By Himanshu Gupta – Founder & CEO at Lawyered
The world of legal professionals is strapped with stringent processes and long research hours. They are now moving towards modern technology like artificial intelligence-powered virtual legal assistants, or VLAs to ease their work. These advancements are beneficial assets for legal practices as it improves workflows and modernizes client services.
Notably, AI usage among legal professionals has seen a commendable increase from 19% in 2023 to 79% in 2024, as per Clio’s Legal Trends Report. Interestingly, the clients too are also showing support for this innovation, with 70% either preferring or being neutral toward law firms that use AI. Additionally, 42% of clients actively seek firms exploring AI, reflecting a growing expectation for technology to play a role in legal services.
Reactive to Proactive Prevention
Traditionally, legal assistance is sought only after a dispute has occurred, either as a result of litigation, contract violations, or compliance problems. This has frequently ended in costly and lengthy procedures. AI-powered solutions can help people and companies in avoiding legal issues before they become complicated by assessing contracts, detecting risks involved and guaranteeing compliance in real-time. This development not only reduces legal costs but also expedites decision-making, increasing the effectiveness and accessibility of legal services.
Enhancing Case Preparation
Legal professionals typically allocate a substantial amount of time to tasks like document inspection, legal research, and drafting. According to studies, they invest 40–60% of their time on these tasks, affecting their ability to engage clients and think strategically. However, these tasks are now being automated, owing to the growth of VLAs, allowing lawyers to focus on higher-value work. A LexisNexis survey highlights AI’s potential in legal research (65%), document drafting (56%), and document analysis (44%), offering reliable insights while improving efficiency. For example, lawyers can use a VLA to find relevant cases fast rather than investing hours looking for precedents. They are able to respond to customer needs with greater precision and effectiveness as a consequence.
Reducing Operational Costs
Managing the operational costs of engaging full-time employees, such as office overhead, benefits, and pay, creates another difficulty for legal firms. By automating routine operations, VLAs provide a flexible solution which allows businesses to cater to changing customer demand without increasing their fixed expenditures. Additionally, this flexibility could end up in more reasonably priced services for clients, improving the accessibility of legal aid. Because they level the playing field when competing against larger, more resource-rich organizations, VLAs are especially advantageous to smaller businesses.
Improving Research and Drafting
In legal work, accuracy and attention to detail are crucial. However, balancing tasks like contract creation and drafting legal memorandums can be challenging. Despite spending up to 56% of their time on drafting, legal professionals often spend over 15 minutes just identifying a starting point for their drafts, according to Thomson Reuters.
The need for thorough analysis and review leads to long hours, and even small errors can have serious consequences. This can be overwhelming, especially when ensuring every detail is correct and nothing is overlooked. VLAs address this challenge by streamlining the research and drafting process. These tools suggest relevant clauses, highlight inconsistencies, and identify missing elements, ensuring precision and consistency throughout. With the help of VLAs, lawyers can focus on delivering high-quality work while minimizing errors that could compromise the case.
Providing Data-Driven Insights
Along with research and drafting, legal professionals often have to make decisions based on complex data. The volume of information available, such as case law, rulings, and precedents, can be exhaustive, and identifying patterns or risks is lengthy and prone to errors.
VLAs makes use of AI and machine learning to process vast amounts of data, facilitating lawyers to spot trends and make informed decisions quickly. This capability goes beyond simple tasks, providing valuable insights into case outcomes or court rulings. For example, a lawyer preparing for litigation can use a VLA to analyze thousands of similar cases, pinpointing factors that influenced verdicts. This empowers lawyers to build stronger cases with a more targeted approach, ultimately increasing the chances of success.
Challenges to Consider
While VLAs offer many advantages, they also come with challenges. Legal professionals must ensure that sensitive information handled by these tools is protected through strong security measures. Additionally, ethical concerns about data privacy and AI usage need to be addressed.
It is also important to remember that technology cannot replace the nuanced understanding and empathy lawyers bring to their work. VLAs are tools meant to assist, not replace, legal professionals. Firms that find the right balance between technology and personal interaction are likely to see the best results.
Looking to the Future
VLAs are most likely to get more sophisticated in the future. According to a Goldman Sachs report, 44% of legal industry jobs might be automated by AI. Although some legal tasks may become easier as a result, lawyers’ roles will evolve. They are going to dedicate more time towards higher-level work and less time on administrative duties. Additionally, AI can help businesses avoid regulatory violations by ensuring compliance, while also making legal concepts more accessible, bridging the literacy gap for clients and improving overall understanding.
Law companies who utilize these tools will be more equipped to compete as AI advances. They will therefore be able to keep up low costs while delivering quicker, higher-quality services.
