White paper
From novelty to necessity: Understanding the continuum of AI for law firms
The Law of Accelerating Returns holds that technological progress increases exponentially rather than linearly. Think of cars; it took thousands of years before civilization had Ford’s Model T, but only 125 years to go from that Model T to cars like what we have today, which are safer, faster, more efficient, and equipped with amenities and gadgets Henry Ford could not have dreamed of.
Legal technology is a better example than cars. It took hundreds of years to go from printed material to internet-based tools, and now we have artificial intelligence, which is beginning to reshape the way professionals of all kinds — lawyers among them — do their work. AI itself is changing, too. Each iteration builds on the last to become more powerful by an order of magnitude. The choppy, unnatural written copy AI systems once produced is now much more polished and tone appropriate. Rudimentary chatbots have now become full-fledged digital assistants, capable of synthesizing complex information, supporting decision-making, and streamlining workflows in ways it was once thought only humans could.
In this white paper, we will explore how AI in legal services has evolved — and what that means for you.
AI in legal: A recent snapshot
For many people, generative AI (GenAI) burst onto the scene in November 2022 with the debut of ChatGPT. Technology professionals will tell you that AI had been developing more or less quietly behind the scenes long before that, but it was this first consumer-facing tool that really captured the public’s attention; three months after its rollout, it had 100 million active users. Its rapid adoption signaled a turning point in how the public engages with emerging technology. development?
Legal professionals viewed the advent of AI with interest, but hesitation. After all, the law is a complicated field where experience, judgment, and a deft touch matter every bit as much as knowing the relevant statute or particular court’s filing requirements. Early mishaps, like lawyers submitting error-riddled briefs that cited nonexistent cases and firms dropping the ball in properly training and guiding their employees on responsible use of AI, did not instill confidence. These high-profile incidents reinforced the perception that AI was promising but not quite reliable — and not yet ready to play a major role in legal work.
Recognizing these limitations, legal technology companies focused on building the next generation of AI tools specifically designed for the legal profession's needs. In doing so, they were reducing AI’s habit of making things up — known as hallucinating — channeling it to use only trusted data and measurably changing both workflow and output. Legal technology tools now use AI to strengthen draft arguments, surface opposing arguments, check case citations, and more. The result? A new generation of powerful tools that do not replace legal professionals but enhance their work product and enable its efficient creation and delivery.
The swiftness with which AI has become a part of legal workflows has had a massive ripple effect. Many clients — 59% from corporate law departments — now expect their counsel to use AI in some capacity, and to bill accordingly. Some law firms are beginning to adjust their hiring practices in anticipation of each legal professional being more efficient, and the organization being able to seek out and take on more work. Legal professionals of all kinds clamor enthusiastically for more AI training and integration into daily work life.
What today’s AI enables
The integration of AI into legal technology has made many aspects of a legal professional’s work smoother, faster, and easier. That includes:
- Research that yields authoritative content. With advanced AI and trusted content, you can get comprehensive and accurate answers through Deep Research, quickly analyze litigation documents for key issues and mischaracterizations, and gain efficiencies by finding relevant claims, streamlining legal surveys, and distilling large, complex data.
- Design strategy and preparing insightful advice. When it works with expertly curated content, AI can help a legal professional delve deeper into the law — even an unfamiliar area of it — and offer a roadmap for an airtight strategy, constructive conversation with clients, and potential landmines to watch out for.
- Draft review-ready content. Even the best AI cannot prepare a client-ready draft on the first prompt. But what it can do is create a thorough and comprehensive first draft that a legal professional can review, revise, and improve — yielding a once-untold savings of time and effort.
- Analyze thoughtfully and carefully. AI can be an excellent sounding board by carefully reviewing and analyzing a draft, strategy, or argument and pointing out areas that need bolstering or supporting. Think of it as a copilot — a helpful resource there to support you in doing your best work.
Together, these advancements mark a transformative moment in legal practice. AI will not replace the judgment, experience, or insight of legal professionals, but it can amplify them. By integrating reliable technology into daily workflows, legal professionals can work with greater precision, confidence, and efficiency. As AI continues to evolve, the legal professionals who use it thoughtfully and carefully will be best positioned to meet emerging client expectations and traverse an increasingly complex legal landscape.
Implications of AI for legal professionals
As we mentioned earlier, AI has prompted both fascination and hesitation among legal professionals. Today, the integration of thoughtfully adapted AI into legal technology tools is advanced enough that it should allay many concerns legal professionals once had. We are now entering an era where thoughtful, intentional use of AI can make a legal professional even more responsive and adaptable.
If you find yourself among those who still view AI with uncertainty, it might help to think of the positive outcomes of careful, sensible AI use.
Three ways to successfully integrate AI into your workflows
If you want to take advantage of the benefits AI-enabled legal technology has for your practice but are not quite sure how to do that, here are three ideas that will help you.
Maintain openness
In a tradition-bound industry like law, it is very easy to keep doing the same task the same way. After all, that’s how it has always been done. The fact is, the way legal professionals carried out a given task even five years ago is not how it has always been done and may not even be the best and most efficient way to do it today.
Ask for training
Upskilling is the idea that an experienced, educated professional can gain new skills through training. There is no implication that the professional was not skilled or good at their job in the first place. Your firm should be providing training on how to use AI intentionally and carefully, and you should be open-minded and engaged with that training to get the most out of it.
Continue to exercise judgment and circumspection
Something commonly said about AI in legal technology is that it should be viewed the same way as a bright, early-career associate. That is to say, it is capable of very good work, but that work product needs to be reviewed — and perhaps, edited — every time.
How AI will enhance legal service value
One of the most interesting findings of the Thomson Reuters Institute’s latest Report on the State of the US Legal Market is that clients want firms to propose innovative billing models incorporating AI-driven efficiencies, while firms lament that clients convert everything back to hourly rates — leaving both sides waiting for the other to make the first move. Meanwhile, both are continuing to operate under a billing model that makes less sense as time goes on.
For decades, most legal professionals have relied on the billable hour model, charging clients in small increments and itemizing how that time was spent. This structure has long been viewed as a neutral and predictable way to measure legal effort. Although it places more of an administrative burden on the legal professional, clients have appreciated the granular detail and transparency.
As AI streamlines legal work and increases efficiency, however, the billable hour is increasingly misaligned with the goals of both parties. When routine tasks take less time, tying revenue strictly to time spent can create tension between productivity and value. Instead of paying for time, clients may benefit more from paying for a legal professional’s skill, experience, or judgment.
In light of this possible shift, many firms are experimenting with alternative fee arrangements, subscription models, and results-driven pricing. These options can provide clients with cost certainty while encouraging legal professionals to maintain high-quality work. No single winner has yet emerged, but the momentum may suggest that more flexible and transparent billing strategies are worth exploring as the profession continues to evolve.
The dawn of the AI era
AI is no longer an experiment. Consumers and professionals now use it consistently for a host of tasks. Legal professionals who ignore its transformative power may be at risk of being left behind. As more organizations realize the efficiency and benefits of AI-enabled legal technology, its use will become standard practice. For you, the to-do item now may be to start working with it in small ways and thoroughly consider where it can save you time and effort and where your energy and attention are best allocated. Measure what works and the value will show.
If your organization is ready to invest in AI-enabled legal technology but is not sure which vendor has the best tool, this worksheet has key questions designed to help law firms evaluate potential AI vendors. Download the editable PDF to type in your answers directly.
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