In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the legal sector, presenting law firms with new options to improve their efficiency and the quality of services they provide to their clients.

Nevertheless, because there are so many different AI providers on the market, it can be difficult for the executives of law firms to choose the right one for their organisation.

In this article, we will talk about some of the top AI providers and choices that are currently accessible for legal businesses and individual attorneys.

1. ChatGPT

Law firms and individual attorneys that are interested in implementing AI technology in order to enhance their business operations and provide superior assistance to their customers may find ChatGPT to be an invaluable resource. By conducting legal research using ChatGPT, drafting legal documents using ChatGPT, receiving legal advice using ChatGPT, reviewing contracts using ChatGPT, and performing due diligence using ChatGPT, law firms can save time, improve their efficiency, and provide their clients with superior legal services.

ChatGPT, an AI language model, processes natural language inputs and generates responses based on patterns and relationships it has learned from massive data sets. ChatGPT can provide interesting insights and suggestions, but it is not secure for sharing personal client information. Why legal firms shouldn’t use ChatGPT for confidential client data:

• Security risks: ChatGPT is online and susceptible to hacking, data breaches, and phishing attempts. ChatGPT could compromise or steal confidential customer data.
• Privacy issues: Law firms must protect client data. Putting personal client information into ChatGPT may breach the attorney-client privilege and other legal and ethical requirements, which could harm the law firm and its clients.
• ChatGPT’s accuracy isn’t perfect. ChatGPT’s erroneous or misleading responses may cause legal mistakes. Clients and the law firm’s reputation could suffer.
• Restricted context: ChatGPT learns patterns and relationships from massive volumes of data, but it lacks the context and grasp of legal problems that human lawyers have. ChatGPT may not be able to give clients sophisticated and personalised legal advice.
• Accountability: As an automated system, ChatGPT is not as accountable as human lawyers. A ChatGPT-generated response may make it difficult to assign blame and take corrective measures in a legal problem.

Instead of sharing personal client data on insecure networks, law firms should embrace AI technology with prudence and discretion.

2. Kira Systems

Kira Systems is a contract review tool that is powered by AI and has the ability to evaluate enormous volumes of legal documents in a matter of minutes. Legal professionals will have an easier time reviewing and analysing legal papers because the application makes use of machine learning algorithms to highlight important clauses, words, and conditions in contracts. In addition to its many other applications, Kira Systems is useful for doing tasks such as due diligence, contract evaluation, and leasing abstraction.

3. Harvey (in partnership with Magic Circle law firm Allen & Overy)

As at Feb 2023, as explained on their site, “Allen & Overy (A&O), the leading international law firm, has broken new ground by integrating Harvey, the innovative artificial intelligence platform built on a version of Open AI’s latest models enhanced for legal work, into its global practice. Harvey will empower more than 3,500 of A&O’s lawyers across 43 offices operating in multiple languages with the ability to generate and access legal content with unmatched efficiency, quality and intelligence…A&O has been trialling Harvey (based on GPT-4) in beta since November 2022 under the leadership of a team of lawyers and developers tasked with disrupting the legal industry, called the Markets Innovation Group (MIG). At the end of the trial, around 3500 of A&O’s lawyers had asked Harvey around 40,000 queries for their day-to-day client work.”

Harvey can be a valuable tool for law firms looking to streamline their contract review process, improve the quality of their legal services, and reduce the risk of legal disputes. By using AI technology to analyze contracts, manage legal documents, conduct due diligence, draft legal documents, and ensure compliance, law firms can save time, improve efficiency, and provide better legal services to their clients. Allen & Overy’s exclusive launch partnership with Harvey demonstrates the growing importance of AI technology in the legal industry and its potential to transform the way law firms operate.

4. eBrevia

eBrevia is a contract analysis tool that is powered by artificial intelligence and makes use of natural language processing in order to detect and extract crucial information from contracts. The tool has a variety of applications, some of which include the evaluation of contracts, the performance of due diligence, and the abstraction of leases. The machine learning algorithms of eBrevia may also be trained to detect particular terms and conditions in contracts, making it a very useful tool for legal professionals.

5. Luminance

Luminance is a contract review and analysis tool that is powered by artificial intelligence. It makes use of machine learning techniques to locate important clauses and provisions in contracts. The time-saving technology helps attorneys by swiftly finding key material and drawing attention to potential dangers. Luminance has a variety of applications, some of which include performing due diligence, reviewing contracts, and abstracting leases.

6. Neota Logic

Neota Logic is a legal automation tool that is powered by artificial intelligence and allows law firms to design their own applications without having to know how to code. Because the tool understands and interprets user queries through the use of natural language processing, it is much simpler for attorneys to design bespoke apps for their individual clients. A wide range of legal applications, including as contract administration, document automation, and compliance monitoring, are all suitable for use with Neota Logic.

How AI will affect law firms – the massive potential for bigger commercial law firms

The legal sector has been disrupted by and, indeed, is in the process of being completely transformed, by the introduction of AI, which has opened up new potential for law firms to increase their productivity and give superior services to their clients. The AI service providers and solutions that were discussed earlier are some of the best that are now available to legal companies and individual attorneys. If the leaders of a law firm choose the correct AI provider, they may improve the quality of services they deliver to their clients while simultaneously saving time and money.

Yet, it is essential to pick the correct service provider who can meet both your requirements and your financial constraints.

Why AI won’t have that much impact on smaller law firms…yet

While artificial intelligence (AI) technology is touted as a game-changer for the legal industry, it is essential to approach this topic with a healthy dose of scepticism, especially in regards to its impact on smaller law firms. Here are some reasons why artificial intelligence may not have a significant impact on lesser law firms:

1. Cost: Law firms face high costs when using AI technology. Lesser law firms may lack the financial means to invest in costly AI tools and software. AI technology may only be available to larger law firms who can afford it.
2. Absence of experience: AI technology requires data analytics and machine learning expertise. Smaller law firms may lack the resources or experience to build and manage these systems, limiting their AI technology use.
3. Smaller law companies may not need as much automation and efficiency as larger ones. Smaller law companies may not profit as much from AI’s efficiency and cost savings.
4. Customer expectations: AI technology may improve turnaround times and legal advice, but clients may not expect smaller law firms to use it. So, smaller law firms may face less pressure to employ AI technology.
5. Lastly, the legal profession relies on human judgement and skill. AI can provide valuable insights and analyses, but legal concerns often require human touch. So, smaller law firms may prefer human competence over AI.

AI technology may have a bigger impact on commercial law firms in the legal sector but may not affect smaller law firms to the same extent. Smaller law firms may struggle to use AI technology due to cost, experience, scope, client expectations, and human expertise – smaller legal firms must weigh the pros and cons of AI technology before investing, but as noted at point 1 at the very start of this blog post, it’s worth all lawyers trying ChatGPT to see what efficiencies they can gain with this useful new AI tech…provided they don’t enter any confidential client information into it!