of lawyers, for example,  claim to have used generative AI, according to the LexisNexis report. But the application, as specified in Harvard Law School report, has for the most part remained general, broadly focussed on comms, with lawyers using AI to write email, edit and write memos, and put together briefs. A minority of lawyers are going further, using generative AI to analyse data, research, explain complex legal topics, form contract provisions, and so on. But few are trusting enough to use AI for the actual application of law.

That will likely change in the future. Many AI systems, such Lexis+ AI tool, have been built with transparency, accountability, and cognisance of real-world impacts, which minimise any risks to application. By effectively and efficiently using such tools, lawyers will be able to drastically speed up processes, access legal information at faster speeds, and generally boost productivity. And, by using the right tools, they can achieve all that with minimal risk, practicing responsible use of AI.

Training materials—artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace

The future of generative AI

The uses of generative AI in law, as shown above, have mostly been small-scale, non-specific, and aimed at boosting productivity and improving comms. But the future of AI in the legal sector will prove more specific, with AI working to shift particular elements of legal work and the practice of law.

In the LexisNexis report, Isabel Parker, partner of Deloitte Legal’s Transform to Operate service, echoes that point, alluding to the potential changes that might occur in the legal sector: ‘It could lead to…the democratisation of legal advice, universal access to justice, market practice replacing two party negotiations, AI-based case resolution, and productivity transformation for lawyers.’

The potential is substantial, Parker says, and by no means small-scale. Parker essentially suggests a complete transformation of the way law is currently practiced. Ben Allgrove, partner and chief innovation officer at Baker McKenzie, largely agrees with Parker, but emphasises further gains around productivity, stressing the continuation of the small-scale improvements that we are already seeing.

‘It will change how we practice law,’ says Allgrove. ‘Our focus is on how we might use it to improve the productivity of our people, both our lawyers and our business professionals. While there are quality and risk issues that need to be solved, we see opportunities across our business to do that.’

How to manage the risks of artificial intelligence in your business

The two respondents to the report pinpoint the future of generative AI application. On the one hand, we will almost certainly see the more granular application, with generative AI continuing to automate and optimise tedious daily tasks, improving productivity and generally boosting operations. On the other hand, generative AI possesses the promise of sweeping change, shifting the ways in which we practice law, the way people access law, and the foundations on which the law exists.