The legal profession is known for its reticence and caution when it comes to adopting new technologies, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no exception. As generative AI becomes more sophisticated, its potential impact on legal practices is both promising and fraught with challenges, such as those of maintaining ethics throughout the processes.
It is evidence that AI will improve legal competence by being able to automate routine tasks and analyze large volumes of legal data, taking tedious work away from lawyers. That being the case, everything points to the fact that, in the near future, AI tools could become a component of a potential legal toolkit.
Concerns and regulation
The legal community is scrutinizing AI for the possibility that the vast amount of data it handles could potentially misrepresent legal advice or information by generating fictitious legal citations, so oversight by lawyers is necessary.
There is also the issue of new tools for unsupervised preliminary legal advice, which could mislead people to seek "advice and counsel" from AI.
Given this, judicial and regulatory bodies have begun to establish specific guidelines and rules such as, for example, standing orders that explicitly prohibit the use of AI-generated content in court documents unless directed and verified by human lawyers.
Deontology provides a basis for the ethical use of AI as a lawyer must competently represent their clients, which includes understanding the capabilities and risks of AI.
Lawyers should be transparent about the use of AI tools, especially when such tools play a significant role in the formulation of legal advice or documents.
They should also verify the accuracy of all AI-generated content before using it in any legal context.
This exploration into the role of AI in legal practices underscores the critical need for a thoughtful approach toward technology adoption, ensuring that advances enhance rather than compromise the delivery of justice.