2 Using Generative AI – when is artificial intelligence a good choice?

It has been widely reported that using GenAI tools can potentially be quicker and cheaper than using existing tools or processes.

For individuals, this can save time and money when completing a task, such as finding out what the law is in a particular area. For charities, organisations and businesses it can save time and money which can be better used for other tasks.

Larger law firms have developed bespoke legal GenAI tools to assist in their work, while legal databases such as Lexis and Westlaw have developed GenAI-assisted tools built into their databases to assist with legal research and drafting.

However, before using GenAI, it is important to pause and think about whether using a GenAI tool will produce an accurate result, and whether it will be better, cheaper or quicker than your existing practices. For example, if you want to find out what the current law is in a particular area, would it be quicker to use a generic free LLM and then check its outputs, or to use a general internet search and look at the website of a reliable source such as Citizens Advice [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] or the government website?

If you are looking to use GenAI to improve efficiency in your organisation, what tasks do you want GenAI to carry out, which is the best tool to use, and will this be better or more efficient than your existing practices? You will find out more about how to choose a GenAI tool in the third course in the series, Key considerations for successful Generative AI adoption.

Here are some of the general ways in which GenAI is being used in legal environments:

Transcribe and summarise meetings

GenAI can convert spoken discussions from meetings into written transcripts and condense them into short summaries with key points and takeaways. For example, GenAI could be used to produce the notes of client meetings, or discussions with witnesses, instead of the adviser. This is an easily monitored application that can be checked quickly by a person at the meeting.

Summarisation of legal documents

Similar to summarising meetings, GenAI can summarise complex legal texts, reducing them to concise accounts while highlighting key points and essential insights. For example, it could summarise a tenancy agreement or contract which is the subject of a dispute. Human review, while essential, is again relatively straightforward as an adviser can check the original document and ensure the summary is accurate.

Automated contract review

A GenAI tool can review a contract and highlight any variations against a standard contract, highlighting clauses which can then be reviewed by a relevant adviser.