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In today's ever-evolving legal landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a powerful tool. One impressive and most recent advancement in AI is Generative AI, which has the potential to revolutionise the way in-house lawyers operate.
Understanding Generative AI
Generative AI represents an innovative branch of artificial intelligence focused on generating content or data. Unlike traditional AI systems that rely on predefined rules and patterns, Generative AI utilises sophisticated machine learning techniques to produce fresh, original content based on patterns derived from extensive data sets. It possesses the unique ability to autonomously generate text, images, music, and even video, making it a versatile tool for creative and problem-solving tasks.
The key differentiator of Generative AI lies in its capacity to generate coherent and contextually relevant responses without relying on predefined answers or templates. This characteristic makes it an ideal solution for complex tasks that require human-like understanding and creative thinking, like Legal.
Enhancing Legal Workflow with ChatGPT
The reality is that there aren't countless use-cases for Legal when it comes to using ChatGPT or other Generative AI tools at this point in time. This is because the technology is new and Legal uniquely requires an ability to rely on the accuracy of the output. What's more, when it comes to marking up contracts for example, the technology currently does not necessarily facilitate smoother negotiations - it can automate them to some extent but this is not always desirable as the output can do more harm than good to the relationship the parties are trying to build.
However, there are definitely elements of our day to day role that ChatGPT can help with. Here's are our top three:
Clear Advice for Stakeholders
Effective communication is crucial when providing legal advice to internal stakeholders. ChatGPT can assist in-house lawyers by generating concise and easily understandable explanations, simplifying complex legal concepts for non-legal professionals. This feature facilitates smoother collaboration and ensures that stakeholders are well-informed when making critical decisions. It will also save you time - it's much easier for the human brain to refine than to create from scratch so what you can do is type a very basic outline into ChatGPT and ask it to turn it into an email. The output is almost never perfect but it gives you a great start that you can tweak until it's right.
For example: 'write an email to our sales team explaining that we cannot accept unlimited liability in our contracts as a negotiation lever'
Crafting Explanatory Notes
During contract negotiations, it is often necessary to explain a particular position to the the other side. ChatGPT can be a valuable resource for in-house lawyers for this kind of task. By generating well-crafted explanatory notes, the AI model articulates the legal perspective clearly, promoting transparency and facilitating effective negotiation. For tasks like these, you may need to explain to ChatGPT what you need in more prescriptive terms.
For example: 'explain why we cannot accept unlimited liability within a contract to the other side. This is for an explanatory comment that will be included in a word document so keep it to one paragraph'.
Proactive Horizon Scanning
Staying informed about emerging laws and regulations is essential for effective risk management. With ChatGPT 4o now being able to connect to the internet, this is a great way to conduct high level horizon scanning exercises. It identifies upcoming legislative changes that might impact a business, enabling in-house lawyers to proactively adapt legal strategies, ensuring compliance, and mitigating potential risks. You will however need to check the references it provides to make sure they're accurate as there is still a possibility of hallucination.
For example: 'what employment laws are coming up that I need to know about in the UK?'
It is important to note that while ChatGPT can automate certain tasks, human oversight and review remain essential to ensure accuracy, compliance, and the protection of sensitive information. In-house lawyers should exercise caution when implementing automation and maintain a balance between leveraging technology and applying legal expertise.
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If you need help understanding the current Generative AI landscape in Legal and are interesting in finding out how this emerging technology can help you streamling your legal function, we can help. Reach out for an informal chat.