AI Tools for Lawyers: What’s Better To Use & How? 

AI Tools for Lawyers_ What's Better To Use & How - Lawyers Share Experience

AI tools for lawyers are stirring up a storm. These nifty inventions transform routine tasks, automate research, forecast results with predictive analytics, and work their magic across other facets of legal work.

But how can you navigate this futuristic landscape? This guide is here to help. Packed with practical advice from experienced lawyers and tech experts, this guide will explore the specific details of AI tools, their practical applications as experts recommend, and how to incorporate them into your work seamlessly. 

How Do Lawyers Use AI in Their Practice?

Artificial Intelligence (AI), born out of computer science in the mid-20th century, seeks to emulate human intellect through automated systems. According to legal expert Joy Holley, “Lawyers must become educated on the complex ethical dimensions intertwined with AI integration in the legal realm.” AI tools might be tricky (do you remember when a man sued Avianca Airline, and his lawyer used ChatGPT?).  So, lawyers have to understand how emerging technology will shape diverse industries and how artificial intelligence impacts the substantive advice they give to clients. 

Fueled by intelligent algorithms, AI tools can sort data, conduct analyses, and make informed predictions based on those results. According to attorney Tom Groth, “The benefits of AI tools in a law firm/company include time-saving and accuracy improvement. AI tools can help lawyers to analyze contracts and due diligence more efficiently and accurately.” Presently, within the legal sector, AI can be used in several ways. Let’s cover the main areas of impact.

  1. E-discovery

E-discovery stands as one of the most widespread applications of AI in legal practice. Essentially, it involves electronically scanning and analyzing voluminous amounts of information to identify non-privileged data pertinent to a specific case or claim.

Lawyers employ particular search terms or parameters, such as keywords relating to the point, dates, and locations, for conducting electronic scans across documents. This approach is significantly faster than manually scanning through hard-copy files.

According to legal technology expert Cheryl Wilson Griffin, AI tools for lawyers are going to continue to change the game regarding e-discovery significantly, and Cheryl fully expects that eDiscovery practices will be the first to fully integrate modern AI since many of the same concepts have been used in TAR (technology assisted review) for a decade. She expects to see the volume of discovery documents subjected to human review drop significantly by 2026.

  1. Legal research

Software underpinned by AI technology has revolutionized examining legal material. AI tools for lawyers allow users to scour expansive databases containing regulations, statutes, specific practice areas, jurisdictions, and case laws with great speed.

This sophisticated software assists in collecting a wide range of data while also providing insights into relevant precedents. The resulting time savings don’t merely increase lawyer efficiency but also translate into financial gains for clients due to reduced billable hours.

  1. Contracts

According to attorney Ashlyn Donohue, “One of the first ways legal professionals are looking to implement AI into their day-to-day practice is through leveraging AI in the contract space. On the pre-signature side, individuals are evaluating and adopting solutions that support AI-assisted drafting to increase efficiency and deal velocity, create consistency in review and negotiation, and reduce cost.”

Ashlyn Donohue points out that legal professionals use technology solutions to automate the review of existing agreements in the post-signature space. This allows them to quickly identify critical clauses, terms, and contracts, reducing the need for manual effort in reviewing agreements and gaining a better understanding of the contract portfolio. This, in turn, enables legal professionals to support due diligence initiatives more efficiently, evaluate contract risk, and ensure compliance.

She expands, “AI can rename, type-classify, and automatically tag contracts by using the extracted data within all documents. This keeps contract repositories fully searchable with standardized organization, preventing endless searching and confusion due to human error, and supports this without a large manual effort. In the event of urgent questions from the business or a time-sensitive crisis, I can pull the information they need fast.”

  1. Due diligence

The best AI tools for lawyers are invaluable for due diligence activities in law. Employing this technology, legal professionals can expedite the review of large volumes of documents with several key capabilities.

AI tools for lawyers can retrieve individual files or sets of documents necessary for the due diligence process. For example, they exhibit a remarkable aptitude for spotting modifications within documents, which may otherwise go unnoticed but could potentially impact case outcomes.

According to attorney Tom Groth, the best legal AI tools have a few things in common: “They’re total time-savers, especially when it comes to contract analysis and due diligence.” And who knows, maybe in several years, we will use AI to draft pleadings and help define the scope of complex electronic discovery exercises, as Joy Holley predicts. Also, there are many other use cases for AI across the legal profession —  in particular in increasing the accessibility of legal services and widening access to legal education, according to legal engineer Henry Warner.

How Do Law Firms Benefit from AI?

As the legal industry continues to evolve, law firms stand to gain considerably from integrating AI tools for lawyers into their practice. Here’s how it helps:

Increased productivity

The use of the best AI tools for lawyers has the power to boost productivity within law firms significantly. By automating routine tasks that previously demanded manual labor, AI frees up considerable bandwidth for legal professionals. 

According to Henry Warner, AI doesn’t make in-house lawyers redundant — “What it does is reduce the time legal spends translating to and from “lawyer speak.” Also, Henry adds that with AI tools, you can go from a blank page to a minimum viable contract in a few seconds. You can also redraft particular clauses or sections of a contract with a certain end in mind. E.g., “make this section mutual” or “redraft this in clearer, less legalistic language.”

Less time spent on mundane activities means more significant opportunities to focus on fostering stronger client relationships or engaging in billable work — tasks that are intellectually more rewarding and contribute directly to a firm’s revenue.

Embracing lawyer-focused AI tools for lawyers thus presents an enriching scenario where both the law practice and its clients stand to benefit. Moreover, as stated by Joy Holley, “AI can be a potent technology tool to the extent it is developed responsibly to help organizations mine their work product more quickly and effectively.”

Reduces attorney stress and frustration

The integration of AI tools for lawyers in legal operations can drastically lower stress levels and frustration for attorneys. By taking over mundane tasks, minimizing human error probability, and expediting processes, AI helps maintain a smoother workload, allowing lawyers to focus more on strategic aspects of their practice rather than being overwhelmed by the minutiae. This promotes not just professional well-being but also personal fulfillment.

In general, AI tools for lawyers just speed things up, according to Henry Warner: “The tasks AI tools can do they do very quickly — if you need a high volume of fairly procedural writing done, then a GPT powered tool is going to be able to do that much faster than if you try it manually.”

Reducing client costs

Artificial Intelligence also provides a path for decreased legal costs. Automating routine and manual tasks allows lawyers to reduce billable hours, leading to financial savings for clients. Plus, the saved time enables attorneys to handle their workloads more effectively — potentially catering to a more extensive clientele without sacrificing service quality or attention targeted at each case.

Though the incorporation of AI tools for lawyers in the legal sector is novel, its potential implies a future with better service affordability, which could bolster access to justice for many.

Streamlining accessibility

Let’s take it from expert Henry Warner: AI tools are a game-changer for improving accessibility, particularly in specialized fields like programming or legal affairs. For instance, with a GPT model, you can easily clarify outputs. This makes it an exceptional tool for getting an essential grip on a complex subject. 

Nevertheless, it’s crucial to remember that despite the strides made by AI, it’s not a substitute for human expertise. As Henry points out, numerous tasks call for specialized jargon, unique notation, or even proficiency in a different language. Here’s where the magic of AI comes in — it can bridge this gap, enabling individuals with limited vocabulary or language proficiency to get involved and contribute effectively.

AI Tools Lawyers Can Use

So, what are the tools lawyers can use to streamline their practice with AI? As we delve deeper into the digital age, here are AI tools for lawyers that have all the potential to revolutionize workflows:

CoCounsel

CoCounsel is an innovative platform designed to support legal professionals in their daily tasks. This is one of the AI tools for lawyers that provides a range of skills, enabling you to perform tasks such as drafting research memos, preparing for depositions, and conducting document reviews more efficiently.

Joy Holley is one of the attorneys intrigued by this product. She says CoCounsel’s “range of litigation and transactional skills is impressive. I can’t wait to see how Thomson Reuters integrates the technology into its product offerings.”

Pricing

Pricing varies depending on the specific service required and subscription type. CoCounsel All Access prices for their AI tools for lawyers scale between $400-$500/month, contingent upon whether you sign up monthly or commit yearly. Under this plan, CoCounsel is an all-in-one AI assistant with advanced features that cover research operations and extend to reviewing and drafting documents at remarkable speed.


Casetext

Casetext, the brains behind CoCounsel AI tools, is revolutionizing legal research for litigators by assisting them in effectively finding cases. By harnessing the power of AI in their tools, Casetext helps lawyers and paralegals up their game and work more efficiently.

The result? High-quality work is done at breakneck speed. This uptick in efficiency frees up more time, allowing them to take on additional clients. Furthermore, it opens up more avenues for people to seek justice.

Pricing

Casetext AI tools for lawyers pricing ranges from $100-$220 per month based on whether you opt for a monthly plan or commit to a one- or two-year project


Harvey AI

Harvey AI is an advanced tool designed for legal professionals powered by OpenAI’s robust GPT AI technology. It supports legal work by processing general legal data sources such as case law and reference materials.

With its proficiency in areas ranging from contract analysis and due diligence to litigation support and regulatory compliance guidance, Harvey AI can extract meaningful insights from substantial volumes of data.

Pricing

While Harvey AI legal tools for lawyers are currently undergoing a beta testing phase, you can join their waitlist for early access to this promising tool before its full-scale launch.


Blue J L&E

Blue J L&E is an innovative solution leveraging the power of generative AI to streamline tax law research. It’s designed to provide you with thorough answers to tax law questions swiftly.

In addition to delivering precise insights into complex taxation issues using AI tools for lawyers, it also supports designing and communicating optimized taxation structures or corporate organizational charts — using visual tools for clear representation and quick comprehension.

To learn about the pricing of Blue J L&E, lawyers should contact the company and discuss their needs and wishes. This ensures you can navigate intricate financial regulations more confidently while assisting clients with their unique business needs effectively.


ChatGPT

ChatGPT is another one of the advanced AI tools for lawyers that understands and interprets human language conversationally. As a lawyer, you can utilize ChatGPT (where GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer. Transformer means that they take an input and transform it into a reasonable output. What constitutes a suitable output will vary depending on the input, and this is where the importance of “prompting” comes in, as explained by Henry Warner) to efficiently research and draft legal documents, break complex cases or concepts into simplified terminology for clients, answer frequent legal questions, and support drafting contracts or reviewing papers.

Despite its vast potential advantages, though, it’s essential to be aware of certain risks while using AI tools for lawyers, like ChatGPT: Chat GPT’s ‘knowledge’ only extends up to some point of time; therefore, it will not provide updated information on more recent laws or rulings. It cannot replace expert human advice completely. The accuracy of any AI legal tools for lawyers and their output should always be cross-checked.

According to Henry Warner, what people are incredibly excited about at the moment is the promise of generative AI, particularly the GPT and GPT-esk models. These models can take natural language and formulate human-like responses rapidly and at impressive degrees of complexity.

Pricing

While a free version of ChatGPT offers basic functionalities and accessibility, the $20 monthly subscription elevates your user experience. The paid version provides priority access during peak usage times, quicker response rates from their AI tools for legal use, and unlocks exclusive new features or improvements as they are released.


Diligen

Diligen is a technology platform that uses Artificial Intelligence for contract management and review. It can handle tasks such as identifying standard provisions, tracking obligations, and managing project workflows efficiently.

For law firms, Diligen’s AI tools for legal use allow for a streamlined contract review process and add value to client services by enhancing efficiency. For legal service providers, it facilitates faster and higher quality reviews while managing larger-scale projects. For corporations, it ensures comprehension of contracts while adapting efficiently to regulatory changes.

Pricing

While pricing for Diligen’s AI tools for lawyers is not directly stated on their site, users report that the service offers three tiers:

  • essential (approx. $350/month),
  • professional (approx. $500/month), and
  • enterprise approx. ($1600/month).

Auto-GPT

Auto-GPT is an advanced AI application enabling autonomous self-prompting of conversations and tasks, reducing human input. It can sometimes be used in legal contexts, where attorneys leverage it to devise strategies for specific cases.

Pricing:

Auto-GPT, though currently under development, holds significant promise in supporting the legal profession with tasks in the future.


Smith.ai

Smith.ai is a comprehensive virtual receptionist service that caters to the needs of attorneys and law firms. It provides 24/7 phone answering, outbound calling, and website chat services. Smith’s AI tools for lawyers have CRM integration; it logs calls, chats, and appointments while also assisting in booking appointments for new or existing leads and lead screening/intake based on specified criteria. The service offers bilingual support for Spanish-speaking clients and a payment collection feature.

Smith.ai also uses AI tools for legal spaces to block spam calls up to $20 million per month without additional charges and includes SMS text answering capabilities.

Pricing: 

Smith.ai offers four plans:

  • Starter at $255/month for 30 calls with a fee of $9.50 per extra call.
  • Basic at $675/month for 90 calls, charging an additional fee of $8.50 per extra call.
  • Pro at $1,170/month for 180 calls and an additional cost of $7.50 per extra call.
  • Enterprise offers a customized plan based on high-volume needs and specific business requirements.

Gideon

Gideon, an AI-enhanced chatbot, is explicitly tailored to simplify client intake procedures and document automation within legal firms. It acquires proficiency in responding to potential clients’ inquiries while efficiently qualifying leads. More often than not, Gideon substitutes lengthy and complex intake forms with straightforward conversations, optimizing the entire client onboarding process.

Gideon’s AI tools for lawyers-specific pricing aren’t listed on their website directly. Still, interested parties can either book a demo or contact their team for comprehensive details about costs and different packages.


Loio

Another AI tool for lawyers, Loio assists in building legal contracts from scratch, spots omitted sections, and rectifies typographical errors swiftly. In doing so, Loio enhances efficiency while guaranteeing accuracy, uniformity, and adherence to regulations throughout various documents.

Who’s Loio for?

  • Attorneys: Loio empowers attorneys with advanced drafting tools to maximize their time allocation and solidify their standing in the market.
  • Paralegals: With its user-oriented contract review tools, Loio supports paralegals to draft rapidly yet confidently.
  • Land managers: By reducing drafting times considerably, land managers can achieve significant cost savings with AI tools for lawyers.
  • Business owners: With Loio’s innovative contract analysis features, business owners can maintain their contracts with accuracy and currency.

All users benefit from Loio’s streamlined collaboration, which curtails the risk of costly errors with improved overall process efficiency. 

Pricing

The flexibility of Loio’s pricing models allows you to opt for AI tools for lawyers that best align with your budget and needs:

  • Free account: Ideal for individual usage or small teams. You can enjoy 20 document reviews, 10 resolution tips, 10 custom clauses, and three seats for your team.
  • $59 per month: This plan offers unlimited document reviews and tips to resolve issues as they arise alongside up to 80 customized clauses. It caters well to teams with user counts not exceeding twenty members and also integrates seamlessly with Clio Manage software.
  • Custom plans: Should your operations be more sizeable, encompassing teams larger than 20 people and necessitating a review of hundreds of agreements each month, you can reach out directly to Loio for a personalized plan designed exclusively to cater to your specific requirements. This includes unlimited access across all tool features, integration with Clio Manage software, and the bonus of custom development options.   

Loio is part of the Lawrina ecosystem, which provides helpful materials to individuals and lawyers, shares legal information, templates (which can be created by attorneys), and the ability to access the free lawyer directory Lawrina Match. Lawrina is taking cooperation with lawyers seriously and strives to help lawyers simplify their work processes, streamline workflow, and expand their client base. 

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How To Choose the Right AI Tool 

“Technology strategy must start with the big picture, with a careful analysis of how the prospective use of artificial intelligence helps an organization achieve its larger strategic objectives,” according to Joy Holley. 

Joy observed that “the American Bar Association (ABA) has already issued clear guidelines (e.g., in Resolution 112 (2019)) regarding the regulation and supervision of AI and the companies that offer AI solutions. To stay updated, legal professionals should closely follow court standing orders related to the use of AI, the constantly changing regulatory environment in the US, Europe, and other regions, and the initiatives undertaken by organizations like the ABA’s newly formed Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence.”

Choosing the best AI tools for lawyers can immensely impact the productivity and efficiency of your legal practice. This decision must be thoughtful, considering several key factors:

Security level

Given the confidential nature of legal data, security is crucial for any technology applied within this sector. Before settling on any AI tools for lawyers, conduct a comprehensive assessment of its data safeguarding measures — affirm that it adheres to all necessary rules and upholds strict privacy standards. For instance, according to Henry Warner, you have to know: 

  • If your data is being sent to a server to be fed to an LLM,
  • Where is that server? 
  • What assures you that the data won’t be used for future training?

For safeguarding sensitive legal data and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations, legal professionals should implement a robust Data Collection Consent Form to obtain explicit permission for the collection, handling, and utilization of client information. Prior to adopting AI tools, conducting a thorough evaluation of data protection measures is essential, addressing key considerations such as data transmission locations, usage assurances, and adherence to rigorous privacy standards to safeguard against unauthorized data usage or breaches.

Features available

Reflect on the precise goals you aim for your selected software to accomplish, explicitly tailored to your law firm’s unique requirements. From basic document review capabilities to sophisticated contract analysis features via machine learning, ensure the functionality aligns well with your requirements.

User interface and ease of use

AI tools for legal use should have a user-friendly design, as this is essential since an intuitive interface expedites learning and smooth adoption among staff members, resulting in greater utilization across teams.

Ability to integrate 

Ideal AI tools for lawyers and AI tools for legal use should work harmoniously with your other existing systems. Whether it’s billing software or a document management system, ensure the AI solution can be integrated smoothly without disrupting current workflows.

Ultimately, the decision involves weighing a few factors and then trying some AI tools for lawyers, says attorney Lucy Bassli: “Most important is to be very crisp on the problem a company thinks AI will solve. Once that is clear, we begin to assess the systems on the market that have demonstrated capabilities and begin setting up detailed and customized demos. Then, we suggest a pilot or other limited testing period — ideally at no cost.”

AI — Is It a Hype or Necessity?

While some might dismiss AI tools for legal practice as hype, they’re steadily becoming necessary for modern law firms. Dealing with a growing caseload and adapting to a fluid legal landscape is challenging. Here’s where AI tools come in handy — they improve workload management, speed up research, and upgrade document handling precision, all while reducing human errors. The payoff? Increased productivity and more time to tackle high-level strategic tasks.

As Henry Warner suggests, using tools like ChatGPT won’t furnish you with a polished, ready-to-send document in a flash. But, as he states, “It gets lawyers from zero to 80% in seconds, overcoming much of the initial inertia that these tasks have.” 

However, before boarding the AI train, focus on the existing hurdles and priorities in your work. AI might not be the immediate solution you need, and that’s perfectly alright. That’s why contract platforms usually trump AI point solutions. These platforms address common issues, and the AI functions they feature are simply bonuses.

If your contract drafting and negotiations are still running on MS Word and email, it’s time to build a strong foundation first. Here are some pivotal steps toward seizing the full potential of AI:

  • Swap your file-based system for a browser-based system.
  • Shift from unstructured contract creation to a systematic, structured process. Aiming for structured contracts captures vital contract details without leaning on AI for retrospective data extraction. A well-designed contract engine can help accomplish this.
  • Use insights and data to constantly improve your practices, like refining negotiated clauses, adjusting approval processes, or modifying data structures.

Once these steps are nailed down, AI becomes a feasible contender for further enhancing your practice. So, it’s clear that introducing AI tools into legal practice isn’t just a fashion statement. It’s a vital ingredient in supercharging your operations.

Conclusion

AI tools for lawyers are shaking up the modern legal landscape. They’re turbocharging efficiency and accuracy in duties like drafting and reviewing documents, conducting research, and handling those daunting administrative tasks. These trailblazing technologies are effectively changing how law firms work.

But while these AI tools sure pack a punch, never overlook what makes you irreplaceable — your personal touch. Your empathy, intuition, and critical thinking are your key assets. And don’t forget — using a tool like Loio can help streamline your legal process and make your work much more manageable. Ready to join the AI revolution?

FAQ

How does AI for legal firms work?

AI tools for legal firms operate by using complex algorithms that can analyze vast amounts of data from case laws, statutes, and legal literature to assist in research or drafting tasks. It automates time-consuming tasks such as document review or contract analysis, streamlining workflows and allowing lawyers more time to focus on strategic activities and client relationships.

Is ChatGPT reliable and secure?

While ChatGPT strives to provide accurate information, you must remember it is AI-based and cannot personally verify its responses. Hence, critical thinking must also apply here. Regarding security, data provided to ChatGPT is stored on OpenAI’s servers — presenting potential concerns about privacy breaches or misuse of sensitive data.

Can AI replace a lawyer?

While AI tools for lawyers can assist in some aspects of legal work, like document review or simple research tasks, they cannot completely replace a lawyer. The nuanced understanding of law and its application to varied circumstances often requires human judgment and emotional intelligence that AI simply does not possess.

Article by Inna Chumachenko

Inna Chumachenko was the Content Lead at Lawrina. She was responsible for managing all the content that can be found on the blog, guides, and other pages of the website. Inna has a degree in philology and a vast interest in law. In her role at Lawrina, Inna oversaw the content team, established collaborations with writers, and curated content from various contributors.

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