Artificial intelligence (AI) has been disrupting various industries and disciplines, and the legal sector is not exempt from this new wave of technology. With AI software and tools continuing to advance rapidly, a transformation of the legal profession may be on the horizon—it may even be the sector that’s hit the hardest by it, according to estimates from the universities of Pennsylvania, New York and Princeton. AI has also become a widely debated and polarising topic. However, despite some concerns and issues, legal professionals are veering towards acceptance of the software. Alex Monaco, an employment lawyer who runs a solicitor practice and a tech firm, notes that AI has massive potential in the legal field. He notes, “AI is not replacing humans, it’s not replacing lawyers. What it is doing is supercharging people’s understanding and implementation of their legal rights.”
Despite the varying opinions on AI, it’s a crucial area of exploration for law students who are uniquely positioned to use and evaluate software as they evolve, especially since AI is set to become more heavily intertwined with the profession. Students can leverage AI to aid their studies, streamline tasks, and get a head start on their legal careers as more firms and professionals embrace it. Here’s what law students should know about using AI software for their studies and beyond:
What is AI?
AI technology refers to the development of machines and software that can simulate tasks typically performed by humans. It can recognise patterns, make informed decisions or predictions, and provide guidance by processing large amounts of data. As the software evolves, it can learn from past mistakes and improve itself. It seeks to replicate human thinking and action while enhancing these processes in ways that surpass human ability and speed.
AI software in law studies
Different AI programs can perform various tasks and functions that can enhance the study of law in various ways. AI software can streamline time-consuming tasks, taking care of the heavy lifting and finer details to allow law students to focus on more important work.
AI has the potential to wade through a vast library of past cases, laws, and regulations and summarise them succinctly and clearly, saving hours of tedious searching and ensuring the research is comprehensive. When working on legal documents, contract drafting software can enable law students to access and edit cross-references, defined terms, and other important information without having to navigate away from the clause or provision being reviewed. Legal AI software Definely showcases how this technology can eliminate hours of endless scrolling and search through text, as the program can scan large legal documents and point out any defined, undefined, or unused terms, making for easy drafting and editing. While it won’t replace legal reasoning and analysis, it can streamline the process and free students up to focus on the strategic aspects of legal work.
Other AI tools can aid in legal analysis and make studying complex legal issues and cases much more manageable. Students can use AI tools to analyse legal trends and identify critical arguments within cases. This can significantly improve students’ understanding of complex legal issues and help them craft more robust case briefs. As a result, generative AI is also gaining traction and holds promise for helping students with any inquiries, research, summarisation, drafting, and more. Generative AI software for the legal field, such as LexisNexis’ Lexis+ AI, can also provide citations that link to legal authorities and reputable sources, as well as offer explanations and interpretations that can enrich students’ understanding of the information. Generative AI can be a valuable assistant for legal studies but will still require students to utilise their critical thinking and reasoning skills to maximise the information given.
Benefits and drawbacks of AI in law school
AI presents both advantages and disadvantages when used in legal education. As mentioned, AI has the power to automate tedious tasks like legal research and document drafting, freeing up valuable time for law students to focus on analysis, critical thinking, and legal strategy. Students can also leverage AI to improve their skills. AI-powered legal education platforms can provide interactive learning experiences that can improve the comprehension of complex legal concepts and help students sharpen argumentation skills. Other AI tools can help students analyse legal research results, identify relevant details, and suggest improvements to legal writing, ensuring clarity, conciseness, and proper legal citations. This guidance can aid students as they become professionals, providing them with opportunities to hone and improve their abilities.
However, AI also faces some challenges that may impede law students’ development. There’s a risk of over-reliance on the technology, which can hinder the growth of critical thinking skills, research and writing abilities, and independent legal judgment, which are essential for lawyers. The information given by AI also is not perfect. Depending on the data fed to the AI, the algorithm can become biased, perpetuating harmful ideas and inequalities in the legal system. Issues such as plagiarism can also raise concerns. Students may potentially use AI for certain tasks and requirements without disclosing it, or students can be wrongfully accused of using it.
The future of AI in legal studies
Discussions on AI use and adoption in the study of law are constantly evolving as the technology advances. AI is poised to revolutionise legal studies by streamlining processes, enhancing legal research and analysis, and preparing students for law careers. Schools have been exploring its potential in real-life situations and requirements to see where AI can be implemented; some institutions have even explored using the language learning model ChatGPT for final exams and have found that it helped improve performance in some instances. Legal tech solutions company LexisNexis has even provided law students in the UK with free access to Lexis+ AI to help students maximise its usage. More of these experiments and initiatives can help students utilise the tech strategically.
However, navigating the ethical and regulatory developments will be crucial to ensure AI serves as a positive force for justice. The UK is taking a more ‘pro-innovation’ approach to AI but is building its regulations in line with the core principles of safety, security and robustness; appropriate transparency and explainability; fairness; accountability and governance; and contestability and redress. Students’ use of AI in the region may not be inhibited as strongly as in other areas and countries like the EU and Canada, but more regulations and stricter rules may affect access and usage in educational settings. This is something students will need to adapt to.
AI software can be a valuable asset for law students. By using it strategically, students can streamline the learning process, improve their legal skills, and prepare themselves for the future of law. While there’s still room for improvement and understanding of how AI works, it’s clear that the legal sector is looking to adopt this technology. Students are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this burgeoning innovation.
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