Law firms are often seen as archaic organisations that can be reluctant to embrace new ways of working, expecting junior employees to put in long hours and perform repetitive tasks.
This perception has made it harder to recruit new talent, with firms continuously raising salaries for newly qualified lawyers to attract the best graduates. “Tech-savvy talent seeking more flexible work have also historically been put off a career in law,” says Karen Waldron, director of product development at LexisNexis UK.
Yet that perception is starting to change. With the advent of generative AI tools, today’s generation of lawyers have more ways to enjoy a legal career without following the traditional partner track.
“Firms that embrace technology and innovation now offer dynamic roles in automation, project management and AI solution development, as well as the practice of law,” says Waldron. “By leveraging generative AI legal platforms, innovative firms can reposition themselves as attractive employers.”
Law firms are increasingly more willing to encourage the use of AI tools. According to a LexisNexis study, the number of legal professionals using generative AI more than doubled between July 2023 and January 2024, jumping from 11% to 26%.
Embracing generative AI frees up valuable time for high-impact legal work
Enthusiasm is driven by the fact that AI allows lawyers to shift their focus to strategic, high-value work, boosting their productivity while improving the client experience.
“This also enables organic growth through improved reputation and means that lawyers can have the space to attract and serve more clients,” Waldron says.
In this new world, lawyers have more time for professional development activities, such as gaining deeper expertise in specific practice areas or honing sharper tech skills by working with AI.
AI is likely to change the landscape for junior associates and trainee lawyers, Waldron says. “Generative AI can enhance the training and progression of younger lawyers by helping them learn and get up to speed faster, especially when it comes to legal research and drafting documents,” she says.
AI also has the potential to provide wider benefits such as personalised learning experiences and support for career development and AI-powered knowledge management systems.
While the uptake of AI may change a lawyer’s scope of work, it is highly unlikely to replace lawyers entirely. The legal profession relies on human skills that cannot be replicated by machines.
“Young lawyers must continue to prioritise developing and building their critical thinking, emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills. This will ensure the next generation of lawyers have well-rounded competencies including technical capabilities and fundamental legal and ethical principles,” Waldron says.
Generative AI can also help to improve work-life balance by streamlining time-consuming tasks. Not only can that help free up mental capacity, it enables better time management.
However, firms must be cautious when adopting generative AI tools and ensure lawyers understand the potential challenges this technology could create.
“Successful implementation requires planning, training and ethical considerations regarding risks like bias and hallucination, so it is important that services take steps to reduce these risks,” says Waldron. “Taking a balanced approach to leveraging human expertise and generative AI legal platforms will provide the best outcomes for a great work-life balance and professional excellence.”
LexisNexis is supporting law firms through this process with its new generative AI tool Lexis+ AI, which combines its exclusive, leading legal content with its proprietary search technology to create a fast, accurate, generative AI legal platform.
Lexis+ AI gives lawyers access to conversational search, intelligent drafting, case summarisation and rapid document analysis. This helps firms address issues such as information overload, repetitive tasks and lengthy legal research by summarising and synthesising large volumes of information.
“Lexis+ AI establishes trust in generative AI by having its outputs grounded in one of the world’s largest leading legal content repositories. We reduce the risk of hallucinations by validating citations to the underlying legal authority and linking directly to the relevant content,” Waldron adds.
Generative AI grounded on leading legal content has arrived. Embracing this kind of technology frees up valuable time for high-impact legal work while improving overall productivity. Law firms must realise how generative AI can not only change the current demands of the legal profession but play a key role in attracting and retaining the next generation of lawyers.
To find out more please visit LexisNexis
