As much as lawyers love their jobs, they hate performing administrative tasks that rally with them. These administrative tasks are document review, contract management, drafting documents, etc.
Similarly, nothing good comes without hellish managerial work in the legal sector. Document review is a very lengthy process that might cause inaccurate results leading to huge losses if performed manually. It is time-consuming as well as costly.
With everything going digital, technology brings in the much-needed solution- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE!
AI-enabled software can do anything a man can do and everything a man cannot do as well. Although law firms are a little behind in adopting artificial intelligence providing the rate of success in such a short time, depicts the heights the legal industry is going to achieve with AI.
artificial intelligence- a life-saving tool!
There is no doubt that several programs, attorneys, and employees can conduct document reviews but none of them appears to be as effective as AI. From the time law firms started using AI-inhibited software in their day-to-day operating activities, the quality, effectiveness, and accuracy have increased by as much as 80%.
AI works either by training itself through trial and error or by manually training it by feeding Data. Through trial and error, AI software provides outcomes and if these outcomes are approved, the method is considered correct. Another method is manual training. In this, AI-inhibited software is fed with data and they work accordingly and further improve its performance.
Attorneys that use AI for document review deliver more accurate results as well as a satisfied clientele base. AI deliberately performs all the stages or types of review processes more strategically and furnishes the firm with effectiveness and profitability.
Let’s have a look at how AI aids firms to achieve success.
document review
Paperwork and the legal sector go hand-in-hand. Even the simplest cases have an abundance of paperwork. These documents are valuable but not everything is written in its worth. Litigation document review involves going through each and every paper or contract, analyzing it deeply, and drafting a document with just key information that can be used in the case. The hard way, a lawyer carries out document review all by himself. Here are some disadvantages caused by manual document review:
- Wastage of time
- Inaccuracy
- Cost-consuming
- Draining energy of lawyers
For example; if a lawyer is handling a case. Before coming to any judgment, he will have to understand the case. Document review is the process by which lawyers understand the cases as well as figure out the key parameters of the case, which can be used in their argument.
Artificial intelligence simplifies this process and saves lawyers and firms from undergoing these disadvantages with the help of predictive coding. Predictive coding is when software figures out certain documents that are relevant and learns what type of document it should be looking for, all by itself.
AI goes through all the documents, contracts, audio-video recordings, emails, graphics, etc. involved in the case as evidence and sorts out all the data in a simpler form with just key information. This makes document review much easier. It not only lifts the workload off the attorneys but also improves accuracy and profitability.
Legal Research
Any attorney who’s ever performed research using AI-inhibited software knows the advantages it offers. Research in the legal industry means scanning through hundreds of cases and laws and picking out anything that is relevant. In the pre-digital era, lawyers used to spend hours carrying out this tiresome task. For example; if a lawyer is handling a case through document review, he has all the key information, and now he has to look for applicable laws or similar cases to build his argument full of potential and facts. There will be thousands of similar cases and applicable laws. How will the attorney find out which case or law is relevant?
AI delivers instant results. Since AI software has access to all the data, it already knows what it should be looking for. It searches through laws and cases and provides attorneys with cases identical to theirs. Artificial intelligence performs this cumbersome job for attorneys, this helps lawyers to concentrate on the cases and have a good lead to win.
Lawyers who use AI present way more effective, faster work, and better client experience. AI can perform any research work that usually takes lawyers hours, in just a few seconds.
Anticipate Results
Lawyers are often required to predict the results: “Will we win this settlement?”, “How much is this case going to cost me?”, “Should I settle this case?” and whatnot!
Clients and others ask all kinds of questions which although no lawyer can for sure predict and tell accurate or close to accurate results. Since no attorney has knowledge of complete data, it is not possible.
AI has access to every document and it can use all these key parameters to make a prediction. It can easily predict the winning probability or the effect of any decision that the attorney has made. It helps enhance the arguments and facts of lawyers because it informs lawyers of the potential of their argument in advance. AI tells the evidence quality, the strength of an argument, or the probability of settlement. It works way better than a human mind and therefore is an expert in predicting SCOTUS decisions.
Not only this, AI helps review the actions taken by attorneys in order to enhance their cases.
Analyzing Contracts
Imagine coming into a contract with the other parties and not knowing the long-term and short-term risks associated with it. before the digital age, contracts took place only by focusing on current factors because the future couldn’t be predicted. But with the introduction of artificial intelligence, lawyers and firms know very well what they are getting themselves into. This means that along with the pros of a contract, they are aware of the cons associated with it. AI performs contract review and has access to all contractual data and therefore easily predicts the success rate of the contract as well as the risk it carries.
Hence, it becomes a cakewalk for lawyers and firms to decide whether to carry the agreement further or not and if the risks are worth taking. This also helps the parties involved in understanding their risk-handling capability and if they will be able to handle the disadvantages that come with the contract.
Risk And Opportunities
Since artificial intelligence was introduced, lawyers and employees are scared that it will soon replace them. We’re here to prove if artificial intelligence is a threat or not.
The old ways are not dead, not yet! But there is no doubt that we’re definitely changing and evolving for the better! Soon enough the traditional ways will be completely eliminated. Does that mean the eviction of human labor as well? Will machines take over all the jobs?
The most simplest and straightforward answer to this is, NO!
Through the approach of common sense, machines cannot take over all jobs because:
First, we need humans to run them.
Second, the very definition of artificial intelligence is a machine working like a human mind. Although, AI learns itself through hit and trial and improves its performance as it moves ahead somebody is needed to run it. We need human labor to set the base on which AI will work.
So, no artificial intelligence is not a threat to lawyers and other employees.
Coming to a practical and justified approach, here’s why AI isn’t a threat.
AI aids in working with humans to achieve heights and heights of success that a firm or an individual didn’t even think of. Clearly, AI does most of the work but it cannot run completely on its own. The software still needs humans to teach it, what’s wrong and what’s right even with the hit-and-trial method!
With all said, it is safe to conclude that artificial intelligence is not a threat to human labor. Currently, AI is not capable of replicating human expertise in more complicated legal sectors like case-solving or client attending.
Something as good as AI comes with its drawbacks.
- AI raises concerns about job deprivation. As mentioned, AI cannot work on its own, but it can still reduce the need for human labor.
- Since there will be fewer employees, the business owners will earn more. This will lead to unequal wealth distribution, as there will be people not earning at all while some earning in abundance.
- Sometimes AI lets slip racially sensitive marks. Therefore, it can be biased.
- There’s a learning phase for everyone, even when it comes to machines. Artificial intelligence makes mistakes and sometimes these mistakes could cost a fortune!
- We definitely cannot forget the fact that if AI is used for such amazing purposes, it can be misused as well. It can be maliciously used by people or opponents.
There may be instances that may raise the question of confidentiality and security but all these drawbacks come along with the bigger list of advantages artificial intelligence offers. Whether it is a cumbersome job like document review or a simple job like client feedback, artificial intelligence performs all administrative and managerial jobs like a pro!
However, there is still a lot more air between AI and lawyers that needs clearing up so that lawyers can use it for their profit. AI is a boon rather than a bane in the legal industry and it still needs to be adopted properly, so that it can be used up to its potency.
The evidence from other industries clearly depicts the huge mountains and hurdles AI has helped them to cross if used properly.
Undoubtedly the legal industry needs to use AI more strategically for a much better success rate and exponential results.
Do follow:
What is Legal Document Review and Why You Should Hire an Expert?
