While AI is an impressive tool for the legal field, the bottom line is that human intelligence will always be needed.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to change the way various industries interact with customers, clients, vendors, and others. Though some may have concerns about being replaced by advancing technologies, the fact of the matter is that AI can only reach its full potential with the accompaniment of humans to guide it. Despite AI’s impressive capabilities, human intelligence will always prevail in the legal field.
With that said, while there can be downsides to change, AI is radically changing the legal industry in ways that will benefit attorneys, legal professionals, and clients. Here’s what to know about how AI is improving the future of law.
AI Makes People Even Better at Their Jobs
When used correctly, AI tools like ChatGPT and others can make attorneys and other types of legal professionals better at their jobs. Through automation features, legal practice management platforms equip lawyers with the ability to speed up labor-intensive tasks and make time for what matters most. The efficient use of time means anyone in the legal field can accomplish more and continue to improve their skills and abilities.
Understanding and embracing the changes isn’t always easy. However, taking the time to learn AI’s uses and value will give the legal industry a significant boost in what it can offer to clients seeking services.
Making Attorneys More Effective Helps With Shortages
There’s currently a significant shortage of attorneys in the US, with some clients struggling to find help when they need it most. The use of AI helps these attorneys become more effective and efficient, which equals more help for clients and more billable hours.
Even the best attorney can only accomplish so much because there are limited hours in the day. Anything that makes those hours more productive and addresses simple tasks that can be automated and completed more quickly can give an attorney more time to focus on other areas where a human touch is needed.
Increasing Improvements to Efficiency
Efficiency is among the biggest benefits of AI. An efficient legal professional not only gets more done but understands how to leverage AI to handle areas that don’t require human abilities. Monitoring or checking the end result may still be required in some cases, but that’s typically faster than completing the entire task.
New Skills Will be Needed
As AI makes its way further into the legal field, attorneys will need to adjust their skill sets. The same is true for paralegals and others in the field of law because AI is most effective when used alongside human expertise. In other words, it’s not about just pushing a button and walking away.
Knowing the right queries to get proper results, choosing the best AI tool for the job, and evaluating the results for accuracy are all important skills that legal professionals will need. Additionally, those results will still need to be compiled into a cohesive end result, and confidentiality must be protected during the process.
Larger Access to Legal Services
The use of AI tools will mean attorneys can do more and charge less for some types of services, so more clients will have access to the help they need. By making legal services more affordable and easier to get to, AI will forever change the game, not just for attorneys and paralegals but for their clients, as well.
Because there are circumstances where a few clicks and a quick examination of the end result provide quality legal documents, attorneys will be able to provide help and hope to low-income clients and to small businesses that might not have the funds to pursue legal action otherwise.
The Bottom Line on AI and the Legal Industry
While AI is an impressive tool for the legal field, the bottom line is that human intelligence will always be needed. There are many areas that AI can’t handle on its own, and the compassion and care an attorney provides simply can’t be automated.
Still, attorneys can embrace new technology and leverage the power of AI to start making some important changes to their practices. That will help them become more efficient, bill more hours, and provide additional support to clients who might not have found legal services affordable in the past. That’s a winning situation for everyone involved.
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