Experts at Thomson Reuters discuss the impact of generative AI on legal drafting and the legal profession
In a fast-paced industry, law firms are constantly seeking ways to maximize efficiency and profitability, all while maintaining high-quality service to their clients. Yet, legal professionals often find themselves grappling with a persistent challenge: the time-consuming nature of legal drafting. Enter generative AI (GenAI), a groundbreaking tool in legal technology that is reshaping the drafting process.
According to insights from Thomson Reuters, legal professionals report spending a staggering 40 to 60% of their time on document drafting. Moreover, 96% of respondents express dissatisfaction with the efficiency of their current drafting tools. Amidst these struggles, GenAI-powered tools offer a next-level solution, enabling law firms to achieve their drafting capabilities.
A recent webinar hosted by Thomson Reuters delved into the nuances of GenAI, offering insights into its application, benefits, and the ethical considerations it entails for legal professionals. Read on for insights from Matt Brodahl and Ryan Groff on the transformative potential of GenAI in legal drafting and what it means for the future of the legal profession.
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| Understanding GenAI-powered tools in legal drafting |
| Elevating the legal drafting process with GenAI |
| Ethical considerations in using GenAI-powered tools |
| Crafting clear prompts for GenAI tools |
| Enhance your drafting methods with GenAI today |
Understanding GenAI-powered tools in legal drafting
GenAI represents a significant leap forward from traditional AI and machine learning. As explained by Matt Brodahl, Senior Director of Product Management at Thomson Reuters, GenAI utilizes large language models trained on vast volumes of language data. This enables the generation of predictive text that is not only accurate but also contextually relevant. Brodahl emphasized that these foundational models have “moved the state of the art forward quite substantially,” making them indispensable tools in the legal industry.
Elevating the legal drafting process with GenAI
Legal drafting comes with a number of complexities. It can be time-consuming, inefficient, and cumbersome when it comes to finding a starting point or requesting revisions. The application of GenAI can automate these routine tasks and enhance the drafting process, thereby enhancing efficiency and accuracy. Legal professionals can also streamline processes such as document summarization, contract review, and data extraction. With the time saved, they can focus on more complex and strategic aspects of their work.
Ryan Groff, Senior Solutions Consultant at Thomson Reuters, highlighted the significant time-saving benefits reported by users of GenAI tools. According to Groff, 78% of surveyed respondents experienced a reduction of 1.9 hours in summarizing tasks, while 66% reported saving 3.3 hours on document reviews. These efficiencies translate into increased productivity and potentially hundreds of thousands in new billable time per lawyer annually.
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Ethical considerations in using GenAI-powered tools
While the benefits of GenAI are clear, its use in legal work necessitates careful consideration of ethical and security issues. Groff underscored the importance of maintaining professional duties such as competence, confidentiality, communication, and oversight of assistance. Legal professionals must ensure that the AI tools they use are equipped with robust data protection measures and do not misuse client data.
Moreover, understanding and being able to explain how GenAI tools function is crucial. As Groff noted, “Verification is the responsibility of our profession and that has never changed.” Lawyers must be able to oversee their AI tools effectively to ensure compliance with ethical standards.
Crafting clear prompts for GenAI tools
To maximize the benefits of GenAI, legal professionals must learn to input effective prompts to deliver trustworthy results. This involves providing clear and specific instructions to the AI and ensuring the outputs meet the high standards of legal practice. By understanding how best to interact with AI tools, legal professionals can harness their full potential while maintaining their ethical obligations.
Enhance your drafting methods with GenAI today
The future of legal drafting is undoubtedly intertwined with the advancements in GenAI. As the technology continues to evolve, it promises to further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of legal workflows. Streamlining the drafting process means less time spent on routine tasks and more time focusing on strategic, high-value matters.
However, it’s also important to remember GenAI is not a replacement for human lawyers, but rather a powerful assistant that can augment their capabilities. By utilizing AI-enabled drafting tools, legal professionals can unlock new levels of productivity — paving the way for a more profitable legal practice.
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