How the legal profession can benefit from AI technology

In the couple of years since the popularization of ChatGPT, generative AI technology has quickly taken hold in the legal profession.

It has backfired in some cases, such as when an attorney filed a legal brief written with ChatGPT's help and the AI platform hallucinated some of the cases in the brief. That case and others have led some law firms to block general access to AI tools. Most recently, Hill Dickinson, a law firm in the U.K., asked its staff not to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

Many law firms are using generative AI tools, and some even market their own AI systems. AI vendors are also partnering with law firms and companies in the legal profession. In February, LexisNexis and OpenAI agreed to integrate OpenAI's large language models across its products.

The success, and uncertainty, surrounding AI tools in the legal profession led James M. Cooper and Kashyap Kompella to write the book A Short and Happy Guide for Artificial Intelligence for Lawyers. Cooper is a law professor at California Western School of Law, while Kompella is CEO of AI analyst firm RPA2AI Research.

In the book, Cooper and Kompella explore how lawyers can understand and use AI technology.

"We saw an urgent need to upskill lawyers on AI," Kompella said on the latest episode of Informa TechTarget's Targeting AI podcast. "How do you move AI ethics and responsible AI into practice? You have to move them through lawyers. Lawyers are a big part of that equation."

Kompella and Cooper argue that while numerous books for lawyers about AI exist, few focus on using the technology ethically.

The authors also argue that while the legal profession has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, it can benefit from AI for several reasons. For example, AI technology can provide access to legal services for those in underserved areas like rural communities in the United States, Cooper said.

"AI can be a game changer in terms of provision of legal services," he said.

However, providing more education is the key to helping legal professionals understand AI technology.

"The law school curriculum is not teaching AI or any technologies to the students, so there is a huge skill gap," Kompella said.

Cooper added, "The skill sets of prompt engineering, of knowing how to use these AI tools and the dangers that come with them, should be rote in law schools now right from the first year. Those law schools around the world that embrace this idea are future-proofing their students. They're not going to have to play catch up."

Esther Shittu is an Informa TechTarget news writer and podcast host covering artificial intelligence software and systems. Shaun Sutner is senior news director for Informa TechTarget's information management team, driving coverage of artificial intelligence, unified communications, analytics and data management technologies. Together, they host the Targeting AI podcast series