26-Aug-2025 Legal Technology >> Technology  

Innovation in the field of law is rapidly advancing with the help of legal technology. Legal technology, also known as “legaltech”, encompasses the use of software and other technologies to enhance the legal process. Legaltech is transforming the way attorneys and lawyers practice law, and is helping to make the entire legal process more efficient and cost effective.

Legal technology can be used to automate various aspects of the legal process. For example, software can be used to streamline the discovery process, allowing attorneys to quickly search through and analyze large amounts of data. Additionally, software can be used to automate document drafting, allowing attorneys to quickly create legal documents with minimal effort. Legal technology can also be used to simplify the process of filing legal documents, making it easier and faster to submit paperwork to court systems.

AI has entered the legal sector with some noticeable force. The billion-dollar valuations experienced by companies have created an investment frenzy. AI automation to speed up contract analysis, document summarization, and case research means a shift away from the slow, traditional methods that have defined the legal industry for decades, saving hours per week and the opportunity to increase annual billable time per lawyer

Despite its potential benefits, the push toward legal automation has not been without its critics. Many traditional lawyers argue that legal work is too subtle for machines to handle. The worry is that AI systems, which largely rely on predictive text and pattern recognition, may not fully capture the complexities involved in legal agreements.

About one in four legal practitioners view AI as a threat, expressing concerns that reliance on technology could diminish the human judgment needed for complex legal matters. While AI systems can process data and generate drafts at speeds far exceeding manual work, the worry is that an overreliance on automated tools might lead to errors that only a seasoned lawyer can catch. Stats show that AI tools hallucinate in at least 1 out of 6 legal queries. This tension between speed and careful judgment continues to spark debate among those who work in the legal field.

Like any new technology, AI has both benefits and downsides for the legal industry. Below, we’ve summarized some of the key ones that you should know about.

Pros of AI for law firms:

AI can save time. As any lawyer knows, legal work is filled with repetitive, mundane tasks that quickly fill up a day—whether it’s researching laws, scouring through piles of documents, or using AI chatbots for writing assistance. AI has the power to automate this work and complete it in a fraction of the time. The result? Lawyers can focus on what truly matters and help more clients, which can increase job satisfaction, improve their bottom line, and elevate client relationships. 

AI promotes greater productivity. By streamlining processes and automating workflows, lawyers can be more efficient in their work. Trained algorithms in machine learning can identify patterns in vast amounts of data and identify what information is relevant at an astonishing speed. This allows lawyers to finish tasks at a much faster rate. 

AI can elevate lawyers’ work. Legal professionals can use more sophisticated AI-powered tools to augment their work. These tools can assist with tasks like drafting legal documents, conducting legal research, and analyzing contracts. In particular, document automation, speeds up routine tasks and allows lawyers to focus on higher-level work that require human judgment, such as negotiation, advocacy, and counseling.

The advantages of using legal technology are clear; it can help to reduce the cost and time associated with the legal process. Additionally, legal technology can help to improve the accuracy and organization of legal documents, ensuring that all paperwork is in order before being submitted to court systems.

AI isn’t only transforming how law firms work; it’s also changing the way legal education is delivered.

In recent years, many law schools have evolved their curricula to include courses and training in AI and other technologies. Doing so is playing a profound role in equipping law students with the skills needed to thrive in this changing landscape, whether it’s to use the technology for repetitive tasks, assess its accuracy, or protect client confidentiality.

As a result, many students are graduating with new skills that make them competitive. They can enter the workforce with the knowledge of how to construct legal arguments, and also stand out as an adopter of the latest in innovative technology and legal tools.

Despite the potential benefits of legal tech, there are some potential negatives associated with its use. For example, the use of legal tech can potentially create a disconnect between lawyers and their clients. Automated document drafting and filing processes can lead to the creation of generic and impersonal documents, which can make it difficult for attorneys to make an emotional connection with their clients. Additionally, the use of legal tech can lead to an increased reliance on technology, which can lead to issues such as data security breaches and system errors.

Cons of AI for law firms:

Mistakes happen. Misused source material and factual errors are common downsides associated with artificial intelligence. Compounding this challenge is the fact that technologies, don’t always provide sources for where information is collected from. As a result, many lawyers struggle to know what’s true and what isn’t—and must exercise increased caution when using them.

It carries ethical concerns. Ethical considerations must be taken into consideration when using AI—including data privacy and security, the potential for misuse, and the risk of bias and discrimination.

Strategic work can be a challenge. Attorneys are skilled at arguing cases and challenging outcomes in a way that machines simply can’t replicate. For instance, an attorney knows from experience if a client is withholding information, and can probe deeper to test versions of events. While AI can process and analyze data, it does not possess the critical thinking or emotional intelligence skills necessary for reading people. Plus, while humans can work with incomplete information, AI is poor at reasoning from it.

Limited Contextual Understanding. A serious limitation of AI is that it cannot adequately grasp complex legal concepts and proper context. This limitation could result in the misinterpretation of the law and other inaccuracies. Attorneys mustn’t rely on this technology without detailed human oversight.

The future of legal with AI:

Artificial intelligence is transforming the legal industry just as it is reshaping almost every other sector of industry. Just as AI will augment, not replace, the work that lawyers do, so too will AI reshape the future of legal.

The legal profession has always been constantly evolving and adapting to societal changes. From the introduction of computers in the workplace to the rise of the internet, social media, and remote work, lawyers have had to adjust to new technologies to remain relevant. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that for lawyers, the future will involve adapting to new technologies.

The convergence of legal services and technology is automating routine tasks, enabling legal professionals to focus on more complex and rewarding challenges.

This is happening at a critical time. With changing client expectations and increasingly complex regulatory environments, technological innovation is quickly becoming essential for keeping pace with a rapidly evolving legal landscape.

As we look to the future, here are three predictions for how AI will continue to shape the legal industry.

A changing regulatory landscape. As AI becomes increasingly prevalent in the legal profession, there will be an even greater need for new rules and guidelines to ensure that these tools are used in a way that’s safe, ethical, and effective. As a result, we will likely see a crop of regulations emerge for AI in the legal industry. This means that lawyers must keep a pulse on the current regulatory landscape and closely follow how it evolves in the near future.

Access to justice will be top of mind. AI-powered legal tools have the potential to increase access to justice by making legal services more affordable and accessible. This is because it reduces the time to complete tasks, which means that law firms can pass those savings on to clients. However, there are concerns that AI could also exacerbate existing inequalities and widen the justice gap, due to biases inherent in the data sets.

Law firm structure will change. AI is likely to change the structure of law firms, with smaller firms having access to the same AI-powered tools as larger firms. This could level the playing field, making legal services more affordable and accessible. It may also lead to the creation of new types of legal service providers that specialize in AI-powered legal services.

The rapid evolution of legal tech will reshape the work of legal departments and law firms in many profound ways. We will see processes streamlined, access to justice improved, and the role of the lawyer redefined. However, care must undoubtedly be taken to approach this transformation in an ethical and responsible way if we want to make sure that the convergence of law and technology results in a fairer and more just future for everyone.

As AI tools continue to evolve, they are likely to have an increasing impact on how legal professionals use their time, particularly as workflows become more efficient.

So, what’s next on the horizon for the legal sector? In the future, legal technology offers great potential for lawyers, with more improvements in AI, automation, cloud computing, blockchain, and client-focused services. By adopting these new ideas and staying up-to-date, lawyers can work faster, better, and stay competitive in the field.

AI is set to take center stage as it goes beyond just helping with routine legal processes like document drafting. Imagine AI predicting case outcomes, suggesting strategies, or even guiding decision-making processes based on data analysis. Some tools already have these capabilities, but only to a certain extent.

But with all this new tech coming in, there’s a catch. Lawyers will need to adapt or risk getting left in the dust.

As law practice transforms, early adopters will catapult to the industry’s top tier. By adopting these new ideas and staying up-to-date, lawyers can work faster, better, and stay competitive in the field.

In conclusion, while legal technology can provide significant advantages to the legal process, it is important to be aware of the potential risks associated with its use. While legaltech can be an invaluable tool, lawyers should be mindful of the potential negatives associated with its use, and should ensure that their use of technology does not create a disconnect between themselves and their clients.