Over half of in-house lawyers have incorporated AI into their tasks
Generative AI tools are currently utilised by 50% of the lawyers in Australia and New Zealand, according to a survey conducted by LexisNexis.
According to the legaltech company, this finding represented a noticeable evolution in the legal profession’s understanding of AI’s impact on the sector; 75% of those surveyed possessed a grasp of how to utilise generative AI while 94% affirmed that generative AI use can bolster efficiency.
Notably, generative AI was most frequently used in email drafting (18%) and legal research (15%). In particular, corporate/in-house lawyers were robust users, with over half of them incorporating generative AI into their daily work.
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“For a time-poor profession, the legal community will undoubtedly be eager to embrace generative AI. It has the potential to fast-track the legal research, summarisation, and drafting process, freeing up lawyers' time to focus on higher-value services for their clients or organisations”, said Greg Dickason, APAC managing director for LexisNexis. “More than 50% of corporate/in-house lawyers surveyed are already using AI technology in their work and the majority expressed their willingness to integrate generative AI in their daily tasks. This could lead to in-house teams managing more matters internally, and only brief for external support on significant/strategic items”.
However, scepticism persisted among 52% of respondents, particularly in relation to the ability of generative AI tools to effectively handle complex legal research queries, with concerns centred around accuracy, traceability, completeness, and citation capability.
A total of 84% of respondents also expressed concerns about the ethical implications of generative AI use in legal practice, echoing findings from a survey conducted in the US. According to LexisNexis, these concerns highlighted the need for definitive policies and guidelines to support the global implementation and integration of AI in legal practice in the future.
“The concerns of ANZ legal practitioners identified in our survey are consistent with what we have observed globally. The adoption of generative AI is also comparable to the hesitancy towards other recent significant technological disruptions to the legal sector, such as cloud storage, the proliferation of case management software, and data security”, Dickason said.
Nonetheless, he noted that “about 60% of respondents believe they will be ‘left out’ if they don’t use AI tools”.
“Furthermore, 78% believe that AI tools will impact the way firms operate and charge clients. Given the opportunity to create significant efficiencies, and reduce costs and the reliance on billable hours, firms will need to decide how to reinvest the cost savings and whether they pass on the savings to clients. This will hopefully result in greater competition and positive outcomes for clients/consumers”, Dickason said.
LexisNexis engaged over 560 lawyers and legal professionals throughout Australia and New Zealand for the survey.