Link Search Menu Expand Document
Ranking AI Safety Priorities by Domain
AI Alliance Banner

Legal: Research in Generative AI Use Cases and Risks

Participants

  • TBD

Recent Relevant Material

NOTE: The images will be replaced with the actual tables soon.

Click the image to view the sheet.

Click the image to view the sheet.

Generative AI (GenAI) is progressively being integrated into the legal industry, enhancing various aspects of legal practice. This section provides an overview of how GenAI is being applied within the legal sector, the current state of its adoption, and the perceptions of legal professionals regarding its use.

Adoption and Perceptions

While 85% of legal industry respondents believe GenAI can be used for legal work, the adoption of this technology is proceeding cautiously. According to the recent Generative AI in Professional Services Report from the Thomson Reuters Institute, about one-quarter of law firm and corporate legal department respondents have used public GenAI tools such as ChatGPT. Although only 12% of legal industry respondents currently use legal-specific GenAI, an additional 43% plan to do so within the next three years. Legal professionals have mixed feelings about the use of GenAI, with nearly half expressing optimism and excitement about its future. However, there are concerns regarding potential ethical and fraudulent uses of GenAI, highlighting the need for robust ethical frameworks and responsible implementation strategies. According to the same report, 51% of law firm respondents, 60% of corporate legal practitioners, 62% of corporate risk professionals, and 40% of government legal respondents support the application of GenAI in their work.

GenAI tools can significantly expedite legal research by quickly searching and analyzing relevant case law, legislation, and secondary sources, enabling legal professionals to access pertinent information with ease. Additionally, these tools can review contracts to identify important clauses, flag potential issues, and suggest revisions based on best practices, simplifying the negotiation process and reducing the risk of disputes. In drafting legal documents such as contracts, wills, and pleadings, GenAI can use pre-defined templates and input data to assist legal professionals. It can also review existing documents for errors, inconsistencies, or potential legal issues, thereby enhancing the accuracy and reliability of legal work.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications in GenAI are employed to semi-automate essential but time-consuming tasks. These applications can classify legal documents, identify cross-references and legislative amendments, link legal terms to the most relevant definitions, and extract key elements of legal provisions to facilitate clarity and advanced search options. Such automation helps in reducing costs and increasing coverage while allowing legal professionals to focus on more complex tasks.