THE ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLEGENCE IN SHAPING LEGAL PRACTICE

Amalta Seevnarayan Dhanee | Legal Advisor

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, helping to revolutionize various industries, including legal practice. Whilst the legal profession is one that prides itself on tradition and precedent, to an extent, it is embracing AI.

AI tools have proved to be useful in improving efficiency and to an extent accuracy and is reshaping the way legal professionals work. This article delves further into the ways legal professionals are effectively utilizing AI.

  • Legal Research

AI assists with retrieving relevant case law, statutes, regulations, and legal articles to support attorneys in building strong legal arguments.

Further, legal databases such as LexisNexis and Westlaw have integrated AI-driven search engines to enhance their research capabilities. LexisNexis together with AI can search, summarize case law and articles in addition to drafting agreements. This eliminates the need to peruse volumes of legal publications and saves time.

  • Drafting

AI can be used to assist a legal practitioner in drafting specific legal clauses. For example, the legal practitioner can insert the relevant scenario for which he/she require a contract or clause. AI will furnish the practitioner with a draft clause to start off. Thereafter the legal practitioner can tailor the clause to meet the client’s needs.

  • e-Discovery

In litigation, during pre-trial proceedings, the discovery phase often requires perusing through large volumes of data for the purpose of finding information relevant to the case at hand. This is yet again a time-consuming process.  AI-powered e-discovery tools, have the ability to effectively process and analyse large volumes of documents.

  • Enhanced Client Services

AI can be used to enhance client service. This can be achieved by utilising a chatbot on a company website to answer basic legal questions or book client appointments electronically. This way a legal practitioner has more time to focus on complex issues.  

  • Risk Management and Compliance

AI can be used to monitor regulatory changes, assess compliance risks, and ensure that corporate policies align with legal requirements. There are specific AI tools available to assist companies to track regulatory updates and analyse contracts for potential compliance issues, reducing the risk of legal exposure.

  • Predictive Analytics

AI possesses the ability to analyse historical data which makes it attractive to use in the legal space in respect of predictive analytics. Predictive analytic tools help legal practitioners to assess the possible outcome of a case based on precedents and other data which may be relevant. This ability can assist legal professionals to create more effective litigation strategies and offer clients data-driven advice.

Despite its many benefits AI must be used with caution to ensure that there is no breach in respect of data privacy and security. AI systems process vast amounts of sensitive legal data and ensuring that this information is protected from cyber threats is critical. Currently in South Africa, AI legislation is being developed to regulate the use thereof.

Whilst AI can answer basic legal questions, enhance legal research, analyse large volumes of data, assist is formulating arguments and contract drafting it will not replace legal practitioners. As AI technology continues to advance, so too will the tools that will further streamline legal processes and enhance decision-making. The future of legal practice lies in the balance between human expertise and AI's transformative potential.