Responsible and ethical use of AI

When used responsibly (and ethically), AI can improve efficiency in legal practice by saving time, reducing costs for clients, and helping to identify and minimise errors.

Examples of how AI can support lawyers include:

• Quickly summarising information, such as case law or factual briefs
• Generating a first draft of precedents, templates, letters, and other correspondence (or as a tool to edit, finetune or condense existing drafts)
• Assisting with legal research and electronic discovery
• Creating cost-effective marketing content
• Transcribing and summarising meetings or interviews
• Proofreading and reviewing documents, emails, and contracts

However, there are also risks if you don’t understand how using AI tools may infringe your ethical obligations. Examples of risks that arise from the use of AI in legal practice include:

• Information inaccuracy: generated false response or ‘hallucinations’ and limitations arising generally from limited source data
• Threats to confidentiality and privacy: firms using open generative AI tools are at risk of inadvertently violating non-disclosure agreements or client confidentiality including use of client data to train AI tools or by third party AI vendors
• Risk of copyright or intellectual property infringement: many open generative AI tools draw upon materials that is likely to include copyright material and you may unknowingly violate copyright laws when using its responses.

 

AI-generated material may have serious errors or include complete fabrications. Practitioners need to educate themselves and their staff about these risks and take reasonable steps within their practice to create safeguards to uphold their ethical obligations when using AI. 

To assist, we have compiled below some useful resources regarding the responsible use of AI specifically in legal practice published by the law societies. 

For more information about the approach of individual courts to the use of AI in particular jurisdictions, including practice directions, click here.