AI IN LAW: HOW AI ENHANCES, HINDERS, OR DESTROYS THE LEGAL SYSTEM

With the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the past 2 years, there has been substantial growth in its applications across many industries.  From the graphic design industry being affected by AI generative art to biology research benefiting from AI, the impact extends to almost every industry, and law is not excluded. This article aims to analyze the effects of AI on the legal field through an unbiased lens and to determine whether its integration should be accepted or rejected. 

Current Effects of AI in Law

AI is already implemented in multiple ways in the field of law, and one of the most prominent applications is legal research. A specialized search engine titled ‘Harvey’ has been trained on a large amount of legal documents, case law, statutes, etc., making it able to recognize legal terminology and interpret queries, and give responses tailored and accurate to the field of law. This AI tool has saved lawyers hundreds of hours of research time on cases.  

AI research for lawyers can not only analyze documents written by lawyers but also quickly summarize them. This is the most time-consuming part of a lawyer's job: reading hundreds of pages of documents, which can require extensive time, effort, and money. Instead, lawyers can plug these documents into an AI system that scans and summarizes them in minutes. Lawyers are thus able to work on more cases simultaneously with less time pressure.

Not only does it research and analyze cases and documents, but AI has also been able to act as a form of storage for law firms. Lawyers can feed AI systems information about cases, such as dates, times, facts, and witness information, and, by using AI, retrieve information about those cases at any time. However, this use remains in development and presents its own challenges. 

Another major implementation of AI has been in the role of a judge. This has been done in Estonia to manage small claims courts. The AI judge was trained to view cases objectively and, using its large database of prior rulings and current laws, determine the proper outcome of each case. This has saved judges substantial time on minor cases and enabled them to focus on larger, more complex cases. 

The legal field has only recently begun to be affected by AI, with significant impacts already emerging. However, these impacts have both advantages and disadvantages. 

Benefits of AI Implementation in Law

Although many people tend to fear AI implementation, it is difficult to deny the benefits of integrating it into society. One of the most notable ways AI has assisted lawyers is by improving efficiency. As noted above, AI has saved lawyers thousands of hours on routine tasks such as reviewing cases, reading lengthy documents, and drafting documents. By using AI, lawyers have saved substantial time and money. Most lawyers work on a billable-hours basis, meaning they charge for the time they spend on a case. By reducing the time required to work on each case, they can take on more cases and charge less per case, since less time is needed. Not only does this benefit lawyers, but it also benefits clients, as they don't need to pay as much for legal services. 

Another significant benefit of implementing AI in law is improved accuracy. AI assistance can improve human tasks that lawyers perform, such as drafting legal documents, and can quickly review for mistakes. This reduces human error and improves efficiency. AI can also assist in identifying common mistakes in legal documents and flagging them for correction. This can also include flagging statements that are inaccurate within the field of law, whether due to outdated information or otherwise. 

Detriments of AI Implementation in Law

While there are many benefits, the substantial fear that many people have of AI implementation is not unwarranted. One of these many fears is AI bias. AI tends to reflect historical biases in the field of law and to reproduce their outcomes.  For example, in 2022, plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against State Farm in Illinois, alleging that AI software used to detect fraudulent insurance claims was biased against Black homeowners in violation of the Fair Housing Act. They claimed that State Farm used a learning algorithm that relied on biometric, behavioral, and housing data to scan for potentially fraudulent claims, thereby functioning as a proxy for race.

While AI can reflect human bias, it cannot convey human emotions, which is detrimental to the implementation of AI in the legal field. It cannot understand human emotion, ethics, or personal circumstances. Many cases are difficult to determine because of the complexity of human personalities and actions, which AI cannot comprehend or empathize with. Law is also a field that relies heavily on moral reasoning, which AI is currently unable to perform. 

Another concern with AI integration into the field of law is privacy. Because AI operates on a database of prior cases, the concern is whether it has unrestricted access to private information and whether it violates the attorney-client privilege. Moreover, in the event of a data breach, clients would be at risk of sensitive information being stolen.

Finally, job displacement is a significant concern about the implementation of AI in law.  AI can readily perform the tasks for which paralegals are most needed: research and document review. While many researchers believe that AI will not fully replace the role of a paralegal, it is reasonable to expect that the profession will require significantly fewer paralegals to operate at the same level as it does now, to reduce costs. AI is already used to perform tasks typically undertaken by lawyers, such as contesting parking tickets. DoNotPay is an AI chatbot that helps users contest tickets they believe were issued unjustly. While it is still in testing, it is capable of appealing unjust tickets and saving consumers money (however, the data is not shown on its consistency in doing so).

Future Effects on the Field of Law

While AI has already been implemented in the legal field, it remains a rapidly evolving tool, with many potential applications in the future. The use of AI will expedite case resolution, unclog the legal system, and enable cases to be handled more rapidly.  There is also potential for assistance with case organization/case management, which will facilitate case handling. While some jobs will be negatively affected by AI, new jobs in AI-specific fields will also emerge, creating additional opportunities. 

AI has facilitated, and will continue to enable easier access to the legal field, whether through education or by assisting those who cannot afford a lawyer. Self-help tools will continue to expand in capability, and access to Legal Services will become more widespread as AI continues to develop. 

Ultimately, the future of AI and the field of law will be determined by the rulings that constrain its use. AI will inevitably have parameters set by the legal system, which has yet to be established. Future laws will help govern the use of AI and fairness in the legal system, and ethical guidelines will become a central part of legal education. 

The future uses of AI remain unclear, but one thing is clear: AI has become an essential part of society and will affect every field, including law. It is up to us whether we choose to embrace its usage or attempt to reject it. 

References

Clio, “How AI Enhances Legal Document Review” in Law and Technology Today (American Bar Association, February 2025)

 Huskey et al. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., No. ___, 2023 WL 5848164 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 11, 2023)

Langham, Pamela, “An Overview of Harvey AI’s Features for Lawyers”, (Maryland State Bar Association, August 2025)

Malik, Rayan, “A Deep Dive Into DoNotPay”, (Sourced, June 2023)

Park, Joshua, “Your Honor, AI” in EXHAUSTION, EROSION, EXTINCTION: INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE IN A ZERO-SUM WORLD (Harvard law review, spring 2020)

Reuters, Thomson, “Will AI replace Paralegals?” (Thomson Reuters, October 2023)