ABSTRACT
The legal profession in India facing a thoroughgoing change due to artificial intelligence (AI), a technology that will likely change practice in its current form in the profession in a very significant way. AI is changing the landscape of the legal profession, whether it is through operational efficiencies, access to justice, or ethical and regulatory issues. This article reviews the opportunities AI presents for the legal profession, such as efficiencies, cost savings, and predictive analytics and some of the challenges, like ethical principles, data privacy, and workforce shifts. It contains examples and case studies to illustrate how the legal profession can adapt to these developments in a predictive manner while mitigating risks.
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence, Legal Practice, Legal Automation, Ethics, Predictive Analytics
INTRODUCTION
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now seen as a strong force across industries, and we are seeing it has lately made significant waves in the legal space. Legal practitioners have always engaged in time-intensive, manual labour to draft documents, perform research and represent clients, but AI is embarking on reframing some of those work processes. The innovative possibilities, and thus productivity and efficiency improvements are ever-expanding. The advent of AI in legal practice brings opportunity, and also challenges to the legal profession and the lawyer. AI possesses the capacity to provide tools that improve accuracy, boost affordability, and ultimately, increase access to justice. However, it too brings complexities concerning ethical accountability, and once again, conundrums for the future of work for lawyers. This paper will elucidate some of those conundrums and illustrate the transformational opportunity that AI has in the legal profession while reflecting on related complexity for lawyers regarding the implementation of AI responsibly.
MAIN BODY
- Opportunities Presented by AI
(a) Greater Efficiency and Precision
AI-driven tools are automating tasks that required hours of manual labor in the past, such as document review and contract assessment. AI helps ensure speed and precision when analyzing and organizing important details. For example, Kira Systems, a widely used AI product, allows lawyers to read and analyze contracts, searching and locating important clauses, in a small fraction of the time it would take with human labor. Similarly, the COIN (Contract Intelligence) availability at JPMorgan Chase is representative of how automation provides benefits in contract review. The COIN platform analyzes thousands of legal documents in seconds, a task an attorney could spend months completing. Innovations such as these free legal practitioners to work on larger, more complex projects and strategize to improve overall efficiency.
- b) Cost Saves
The automation of routine, lower-level tasks expands the value in both a law firm and their client. For example, ROSS Intelligence is an AI-based legal research assistant, which instantly provides existing case instructions and statutes to referenced cases. Less time spent on research generally leads to lower client fees and overall optimized resource allocation by attorneys. This democratization of legal services is particularly important for small businesses and individuals who, in the past, were unable to obtain value out of traditional, expensive representation, particularly at the beginning or growth phase of starting or running an organization.
(c) Enhanced Access to Justice:
A very viable use case of artificial intelligence is in the area of access to legal services. DoNotPay is a virtual assistant, and the chatbots cost-intensive ways of solving some minor legal issues. DoNotPay has helped people get their parking tickets dismissed, file claims for airline delays, and contest predatory banking charges.
These quick, accurate AI tools enable persons to represent themselves, thus bridging the justice gap faced by the vulnerable in society.
(d) Predictive analytics and decision making:
The analysis of patterns and trends in legal data by means of artificial intelligence has opened the way to the formation of predictive tools for decision-making. Platforms such as Lex Machina utilize historical data in assessing success in litigation to better inform an attorney’s strategies toward that end.
For example, Lex Machina allows attorneys to evaluate judge behaviors, case outcomes, and the tendencies of opposing counsels, affording insights that were, until now, unreachable. Such predictive analysis brings strategic components to the field of legal practice, thereby granting a cutting edge.
- Challenges of AI in Legal Practice
(a) Ethical Issues and Algorithmic Bias
While AI systems are based on data-driven algorithms, this also risks bias in decision making. For example, if the data that is used to train AI model is biased within the system that could unfairly influence the outcome, undermining fairness and justice. This has garnered criticism of predictive policing algorithms that disproportionately target a minority population, pointing to the need for greater transparency and accountability in the development of AI. Within the legal profession, this could raise issues in decision making, for instances in bail decisions, sentencing, or evaluations of cases, developing long-standing biases in decisions made by the AI and amplifying existing issues. Finding a way to ensure that AI systems are not biased and are trustworthy to ethical conduct will remain a challenge.
(b) Data Privacy and Security
Using AI requires law firms to deal with extensive amounts of sensitive data for clients that raise the risk of data privacy and data security issues. The risk of data security breaches can infringe on confidentiality with, for instance, a data security breach of reported systems in Whaling’s practice is an example of harming client confidentiality. There was a cyber security incident against Solar Winds in 2020 that affected many entities worldwide. It highlighted the need for stronger cyber security barriers. Law firms must have policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with data privacy legislation, including those imposed by the General Data Protection Regulation, and to ensure that client information is secure when using AI tools. Policies and procedures which may include safe guarding practices, secure and encrypted cloud storage, and audit processes should be highly encouraged to mitigate risks involving data privacy breaches and confidentiality breaches.
(c) Job Displacement
AI aids efficiency, but has raised concern over job displacement, especially for paralegals and junior associates. Document review, legal research, and administrative tasks, for example, are more frequently being automated and have altered objective analyses within a fixed role. Nevertheless, AI will not eradicate the need for legal professionals, but will move focus to roles with more value that requires, say creativity, empathy and complex problem solving. However, as the objective develops, investment in training and re-skilling will be required for legal professionals to work in an AI-enabled environment.
(d) Regulation and Accountability
AI being incorporated into legal practice the question of accountability arises. If an AI tool provides a faulty evaluation or prediction, who would be held responsible for that output? There is a clear need for regulatory structures to define AI use parameters, ensure accountability and perform in a profession that adheres to ethical implications. Some jurisdictions have started to address this, for example, the European Union trees proposed regulation that aims to specifically regulate “high risk” AI applications such as use in legal contexts, and sets guidance for developers and users. Clearly this highlights the importance of having active governance to address the risks inherent in AI-related work practices being adopted more widely.
CONCLUSION
The emergence of AI in the practice of law represents not only a significant opportunity for change but also a tremendous challenge. AI technology, on one hand, can provide practitioners with tools that will support efficiency, reduce costs, and create access to justice, but at the same time, it raises professional responsibilities in ethics, privacy and regulations to be adhered to while implementing AI technology responsively. The ultimate value in AI will arise from finding a balance between innovation and accountability, if the profession adopts AI carefully and willfully accepts its momentary limitations it will bring benefits to the legal profession and to those individuals and communities served by lawyers at a time when the world around us is rapidly changing. Taking the time and space to engage in discussions with other members of the legal community, technologists, and elected officials about AI technology is paramount to properly adjudicate a civil justice framework that provides an opportunity for maximized benefits of AI, while still being cognizant and respectful of the fundamental PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS.
The ability to adapt and collaborate, in a burgeoning legal climate of change, will determine the success associated with the adoption of AI technology. The adoption of AI and its impact on the profession of law and the responsibilities solely associated with the practice of law should not be seen as an end, but merely the beginning of a journey to provide an enhanced experience in the practice of law.
“PRIME LEGAL is a full-service law firm that has won a National Award and has more than 20 years of experience in an array of sectors and practice areas. Prime legal falls into the category of best law firm, best lawyer, best family lawyer, best divorce lawyer, best divorce law firm, best criminal lawyer, best criminal law firm, best consumer lawyer, best civil lawyer.”
WRITTEN BY MARTHALA JOSHIKA REDDY
