Technological advancements and its use cannot be overlooked or ignored in any sector of this modern world, and the legal sector is making the best use of it as well. With the incorporation of artificial intelligence or AI, the law firms are finding it easy to resolve a case easily, quickly and more decisively. In short, it has had a significant impact and effect on the legal sector all over the world. It is seen that over the last decade or so, there have been impressive and significant advancements in artificial intelligence. This has ignited innovation in a number of industries that have in turn improved their operational performance in meaningful ways.
Especially for the legal sector, this automation is expected to have a more significant impact in the coming decade making it more transformational. However, there is a bit of fear and apprehension in many within the legal profession, and the reasons for it is widely and expectedly clear. According to recent studies conducted and the figures published by The Law Society, this automation will replace around 67,000 jobs by 2038 in the legal sector.
That means, with all facts taken into consideration, AI has evolved dramatically and has become a tangible reality. This automation has provided the Law firms in India with a lot of opportunities to revolutionize the mundane and prolonged legal processes. With the help of AI, the lawyers, paralegals, assistants, and legal secretaries are now able to provide a more efficient service at a more affordable cost to their legal clients.
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Benefit from automation
With all these fears and apprehensions you may tend to think what the benefits of such automation are in the legal sector. As it is, AI is a crucial tool for coping with the amount of data that are ever-growing. The lawyers must handle this data proficiently to run the complex matters.
- As lawyers are experts on legal issues but not data scientists or engineers, the level of difficulty in handling such data is minimized with the use of AI.
- It improves the legal skills of the lawyers providing more solid and effective outcomes. This is possible because AI is able to analyze a large amount of past and present data at one time and quickly.
- AI also assists the lawyers to predict the outcome of a case with a proper and precise analysis of such large amount of data and information. It is easy to identify the most likely result and choose a suitable approach to reach to it.
- AI also helps the lawyer to determine the best time to settle a claim considering all available options and its outcomes.
Though this technology is still in its infancy, AI software has proved its mettle and how it may affect the outcome of any case.
Future of legal services
The future of AI and its use in legal services seems to be bright, but despite all of these advantages, the potential for loss of jobs remains a primary concern in this sector. After all, technology plays a significant role in all industries and has the same apprehension to make one think that it will have a negative impact. However, experts and industry commentators point it the other way suggesting the positives of it on the contrary.
- It is the basic principle that says whether there is a threat, there has to be an opportunity. In fact, this principle is substantiated even further by the same research results that say that within the next decade there will be 80,000 new roles added to the sector. It also goes a step further to predict that 25,000 of this are expected by 2025 itself.
- These stats affirm that the need for highly professional and skillful lawyers in this profession is on the rise. This eventually proves that the integration of AI in the legal sector is not to replace roles, but it is rather required to transform the industry. It is also required to predict the progress of a case and encourage legal professionals to cultivate inimitable skills.
- The assistant now does not need to take on secretarial duties as AI can successfully replace it. This means the graduates and legal professionals starting their career as Intellectual Property Lawyers or any other are expected to gain an added and more valuable experience early in their career.
As a result of the integration of AI, the role played by the junior lawyers will also evolve. It will be focused more on the development of skill instead of those drudge works. This ideally is a positive change in the legal sector which all should welcome and not fear or apprehend.
Areas of inclusion
The primary areas in the legal sector where AI is successfully applied include a few broad categories such as:
- Reviewing documents for relevant information during the discovery process usually referred to as TAR or Technology-Assisted Review
- Researching several statutes and case laws through automated searches
- Analyzing contracts and legal documents
- Proofreading and error correction and
- Document organization.
When such areas are carefully analyzed, it provides a lot of help to the established as well as Startup legal services as well.
The benefits of AI applications in law firms are all interrelated. It saves time and therefore saves money, lawyers can save creative energy and thereby reduces stress and this, in turn, makes them more productive. With more creativity and reduced stress, lawyers can complete work faster thereby saving time, and the entire beneficial cycle starts over.
All these benefits can only be achieved if you think holistically and identify the significance of AI applications. Computer systems can search through and analyze more information in less time translating it into monetary savings. These savings can make up the cost of new technology and can be passed on to the clients.
Apart from that AI helps in:
- Early and more accurate risk assessment
- Providing high-quality work
- Improves logical structure with better organization
- Enhances creative analysis
- Identifies persuasive precedents and
- Improves client relations.
In short, AI solution can produce a positive momentum in a law firm.
