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..THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Publications, Research paper

Abstract: – Legal AI has made it clear that disruptions are not exclusive to the legal profession. While AI-powered decision-making is not a possibility in the ongoing scenario, it may become so near future. However, the diverse effects of AI on legal research, contract analysis, predictive analytics, document automation, and ethical issues are examined in this paper. The study attempts to give a thorough grasp of how Artificial intelligence changes the legal practice and the role of legal professionals by looking at current trends issues and consequences for the future.

Keywords: – Artificial intelligence, Legal profession, Human-touch, AI-powered tools, Large language models, decision-making. 

Introduction: – According to Merriam-Webster’s, “Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers.  It is represented as Human intelligent robots. There are genuine advantages to AI in law. It can boost legal professionals” output and help them to avoid costly errors. The International Conference on AI & Law has hosted regular conferences showcasing these AI-based legal applications since at least 1987. IN 2015, an American company called Ottoman Well discovered that 85% of respondents thought that “In the age of Artificial Intelligence technology can replace the work of paralegals & junior lawyers” [1]. While this type of investigation may not align with the industry’s direction, it does show how artificial intelligence is increasing legal professionals’ awareness.

Research methodology:  This study employs a descriptive methodology to explore the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on the legal field. Utilizing secondary sources such as newspapers, academic journals, and online resources, the research delves into a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter.

Review of literature: With the beginning of the new century and the rapid development of AI technology, the combustion of AI and legal work has become increasingly close. For example, in June 2016, Ross, the first AI lawyer in history [2]. Gartner, Inc., a US technology research and consulting company, presents a more optimistic image, projecting that AI will generate 20.8 million new jobs while eliminating just 11.8 million however, these kinds of statistics are deceptive because they do not imply that any person’s present line of work is immune to being replaced by AI.

AI can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal system, which in turn can help prevent delays that often lead to result in the denial of justice. By automating routine tasks, providing valuable insights, and facilitating alternative dispute resolution, AI contributes to ensuring that justice is not delayed thereby upholding the principle that “justice delayed is justice denied. However, in some cases, the human touch of lawyers is indispensable.

Mukesh v. State (NCT of Delhi) 6 SCC 1 (2017)  Supreme Court Cases (Cri) 673: 2017 SCC Online SC 533. Popularly known as Nirbhaya Case. A young woman was brutishly gang-raped and died in Delhi in December 2012, a crime that shocked the nation. Even though the offenders were eventually found guilty and given sentences, there were problems with the protracted, multi-year justice delivery process. During these 7 years, Nirbhaya’s lawyer Seema Kushwaha strongly and empathetically supported Asha Devi, Nirbhaya’s mother to stand firm [3]. AI lawyers would not be able to render this emotional support. Karen J. Mathis, President of the American Bar Association stated, “Caring is as much a part of the legal profession as intelligence [4].

Suchita Srivastava vs.Chandigarh Administration 14 SCR 989, (2009) 9 SCC 1: In the case of Suchita Srivastava vs. Chandigarh Administration the SC set aside a decision to forcibly terminate the pregnancy of a women with a mental disability[5]. The Court, while interpreting the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, distinguished between “mental disability” and “mental illness” and emphasized their autonomy under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. It was considered arbitrary to reduce the need for consent for mentally disabled woman. The court emphasized that the state must respect the reproductive health decisions of women with intellectual disabilities in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Although Suchita Srivastava’s case was sensitive as the victim had been impregnated by a heinous rape, in situations like this the victim’s parents, guardians, or the court have to act in their best interest as the victim is not in the ability to make decisions yourself. AI lawyers would not be able to have this human touch. 

In fact, Attorneys have had a significant impact on the development of Indian legal history. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) 4 SCC 225 is a landmark case in which eminent legal scholars, including Nani Palkhivala, argued for the basic structure concept, that limits the ability of the Parliament to amend the Indian Constitution. A noteworthy case is Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), in which attorney H.M. Seervai prevailed in arguing that Article 21 of the Constitution should be expanded to include the right to life and personal liberty. Legal battles led by attorneys such as Ram Jethmalani in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case (1984) aimed at achieving justice for victims, demonstrated the importance of legal experts in advocating for the rights of those affected. These cases demonstrate the crucial role that Indian lawyers have played in historic cases, shaping legal doctrine and promoting justice.

Figure 1: Comparison between AI-based legal process and Conventional legal process.

In navigating the intricate landscape of the legal profession, the advent of AI has undoubtedly introduced a plethora of opportunities and challenges. On one hand, the integration of AI technologies has revolutionized legal research, streamlining processes, and enhancing efficiency for lawyers. From contract analysis to predictive analytics, AI-powered tools have empowered legal professionals to delve deeper into complex cases with unparalleled precision and speed. However, amidst these advancements lies a palpable concern—the irreplaceable human touch. While AI excels in data-driven tasks, it inherently lacks the nuanced understanding, empathy, and discretion that human lawyers bring to the table. The essence of legal practice, often grounded in the subtleties of human interaction and interpretation, remains a domain where the human mind reigns supreme. Thus, the discourse surrounding the impact of AI on the legal profession must navigate this delicate balance between technological prowess and human ingenuity. It’s not merely a matter of weighing pros and cons, but rather, embracing a symbiotic relationship where AI augments, rather than supplants, the invaluable expertise and intuition of legal practitioners. As we traverse this ever-evolving landscape, it’s imperative to cultivate a harmonious coexistence between AI-driven innovation and the enduring essence of legal craftsmanship.

Ethical concern in AI and law:  Artificial intelligence or AI finds application in many different domains, such as technology, sports, education, entertainment, and medicine. AI can help with a wide range of tasks and expedite the legal system, making it incredibly helpful in the legal field. AI makes it very easy to conduct case studies and analyze documents. With the use of machine learning-based dispute resolution platforms and predictive case analysis, Artificial intelligence (AI) can facilitate better case management by facilitating the easy and systematic administration of justice. Through AI-based information retrieval systems and E-discovery, which can retrieve documents more quickly than a human can, AI also aids in validation and verification. There are certain difficulties with AI despite all of these advantages.

Impact on the quality of legal service: There may be concerns about the quality of legal services provided by AI. Legal advice may come out incorrectly due to data errors or improper algorithmic implementation. As a result, the AI system could be off. To ensure justice, legal strategies are crucial, and AI systems may lack them. The context and subtleties of a case may be beyond the understanding of an AI system, which could impact the quality of legal services.

Impact on Justice Accessible: Justice Accessibility could be a barrier to AI-driven technology. Since some people may not be able to afford technology or may not be able to use it at all, this could be related to the digital divide. Those with limited financial resources may find it difficult to use AI-driven technology since it frequently requires the use of infrastructure such as computers, the internet, mobile devices, and connectivity. Some people might not be qualified or educated, making them incapable of using AI-driven technology. Because using AI could violate their privacy, some people might be reluctant for privacy-related reasons. It is challenging for AI to be widely accessible due to a lack of institutional knowledge and regulations.

Equity in AI-Powered Decision-Making: To preserve societal integrity, it is crucial to guarantee equity in decision-making. Existing inequalities may be reinforced if the AI system or training data is biased. Respecting the rights of all groups, especially minority groups may be challenging in a society where there are many different social classes. The complex nature of training data may make an AI algorithm intrinsically unbiased or unfair. While building the AI system, the developers or organizations utilizing it may have missed some important angles. Even though it may not be done on purpose, problems still arise. AI systems come with this kind of risk. To be fair to all socioeconomic groups, it must be able to care for people from a variety of backgrounds, demographics, and geographic locations.

Human-Robot Relationships and Accountability: It is imperative to maintain accountability when utilizing AI. In situations where using AI on its own could have serious repercussions, extreme caution must be exercised. To prevent mistakes of any kind and unexpected consequences, accountability must be established. Human morals, ethics, and standards must be adhered to by the AI system. If AI is permitted to function autonomously, managing accountability becomes problematic. Distrust and disorder may result from its inability to provide explanations to the involved parties. Moral judgment and human experience may be needed in some situations to reach the right conclusion. For the legal system to operate effectively, accountability is therefore crucial.

Impact on data protection & privacy: An enormous volume of data is required for an AI system to operate properly. Privacy issues with data may result from this. Sensitive and private information may be given to the AI system while handling cases. To prevent unwanted access, it is essential to make sure that this data stays private and safe. Concerns about user consent are also raised by it. Without the user’s consent, data about them may be shared with AI, even though they may object to its use. Data use needs to be open and transparent. Data ownership needs to be guaranteed, meaning that only those with permission can access and manage the data. It must remain confidential. Sensitive and personal data should be deleted as soon as it is no longer required, and extended data retention should be avoided.

Impact of AI on legal research – AI is capable of executing automated tasks and efficiently making collective decisions. The utilization of AI is crucial in the realm of legal research as it greatly enhances efficiency in searching, categorizing, filtering, evaluating, and prioritizing various aspects such as issues, facts, ideas, laws, and more. AI is revolutionizing the legal research field by providing advanced tools and techniques that are reshaping the way legal experts carry out research, devise strategies, and engage with their clients. The chart below analyzes of the utilization of AI in automating legal research.

AI tools used for legal research – The integration of AI tools in the legal field has revolutionized the way legal research is conducted, especially in terms of efficiency. These tools not only improve the effectiveness of legal research but also transform the methodologies employed by legal practitioners. Let us delve into the diverse AI tools that are influencing research within the legal profession [6].

  1. Legal text analytics tools:
    1. Functionality: The functionality of these tools lies in their utilization of algorithms to interpret and extract significance from legal texts, including court decisions and laws.
    2. Types:
      1. Argument extraction: This entails the identification and extraction of arguments from legal archives, which is crucial for case preparation and comprehending legal precedents.
      2. Legal network visualization: These tools offer graphical representations of the connections between legal entities, aiding in the visualization of intricate legal relationships.
    3. Examples:
  1. ‘Ravel’, in 2017, scanned and made all case laws in the USA accessible in visual maps with citations. 
  2. ‘CARA’, outputs or summarizes additional relevant cases to cite in support of legal arguments. 
  3. ‘Casetext’ and ‘Fastcase’ provide a citation network of relations among cases or statutes.
  4. ‘Luminance’, can model how solicitors think to draw out key findings in a case. The tool is award-winning and currently deployed by 26 organizations in 12 countries.
  1. Legal question and answer (advisory) tools: 
    1. Purpose: These tools search large text collections to answer legal questions.
    2. Examples:
  1. ROSS: Offers answers, citations, suggested readings, and updates, and can draft legal memorandums.
  2. Lexis Answers: Analyze documents to create a ‘Lexis Answer Card’ with citations.
  3. Watson Debater: Discusses topics and suggests persuasive arguments on legal matters.
  4. CCLIPS: Retrieves relevant cases and statutes from integrated databases.
  1. Legal prediction tools: These are designed to forecast the results of court cases by analyzing past rulings.
    1. Examples 
  1. Scotus, which has a track record of accurately predicting 70% of case law outcomes.
  2. Lex Machina specializes in predicting the outcomes of intellectual property cases with an impressive accuracy rate of 64%. 
  3. Motion Kickstarter provides information on granted or denied motions in courts. 
  4. CaseCruncher Alpha is known for its high accuracy in predicting judicial decisions. 
  5. Lastly, Blue J Legal utilizes machine learning to make predictions about court decisions based on specific factual information.
  1. Contract Review and Analysis tools:  These are AI tools that can acquire knowledge and use it at the ‘clause level’ to review a document. The following are typical examples: –
  1. ‘LawGeex’, can read and summarize contracts with an average accuracy of 94% saving up to 80 % of the time. 
  2. ‘ThoughtRiver’, can scan contracts and presents the information in an online dashboard.
  3. ‘Legal Robot’, can check, analyze, and spot problems in contracts before users sign on them. 
  4. ‘Beagle’, is designed for non-professional users who need to review and manage contracts by themselves.
  5. E-discovery tools (Technology-assisted review):
  1. Application: These tools support legal teams in managing and reviewing documents, especially during litigation.
  2. Efficiency: TAR is known for producing more precise results compared to manual reviews, requiring significantly less effort.
  3. Cost Savings: Research indicates that e-discovery can reduce time spent by up to 70% or more, leading to substantial cost savings in document review processes.
  4. Drafting tools
  1. Purpose: Automated systems for assembling legal documents.
  2. Examples:
  1. Clifford Chance Draft: Creates customized legal documents, enhancing quality and conserving resources.
  2. Other similar tools include Desktop Lawyer, Legal Zoom, Rocket Lawyer, as well as services like Legal Vision, LawPath, and ClickLaw.
  3. Citation tools
  1. Function: These tools offer support for citation formatting in legal research.
  2. Example: KeyCite, an established citation system providing detailed legal source citations.

The ultimate conundrum is: Can artificial intelligence truly replace the legal profession?  From the present-day development degree, synthetic intelligence remains at the primary level of “susceptible synthetic intelligence”. Now it appears a chunk alarmist to talk about AI changing human beings in an all-around way. This assumption is more like science fiction than critical academic studies. As a few pupils think, it is nonsense to communicate about robot judges now. Judges “need knowledge and intelligence, the first thing is to assist and serve judges in coping with cases, rather than update judicial decisions and cast off dealing with judges [7]. However, the author contends that in their role as a legal educator, research should have a forward-thinking approach. It is not necessary to solely rely on current technical knowledge as the exclusive basis for discussion. Looking at the long-term trend of technological development, the idea of artificial intelligence replacing humans is not unfounded. This concern motivates scholars to delve deeper into the study of artificial intelligence. The essence of human substitution lies in the replacement of human labor capacity and the elimination of employment prospects for human beings. Returning to the subject matter of this document, the ultimate consequence of artificial intelligence on the legal field may revolve around the possibility of complete replacement of the legal profession by artificial intelligence. In addressing this query, it is imperative to provide an answer that encompasses not only the scientific and technological perspective but also delves into the realms of philosophy and ethics. For instance, in what way can a robot embody human characteristics? How are the obligations and entitlements of a robot defined by the law? Can society come to terms with the notion of a robot judge having the authority to make life-or-death decisions? While these inquiries remain unanswered, it is crucial not to confine our contemplation within the realm of technological advancements. Although this document cannot fully explore these quandaries within its limited scope, it is anticipated that legal professionals can engage in collective discourse to explore various potential solutions. Ultimately, as AI progresses, it is imperative for individuals to swiftly adapt and embrace this transformative journey.

Suggestions: The integration of AI in the justice sector can offer substantial advantages, yet it also brings up the worry of legal professionals losing their jobs. Hence legal professionals should focus on adapting to and leveraging AI technologies to enhance their practice. Here are some strategies for lawyers to navigate the impact of AI:

  1. Acquaint themselves with the applications of AI in a lawyer’s profession: legal prompt engineering, legal co-pilot development, and legal AI agent creation.
  2. Embrace lifelong learning: Continuously updating skills and staying informed about AI developments in the legal field is crucial. 
  3. Develop unique human skills: While AI can automate certain tasks, it can’t replicate the nuanced judgment, empathy, and creativity that human lawyers bring to their work.
  4. Commence the evaluation of AI tools in real life: scenarios such as the automated creation of follow-up actions and the automatic completion of template documents. This will initiate the establishment of an AI-driven culture within the organization by means of training initiatives and motivational programs.
  5. Leverage AI tools: Instead of viewing AI as a threat, lawyers can use AI-powered tools to enhance their productivity, efficiency, and accuracy.
  6. Focus on Client-Relationships:  Building strong client relationships based on trust, and communication. And understanding can differentiate lawyers from AI.
  7. By adopting a proactive and adaptive approach, lawyers can position themselves to thrive in an AI-enabled legal landscape while continuing to provide valuable services to their clients.

Conclusion:  In its 2024 report, Reuters presents three possible scenarios for the future of the legal industry as Gen AI continues to develop [8], each scenario carries different levels of impact and explores how law firms can better serve their clients and the potential advantages that Gen AI could offer to the legal field.

While the report does not delve into specific details for each scenario, it highlights the importance for law firms to be ready for changes and potential adjustments in response to the evolving role of artificial intelligence in the legal sector. Ultimately, the report acknowledges Gen AI as a significant influence that will shape the future of the legal profession. The legal profession is inevitably moving towards the application of AI and large language models, as these technologies can navigate through vast and complex databases to identify relevant laws, regulations, and precedents that can aid in expediting legal processes. However, there is a possibility that AI-assisted legal procedures may lack empathy and subjective assessments that are based on human contextual experiences. It is only through a significant amount of data that an empirical study can be conducted to support the claim that AI-assisted legal procedures will lack empathy and may compromise the privacy rights of the litigants.

References-

[1]  5th International conference on EMLE , Study on the influence of AI on the legal profession, Volume 110,  Advances in economics, business and management research, page 1, 2019

[2] C. Nunez, ”Artificial intelligence and legal ethics: Whether AI lawyers can make ethical decisions,” *Tul. J. Tech. & Intell. Prop.*, vol. 20, p. 189, 2017

[3] Basit Aijaz, Meet Seema Kushwaha, The Lawyer Who Tirelessly Fought For Nirbhaya’s Justice & Delivered, https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/meetseema-kushwaha-the-lawyer-who-tirelessly-fought-for-nirbhayas-justicedelivered-508889.html

[4] Gerdy, K. B. (2013). The Heart of Lawyering: Clients, Empathy, and Compassion.

[5] Suchita Srivastava vs.Chandigarh Administration 14 SCR 989, (2009) 9 SCC 1, CIVIL APPEAL NO.5845 OF 2009 (Arising out of S.L.P. (C) No. 17985 of 2009)

[6] LeewayHertz, https://www.leewayhertz.com/, (13 May 2024)

[7] He Fan: How Far Are We from Judge Alpha? Zhejiang People’s Congress, the 5th issue in 2017, No. 5, Page 47. (in Chinese)

[8] Thomson Reuters, https://www.thomsonreuters.com/ (13 May 2024)

Shivangi Agrawal

Govt. New Law College, Indore (M.P)