The legal profession stands on the cusp of a revolution, poised to be transformed by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). As we look towards 2024, the integration of AI in legal practices promises not only to enhance efficiency and accuracy but also to redefine the very nature of legal services. Here are the top 10 changes AI is expected to bring to the legal sector in the coming year, including pivotal shifts in legal marketing driven by AI technologies.
1. Law Practice Management
Law practice management software helps lawyers by streamlining administrative tasks, managing cases, and improving client communication. Given that these platforms have all of a lawyer's and the lawyer's client's data, integrating AI can provide significant gains, from summarizing documents to to developing dynamic workflows to answering questions about financial performance, AI can make these law practice management systems more valuable.
Clio is a leading law practice management provider. Providing end-to-end capabilities, from first contact to invoicing, Clio's upcoming AI (called Duo ↗) has he potential to bring world class law practice management to its client firms at a fraction of the cost and complexity of manually configured automation.
> Image of Clio's End-to-End capabilities
2. Legal Document Analysis
AI's capability to analyze and manage vast quantities of legal documents will significantly reduce the time attorneys spend on research and case preparation. Tools like AI-powered legal research platforms are becoming more adept at sifting through case law, statutes, and legal precedents, providing attorneys with relevant information at an unprecedented speed. This shift not only enhances efficiency but also allows lawyers to focus on more strategic aspects of their cases.
A leading example of legal document analysis is Casetext CoCounsel (part of Thomson Reuters) ↗, which uses natural language processing and machine learning to swiftly comb through legal documents, offering attorneys quick access to pertinent information for their cases. These AI tools enable practitioners to streamline their research processes and deliver more accurate and comprehensive legal services to their clients, ultimately reshaping the landscape of legal practice.
3. Contract Review and Analysis
AI technologies specialized in contract review are expected to become more sophisticated, identifying potential issues and suggesting amendments with greater accuracy. This improvement will streamline the contract review process, mitigating risks and ensuring compliance more effectively. By reducing the manual workload, attorneys can allocate more time to negotiation and strategic decision-making.
Two leading Contract Review services are Icertis ↗ and IronClad ↗. These platforms not only expedite the contract review process but also enhance accuracy, enabling attorneys to allocate more time to strategic decision-making and negotiation. As AI technologies advance, they are expected to become more sophisticated in identifying potential issues and suggesting amendments with greater precision, ultimately streamlining the contract review process and ensuring compliance more effectively.
Customers are eager to adopt these Generative AI capabilities. According to Icertis, their AI Copilots are their fastest growing products in company history driving the company above $250 Million in Annual Recurring Revenue ↗.
- Also check out SpellBook ↗ - their focus is on contract preparation using GPT-4, and they promote the fact that they are integrated into Word.
4. Predictive Analytics in Litigation
The application of AI in predictive analytics will offer lawyers better insights into the likely outcomes of litigation, based on historical data and trends. This will assist in more accurate case assessments, strategic planning, and decision-making, ultimately impacting success rates in litigation and reducing the cost of litigation.
Lex Machina ↗ and Premonition ↗ leverage AI in in their predictive analytics for litigation, offering attorneys valuable insights into case outcomes based on historical data and trends. By leveraging predictive analytics, lawyers can make more accurate case assessments and strategic decisions, ultimately impacting success rates, reducing litigation costs, and increasing new business acquisition.
5. Enhanced Due Diligence through AI
AI will transform due diligence processes by quickly analyzing vast amounts of data to identify risks and issues that might not be evident through manual review. This capability is particularly valuable in mergers and acquisitions, financial transactions, and compliance checks, where thoroughness and accuracy are paramount.
Services providing enhanced due diligence through AI for mergers and acquisitions include Kira Systems and DiligenceVault. As AI continues to advance, it is set to revolutionize due diligence practices, offering practitioners powerful tools to ensure comprehensive assessments and mitigate potential risks effectively.
AI in Legal Marketing Tech
6. Personalized Client Prospect Interactions
AI-driven legal marketing technologies will enable firms to engage with potential clients in a more personalized manner. By analyzing data on client preferences and behaviors, firms can tailor their communications, offering more relevant content and services. This level of personalization not only improves client engagement but also increases the likelihood of converting prospects into clients.
A first example here is Gideon ↗, a chatbot developed for lawyers to streamline client intake. Gideon chatbots can clients "from contact to contract and intake to eSign." Pricing is not available - I will update this if I learn more.
Another example is LawDroid ↗, which creates customized automation tools for lawyers including chatbots. Client intake and appointment scheduling are supported, along with a host of other features. Pricing starts at $19/month - see all of their plans here https://lawdroid.com/pricing/ ↗.
Finally, an interactive chatbot I have seen on a number of legal websites (including Clio and Icertis) is Drift ↗.
7. Automated Content Creation and SEO
AI will play a crucial role in content creation, generating blog posts, articles, and updates that are optimized for search engines without significant human input. This automation will ensure that firms can maintain a consistent online presence, attract organic traffic, and establish thought leadership in their areas of expertise.
Attorney Mesh is focused in the realm of content generation and SEO ↗. I believe that the best content will be created by a combination of AI and human experts - with AI and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) working to create a first draft of legal content that an attorney can fine-tune to become reputation-building legal content that educates clients and gives them confidence to choose a capable attorney.
8. Smart Analytics for Better ROI
The use of AI in analyzing marketing data will provide law firms with deeper insights into the effectiveness of their strategies, enabling them to maximize their return on investment. AI tools can identify successful tactics and areas for improvement, ensuring that firms allocate their resources to the most impactful marketing efforts.
I am not aware of any firm focusing on AI for Attorney Analytics, so this is more of a hypothesis (aka - guess). But setting up campaigns and tracking performance is overly complicated for many firms, and AI will be able to do this job - at least to a basic level - in 2024. If you know of a startup or agency that is already doing this, email me using the Contact link above.
9. Enhanced Client Support
Although ongoing client support may not seem like a fit for marketing, existing customers are a source of revenue growth (new business from existing customers) as well as new client growth (referrals to new customers). By leveraging AI to improve communications with existing customers, lawyers can ensure that they are the first person the client calls when a new legal matter arises, and that clients feel comfortable referring their friends and business associates to the lawyer.
For software that improves communication with existing customers, the law practice management platforms described above are leading providers. Referral marketing (beyond casual word of mouth marketing) does not have any leaders in the legal industry. Examples of general purpose referral marketing services that use AI include GrowSurf ↗ and ReferralCandy ↗. These platforms leverage AI to help their clients implement and manage referral marketing programs, encouraging existing clients to refer new business and fostering growth through word-of-mouth referrals. By utilizing AI-driven referral marketing tools, law firms can enhance client support and capitalize on the potential for revenue and new client acquisition from existing clientele.
Continuous Learning and AI Adaptation
Lawyers need to embrace a culture of curiosity, continuous learning and adaptation to keep pace with AI advancements. Ongoing training and professional development will be help lawyers benefit from the inevitable rise of AI in the practice of law.
As we advance through 2024, the integration of AI into legal practices is set to bring transformative changes that promise to redefine the delivery of legal services. From enhancing operational efficiency to revolutionizing legal marketing, AI offers unprecedented opportunities for law firms to innovate and excel. To learn more about how AI can benefit your legal practice or to discuss implementing AI-driven solutions, I invite you to schedule a call ↗. You can also join the discussion on LinkedIn ↗.
