Introduction

(Article written April 2025 – AI moves fast. This is not advice).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer science fiction in legal practice – it’s here, and it’s transforming how solicitors work. Nearly all UK law firms already use some form of AI, with 96% having integrated AI tools into their practice (and over half reporting widespread use). In one survey of lawyers, over 40% said they now use AI daily to speed up their work. The pressure is on for smaller firms and sole practitioners to understand this trend. Clients are hearing the AI buzz too, and they’ll expect their lawyers to be efficient and tech-savvy. In short, AI has gone from a niche topic to a pressing everyday issue in the legal profession.

STOP HERE: If you’re a lawyer and are looking to learn how to use AI and want a basic guide, please jump on one of my AI For Lawyers Webinars.

That doesn’t mean robots are replacing lawyers (put the Terminator jokes aside). In reality, AI is a powerful tool that can shoulder routine tasks and let you focus on higher-value legal work requiring human expertise. Used wisely, AI can help a small firm punch above its weight. But it also brings new challenges around ethics, data protection, and quality control. This article provides a comprehensive guide for UK small firms on AI for Lawyers: what AI is, why it matters, ethical pitfalls to watch out for, data security considerations, some top AI tools to consider, common traps to avoid, who owns the AI-generated work product, practical examples of where AI excels (and fails), and a forward look at the future of AI in law. We’ll wrap up with tips for getting started responsibly.

Let’s demystify AI in plain English and help you navigate this rapidly evolving area while maintaining professional standards.

What is AI, and how is it relevant to legal work?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in simple terms means computer systems doing things that normally require human intelligence. This includes learning from data, understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. AI isn’t a single magic “robot brain” – it spans technologies like machine learning, where software improves through experience, and natural language processing (NLP), which enables understanding and generating human language. Essentially, AI is the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to learn, reason, and adapt. Modern AI systems can analyse vast amounts of information and find patterns faster than anyone could.

In practical terms, how does this help lawyers? Think of tasks that consume a lot of time: reviewing lengthy documents, researching case law, drafting standard contracts, sorting through disclosure evidence, or managing your schedule. AI-powered software can handle many of these tasks automatically. For example, an AI tool might digest a 50-page contract and produce a summary in seconds or search a legal database and pull out the most relevant cases for your matter. Some AI can draft emails or first-cut legal documents based on your prompts. In case management, AI can automate client intake forms or calendaring.

Importantly, AI isn’t here to argue in court or give final legal advice on its own – you remain the lawyer. But it can function like a tireless junior assistant. It works in the background of many tools lawyers already use. You’ve likely benefited from AI algorithms if you’ve used a legal research platform that suggests relevant cases or a document review software that flags risky clauses. Even your email spam filter uses AI! So AI increasingly fits into legal workflows by taking on mundane, repetitive tasks and providing insights, which frees up your time for strategic thinking, advocacy, and client counsel.

For smaller firms, AI can be a great leveller. It allows you to deliver results faster and compete efficiently with larger firms. The key is understanding what these tools can (and can’t) do. The next sections will explore the ethical and practical considerations of weaving AI into your practice.

Ethical considerations for lawyers using AI

Adopting AI in a law practice isn’t just a tech upgrade – it raises some potential ethical questions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been clear that using AI doesn’t waive your professional duties under the SRA Code of Conduct. In fact, the SRA emphasises that you remain responsible for the outcomes, even if an AI tool was involved. In other words, you can’t blame the computer if something goes wrong!

Here’s what you might wish to consider:

• Duty of Competence and Supervision: The SRA Code requires solicitors to provide a competent service (Code of Conduct §3.2) and to supervise the work (including work done by juniors or technology) ensuring the solicitor remains responsible (§3.5(a)). If you use AI, you must understand its limitations and ensure it’s used correctly. The SRA has warned that current AI “does not have a concept of truth”. AI might sound confident but still produce incorrect or nonsensical answers – a phenomenon often called hallucination. One law firm aptly compared AI systems to “bright teenagers, eager to help, who do not quite understand that their knowledge has limits” . A funny image, perhaps, but it underscores the point: you can’t just trust the AI blindly. You have to supervise AI outputs just as you would review a trainee’s work. The SRA’s guidance is explicit that lawyers must not trust AI to judge its own accuracy. Always double-check crucial results from an AI, especially legal research or draft documents, before relying on them – and, if it wasn’t obvious, do not carry out work outside your own competence level. Just because AI can help me write a Will, I’m not competent in that area of law!

• Accountability: Using AI doesn’t shift responsibility. The SRA reminds firms that you cannot delegate accountability to an IT provider or tool – the solicitor remains accountable for the firm’s activities (CC §3.5) . If an AI-assisted draft goes out with errors, it’s on you, not the software. This means you should vet the AI’s work and correct any mistakes. Treat AI like an intern: it can generate ideas and first drafts but needs oversight. As a practical tip, if you ask an AI system (like a chatbot) to summarise information or produce a result, consider also asking it to provide references or sources. For example, if it summarises case law, have it cite the cases – then you can verify those citations (and you must, before using them!). This helps catch hallucinations or errors. You can also include a universal prompt not to make up case law, which can help.

• Transparency with Clients: How open should you be with clients about using AI in your work? This is a nuanced area. The SRA’s latest Risk Outlook report suggests that clients should be informed of how AI is involved in their case. At a minimum, you shouldn’t mislead clients. If you use an AI tool to help produce a piece of advice or a draft document, you remain responsible, and the client is entitled to work that meets professional standards. You might not need to declare “AI wrote this first draft” on every letter (just like you wouldn’t detail which junior associate helped), but consider transparency when it matters. For example, if you plan to feed the client’s confidential information into an AI system, you may need to obtain the client’s consent (more on confidentiality in the next section). Also, honesty is the best policy if the client directly asks whether you used AI!. Ultimately, honour your duties of honesty and client care – don’t let AI usage compromise them.

• SRA Principles: All the SRA Principles (like upholding the rule of law, acting with integrity, maintaining client confidentiality, and acting in clients’ best interests) still apply when using AI. Acting in the client’s best interest might include leveraging helpful technology and ensuring that technology doesn’t introduce new risks. There’s also a duty to keep your skills up to date (continuing competence). As AI becomes common, part of being a competent solicitor may include understanding AI tools sufficiently.

The Law Society has written a superb guide to use of AI and identified ethical principles for lawtech such as compliance, transparency, accountability, and fairness . Keep those in mind as guiding stars when evaluating AI.

In summary, using AI can be ethically sound if you use it responsibly: supervise its output, maintain confidentiality, and remain accountable for the final work product. The technology might be cutting-edge, but your professional obligations are long-standing. As one american judge put it after a lawyer mishap with ChatGPT, “There is nothing inherently improper about using a reliable artificial intelligence tool for assistance, but existing rules impose a gatekeeping role on attorneys to ensure the accuracy of their filings.” The message: AI can assist, but it’s not a substitute for your judgment.

Confidentiality, GDPR and Data Protection

Alongside general ethics, confidentiality and data protection are huge concerns when lawyers use AI. Client information is the lifeblood of legal work, and protecting it is paramount (Solicitors Code of Conduct para 6.3 confirms we need to “keep client affairs confidential”). What happens if you put client data into an AI tool?

Be very cautious here. Many AI services are cloud-based – meaning the data goes off your computer to some server (potentially overseas) for processing. If you use a public AI chatbot like ChatGPT, the input you provide might be stored and even used to improve the AI model (unless the provider explicitly says otherwise). In fact, ChatGPT’s own FAQ warns users not to share sensitive information because AI trainers may review conversations. Anything you type into such tools could be saved on their servers. Think of it as a way of talking in a crowded room: you wouldn’t shout out client secrets.

Under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, you need a lawful basis to share personal data with any third party, including an AI service provider. If you were to upload a client’s contract or a set of personal data to an AI platform, you must ensure compliance with GDPR (e.g., possibly having a data processing agreement in place, ensuring data stays in permitted jurisdictions, etc.). The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has clarified that individuals’ data rights remain intact when their information is used for AI training or operations. So, using AI doesn’t get you a free pass on privacy. Bottom line: It is probably best you don’t put client-identifiable or sensitive data into a tool unless you are sure it’s secure and compliant.

The SRA specifically warns of confidentiality risks with AI. Their guidance gives examples like a staff member inputting client case details into an online AI like ChatGPT, which could inadvertently expose confidential data. There’s also the risk of data leakage, where the AI might include details from one user’s query in the output to another user. (Imagine an AI trained on many documents blurting out a clause from a different client’s contract because it “learned” it – a nightmare scenario for privilege!). In one reported incident, employees at a company pasted secret source code into ChatGPT, only to realise they might have leaked it; this led the company (Samsung) to ban such use. As the SRA notes, if information is sent to an AI provider for training, it could be revealed to others. Caution, caution, caution!

So how can you use AI tools safely with client data? A few practical tips:

• Use Trusted or Private Versions: If possible, use enterprise versions of AI tools that promise data encryption and that your inputs won’t be used to train the model for others. For example, OpenAI offers a business tier where data is not retained, and some legal AI products run “on-premises” or within a private cloud.

• Anonymise or Abstract Data: If you want to use a tool like ChatGPT to, say, draft a letter, avoid putting actual names or specifics. Describe the scenario in general terms. For instance, instead of pasting a confidential email thread for summary, extract the key facts (without identifiers) and ask the AI to work with that.

• Client Consent: If you really need to process actual client documents with an AI service, consider obtaining the client’s informed consent. Explain the benefits and risks. This might be appropriate for things like e-discovery using an AI platform – often, clients will agree because it saves cost, but you should document that consent. Remember, the SRA expects clients to be “suitably informed” about how AI is involved in their matter .

• Policies and Training: Establish a clear office policy about AI usage. For example, instruct everyone that no confidential or personal data goes into ChatGPT or any unsanctioned app. If you have an IT team or consultant, involve them in vetting AI software. Small firms might rely on third-party vendors – ensure those vendors comply with UK GDPR (check where their servers are and who can access the data).

• Check Terms of Service: Some AI tool providers explicitly address confidentiality. For instance, OpenAI’s terms for ChatGPT state that as between you and them, you own the output and your inputs, and OpenAI won’t claim copyright over outputs. That’s good on the IP front (discussed later), but does the service use your data internally? OpenAI says it may use inputs to improve services unless you opt-out. Always read the fine print. If a service can train on your data, that could pose confidentiality issues.

• Retention and Deletion: Remember your professional obligations to keep client records secure and to delete them when no longer needed. If an AI service stores transcripts of what you input, can you delete it? Who has access on their side? These are things to consider before using the service with real client information.

In summary, treat client data like the crown jewels when using AI. Many large law firms have outright banned staff from using tools like ChatGPT until proper safeguards are in place . You may not need to go that far in a small firm, but extreme caution is advised. A good practice is to limit AI to tasks that don’t involve sensitive info – or use AI on generic data and then apply the results to the actual case yourself. Ensure any AI use aligns with your confidentiality duty and data protection law. The last thing you want is an unintended data breach or a GDPR mishap because an AI was hungry for data.

The Best AI Tools for Lawyers

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, with new tools popping up all the time. Below, we highlight some of the top AI tools that UK lawyers (especially in small firms) might find useful. I’ve split the list between general-purpose AI tools that anyone can use, and legal-specific AI tools tailored for law practice. For each, I’ll give a brief description along with pros (and a few cons) to help you decide if it’s worth exploring.

General-Purpose AI Tools for Lawyers

These are AI platforms not built just for law, but they can be incredibly handy in a legal workflow:

1. ChatGPT (OpenAI) – The conversational AI assistant. By now, almost everyone’s heard of ChatGPT – the AI chatbot that can answer questions and generate text in a human-like way. Think of it as a very advanced predictive text engine that you can chat with. Lawyers can use ChatGPT for tasks like brainstorming arguments, getting a quick summary of a complex topic, or even drafting a first attempt at an email or letter. For example, “Explain the GDPR in simple terms,” or “Draft a polite email to opposing solicitor requesting an extension” – ChatGPT will happily oblige. Pros: It’s extremely versatile and easy to use (just type and it responds). It can save time by producing decent first drafts that you can then refine. It’s also improving continually (the latest versions like GPT-4 are quite knowledge-rich). Cons: It’s a general model, so it isn’t always accurate on niche legal points – it may fabricate answers if it doesn’t know (remember those hallucinations!). Also, the free version is public and data isn’t confidential, so you must not input sensitive client facts (as discussed earlier). The paid version (ChatGPT Plus) offers more features, and enterprise solutions offer data privacy, but for casual use, treat it as a brainstorming buddy, not an infallible oracle. Always fact-check its legal answers – it’s not a lawyer, it just plays one on the internet.

2. Microsoft 365 Copilot – Your Office documents, now with AI superpowers. Microsoft’s new Copilot (rolling out in 2024-2025) integrates generative AI into Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams, and more. This could be a game changer for a small firm that lives in Microsoft Office. In Word, Copilot can draft or improve text based on prompts (e.g. “Write a client update letter about the new SDLT rates”). In Outlook, it might summarise a long email thread or even suggest replies. In Excel, it could help make sense of data with insights in plain language. Pros: It’s built into the tools you use daily, making adoption easier. The AI works with your documents and data (with proper permissions), so it can draft documents in your style or pull details from a brief you’ve written to include in a letter. It’s also backed by Microsoft’s enterprise security, which is reassuring for confidentiality (though still, precautions apply). Cons: It’s not free – expect it to be part of a premium Microsoft 365 plan. Also, while Copilot can do amazing things, writing good prompts’s a learning curve (you might have to guide it, e.g., “summarise these points focusing on X”). Early users note that it sometimes produces generic language that needs tweaking to be truly client-ready. But as an assistant to crank through paperwork, it’s extremely promising. Many top firms are already piloting Copilot , which will likely become common in the next year.

3. Bing Chat / Google Bard – The AI search companions. AI chatbots are integrated with search engines (Bing for Microsoft, and Bard for Google). They are similar to ChatGPT but have access to current web information. For lawyers, they can be useful for quick research outside of legal databases – for example, finding background on a company or news about a client’s industry, with the ability to ask follow-up questions. They cite sources for their answers, which is helpful for verification. Pros: Up-to-date information (ChatGPT’s free model, by contrast, is limited to training data up to 2021). They’re also free to use. They can digest and summarise webpages if you give them a URL – handy for quickly getting the gist of a long article or guidance note. Cons:Their legal understanding is only as good as the web sources they find, which might not be specific to UK law or could be unreliable. Use them for general knowledge and research leads, but for actual legal analysis, stick to trusted sources. Additionally, using any public AI search tool has the same caveat about not revealing confidential queries. Treat them as you would a normal web search – useful, but you wouldn’t type anything confidential directly into Google, right?

Legal-Specific AI Tools

Now, we move on to AI solutions built especially for legal work. These typically understand legal language and workflows out of the box. Many are being adopted by larger firms, but several are accessible to small firms or offer affordable plans. Below are some noteworthy ones (Transparency note: I haven’t used these and AI wrote this section for me)

• Lexis+ AI (LexisNexis) – AI meets legal research. This is LexisNexis’s generative AI offering, integrated with their vast legal database. Lexis+ AI allows you to ask complex legal questions in natural language and get answers with citations to relevant cases and statutes. It’s like having a very clever research assistant who read all of Halsbury’s Laws and can pull out exactly what you need. A standout feature is its Brief Analysis: you can upload a draft brief or skeleton argument, and the AI will check it over – suggesting additional authorities, spotting if you missed a key case, or flagging contradictory precedents. It can also analyse a judge’s past decisions (via a Judicial Analytics feature) to glean insights like which arguments they found persuasive. Pros:Trusted legal content source (it’s Lexis, so it cites real cases and commentary). Huge time-saver in research and preparing advice – you can quickly get a well-sourced answer to, say, “What is the latest test for setting aside a default judgment?” and get linked references. Integrates with the Lexis+ platform you may already use. Cons: It’s a premium product; LexisNexis likely offers it as an add-on, so cost could be a factor. Also, as with any research assistant, you shouldn’t blindly accept its output – you’ll still need to read the cases and ensure the AI’s interpretation is correct. However, lawyers who have tried it report it dramatically speeds up the research stage. For a small firm that can budget for it, this tool can enhance your capabilities (and maybe reduce some Westlaw/Lexis trawling at 2 AM!).

• Harvey AI – The all-purpose “lawyer’s AI” platform. Harvey made a splash as an AI startup backed by the OpenAI fund and adopted by some big law firms. It’s an AI legal assistant built on a powerful language model (GPT-4) but fine-tuned for legal tasks. Harvey can answer legal questions, help draft documents, and analyse contracts across multiple jurisdictions. For example, you could ask, “Draft an employment contract under UK law with a 3-month probation clause,” and it will generate a pretty good draft. It’s also used for due diligence: feed in a stack of contracts and Harvey can extract key clauses or identify risks. One notable feature is that it allows collaboration, so multiple team members can chat with the AI and each other about a project. Pros: Extremely powerful and legal trained. Harvey was designed with legal language in mind, so it often understands context that a generic AI might miss. It’s like a smart paralegal that never sleeps. It’s good at summarising complex docs and pointing out inconsistencies or key provisions. For firms dealing with cross-border matters, Harvey’s knowledge base is broad. Cons: It’s primarily been marketed to large firms and in-house teams, so pricing and access for small firms might be a barrier (currently, it’s by application/waitlist). Also, because it’s based on general AI tech, it may still have the hallucination issue if asked things beyond its training – you must verify outputs. Data security is said to be a focus for them, but ensure any deployment is compliant. Harvey shows where AI is headed in law: integrated into the practice of law itself. Keep an eye on it, even if you don’t sign up immediately.

• Spellbook (by Rally) – Your contract drafting co-pilot. Spellbook is an AI tool that lives inside Microsoft Word as an add-in, specifically to assist with drafting and reviewing contracts. It’s aimed at transactional lawyers and solo practitioners who frequently work with contracts. Spellbook can review a contract, highlight problematic clauses, suggest revisions, and even detect if something important is missing. It has an “auto-redline” feature that can propose edits in track changes. It can also generate new clauses or entire agreements based on your prompts – for instance, “Add a force majeure clause” or “Draft a short-form NDA”. What’s neat is that it learns from your own style and clause library over time . Pros: Very easy to use (since it plugs into Word, where you already do your drafting) and can save hours in contract review – especially spotting inconsistent definitions or unusual terms buried in the fine print. Great for quality control if you don’t have another associate to proofread. The generative suggestions can help when you’re staring at a blank page. Also, Spellbook emphasises that it understands legal nuances, not just plain language. Cons: It’s primarily for contracts – it won’t research case law or do litigation work. So its value depends on how much of your practice involves contracts and agreements. There’s a subscription cost, though they have a free trial. As with any drafting tool, you must review its output; it might occasionally suggest something that doesn’t quite fit your deal or jurisdiction, so use your legal judgment. For many small commercial firms, Spellbook can act like a diligent associate scanning every contract with a fine-tooth comb in seconds.

• Clio Duo – Practice management with AI inside. Clio is a popular practice management platform among small and mid-sized firms (for client management, time recording, billing, etc.). Clio Duo is their newly introduced AI assistant integrated into the platform. Since it’s powered by GPT-4 and Azure’s OpenAI services, it can do a lot of helpful admin and analysis tasks on your firm data. For example, Clio Duo can automate client intake by extracting info from emails or forms and setting up contacts/cases for you. It can draft routine communications or even help you fill in time entries by analysing your calendar and documents (no more forgotten billable time). One standout feature: it can answer questions about your own cases and data – like “When is the next deadline for the Smith matter?” or “How many open cases involve commercial leases?”. Essentially, it turns your case management database into an interactive assistant. Pros: Directly improves the efficiency of running the firm: scheduling, billing, document generation, etc.. Because it works off your data in Clio, it’s not exposing client info externally in the same way – all stay within that ecosystem, which is built to be secure. It’s like having a receptionist/PA + data analyst in one. Cons: To benefit, you need to be using Clio as your practice management in the first place (which we do recommend if you aren’t – tools like Clio or Leap can greatly streamline operations). Clio Duo is new, so there may be kinks and it currently might focus on certain tasks. As with all AI, you should double-check anything it does – e.g., if it drafts an email to a client, review it before hitting send (make sure the tone and details are right). But for sole practitioners wearing many hats, Clio Duo could remove some of the drudgery of admin work.

• Thomson Reuters CoCounsel (formerly Casetext) – AI legal research and drafting assistant. CoCounsel was originally launched by Casetext (a US legal tech company) and was later acquired by Thomson Reuters, bringing it under the Westlaw family. It is similar in concept to Lexis+ AI – a generative AI that can answer legal questions with actual sources, help analyse documents, and assist in drafting. CoCounsel can quickly sift through thousands of cases or documents to find relevant points, and it has features for reviewing discovery or contracts to flag key issues . It’s marketed as an “AI legal assistant” that can take on tasks like legal memos, deposition prep (for our US friends), and more. Pros: Backed by one of the biggest legal research companies (Thomson Reuters), so it has access to a ton of legal content. It’s capable of complex analysis; for instance, it can read a brief and highlight weak points or suggest additional authorities. It’s also designed to keep you updated – e.g., notifying you of new cases or changes in law relevant to your queries. Cons: As a relatively high-end tool, cost might be an issue for a very small firm. Also, given its US origins, some features or content might be US-centric (though TR is likely adapting it for UK law, especially since they have acquired it). If your practice is very UK-law focused, you might prefer a UK-native tool, but keep an eye on this as TR integrates it with Westlaw UK. If you already subscribe to TR products, CoCounsel could become an option to enhance your research and drafting workflow.

• Others to Consider: The legal AI market is bustling. LawGeex is an AI contract review platform that automates NDAs and routine contract checks (similar territory to Spellbook). Luminance is a British AI company known for due diligence document review – useful in M&A or large investigations to find relevant info in heaps of docs. Predictions and analytics tools like Lex Machina (by Lexis) use AI to identify trends in litigation (though mostly US data for now). Even consumer-facing tools like DoNotPay (an AI legal chatbot for basic disputes) show how AI can handle simpler legal tasks – though note, DoNotPay’s attempt at a “robot lawyer in a court hearing” was quickly shelved due to legal and practical issues (no, we’re not letting a robot with an earpiece argue in court just yet!). The key when evaluating any AI tool is to consider: Does it solve a problem I truly have? If you’re a conveyancing solicitor, an AI that drafts witness statements might not be useful, but one that automates Land Registry form filling could be. Look for tools that integrate with your existing systems and have good reviews for accuracy and support.

Pros and Cons Summary: AI tools can dramatically cut time spent on drudgery – research, first-draft writing, contract review, admin. They can enhance accuracy by not overlooking things (assuming they’re well-trained). For small firms, they act as force-multipliers, letting you do more with a lean team. On the flip side, they require an investment of money (subscriptions can add up) and time (to learn and integrate into your routines). There’s also a risk of over-reliance – you must remain the final check. Many tools are still evolving, so expect some hiccups and be prepared to give feedback to the vendors. Consider trialing one or two tools on a pilot basis – perhaps use a free version or demo on a sample task and see if it actually saves you time or improves quality. Weigh the cost against the benefit: will it allow you to take on more clients or deliver work faster? If yes, it may pay for itself.

For me, as a consultant solicitor, ChatGPT Plus ticks all the boxes I need right now.

Traps to Avoid

With great power comes great responsibility – and AI, for all its benefits, can lead you into some common traps if you’re not careful. Here are key pitfalls to watch out for (learn from others’ mistakes so you don’t make them yourself):

• Hallucinations and False Information: I’ve mentioned this a few times, but it’s worth hammering home. AI, especially generative models like ChatGPT, can sometimes output confidently wrong information. They might cite laws or cases that sound real but aren’t. This happened in a now-infamous incident in the U.S. – two lawyers filed a court brief that included six fake case citations generated by ChatGPT, leading to sanctions by an angry judge . The lawyers admitted they didn’t know the AI could just make up cases “out of whole cloth” . Oops. To avoid such embarrassment (or worse, professional discipline), always verify AI outputs, especially if they involve factual or legal assertions. If the AI summarises a case, read the actual case. If it gives a statistic or rule, cross-check it. The SRA explicitly warns that lawyers “must not trust AI to judge its own accuracy” . Treat AI’s work product as a draft that requires your review and correction. Think of AI as having the world’s fastest typing speed but not necessarily the best judgment.

• Over-reliance and Lack of Human Oversight: AI is a tool to assist, not a replacement for human judgment. A trap some fall into is letting the AI run the show. For example, blindly using contract clauses suggested by AI without reading them carefully, or sending a client an AI-drafted advice note without ensuring it’s fully correct and tailored. Over-reliance can lead to mistakes, missed nuances, or a service that’s not personalised for the client. Remember, law often turns on fine details and context – something AI might not fully grasp. Use AI to augment your skills, not replace them. Keep a critical eye on everything. One practical tip: when you get an AI-generated draft, don’t just skim it – read it critically, as if an opposing party’s lawyer drafted it! That mindset will help you catch issues.

• Ignoring Regulatory Constraints: There may be a temptation to use AI in ways that seem clever but run afoul of regulations. For instance, an AI chatbot that gives legal advice directly to the public could stray into unauthorised practice of law or breach SRA unreserved activities rules (if it’s not just general info). Always ensure that any public-facing AI (like a website Q&A bot) is properly vetted – you may need disclaimers that it’s not formal legal advice, etc. Another example is using AI to assist with court submissions – be mindful of court rules. Some courts may require disclosure if a filing was prepared with AI assistance (this has been debated in the U.S.; in UK no such rule yet, but keep ears open). Also, consider professional indemnity insurance implications – if an AI error causes a loss, it’s still your firm on the hook. Don’t assume insurers will cover a wildly negligent AI mistake, especially if you didn’t supervise it. In short, stay within the bounds of your professional rules. If unsure, treat the situation as if a junior staff member did it – you’d still be responsible for checking and ensuring compliance, right?

• Privacy and Security Lapses: I covered confidentiality in-depth, but as a “trap” to avoid: Don’t become the headline about a law firm leaking client data via an AI tool. Ensure your staff or colleagues aren’t pasting entire client files into some random app “to save time.” It’s easy to get lulled by how helpful AI can be and forget that you might be exposing sensitive info. Also, be wary of phishing or malware – a tangential risk is that hackers might create fake “AI tools” or emails like “Try our new AI for lawyers, click here”, which could be malicious. Stick to known, reputable tools.

• Bias and Fairness Issues: AI systems can reflect biases in their training data. For example, an AI might consistently suggest harsher language in an employment disciplinary letter for a certain gender, or might not adequately account for cultural context. If you rely on AI for decision-making (like evaluating candidates and predicting case outcomes), you might inadvertently introduce bias. Always apply your own ethical lens. The Law Society guidance notes biases as a risk, and how AI might unintentionally perpetuate discrimination. Be mindful if using AI in areas like recruitment or risk assessment – ensure there’s oversight to catch any skewed results.

• “Cold” Client Service: A subtle trap – overusing AI for client interaction can make your service impersonal. Clients value the human touch. If every client email they get from you feels machine-generated, they’ll notice. While AI can draft and even respond to messages, you may want to inject personal elements and double-check tone. The human relationship is critical in law. Use AI to speed up drafting, but then edit to sound like you. Don’t let your firm’s voice turn robotic becuase then robots may just take your job!

• Not Keeping Knowledge Updated: AI tools, especially those not connected to live data, may not know the latest law. If the law changed in 2024 and your AI’s training data is from 2021, you’ve got a problem. Avoid the trap of thinking the AI “knows everything.” It knows a lot, but maybe not the very latest SRA Guidance or last week’s Supreme Court ruling – unless you provide that info. Always ensure final legal advice is based on current law (your brain + research tools) and use AI as a helper, not the source of truth.

To sum up this rogues’ gallery of traps: stay alert and use common sense. The SRA’s stance can be distilled to: use AI to assist, not to autopilot. As they said, “Use systems to support rather than replace human judgement”. If you keep that principle in mind, you’ll avoid most of these pitfalls. And if something does go wrong due to AI, own it and fix it – don’t hide behind the tech. After all, clients hire lawyers, not computers. Protect your judgment role fiercely.

Who Owns the Work Product? IP and Licensing Issues

When an AI helps create a piece of work – be it written advice, a drafted contract, or even a piece of software code – a natural question arises: Who owns the output? And can you use it freely in your practice? The answer can be a bit complex, straddling intellectual property (IP) law and the terms of service of the AI tool.

Let’s break down a few scenarios:

• Copyright in AI-Generated Text: Suppose you use an AI to generate a draft article or a template contract. Does copyright protect that content, and if so, who is the author? Under traditional copyright principles, only works created by human authors get full protection. However, UK law has a unique provision for “computer-generated works”. Section 9(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says that for a computer-generated literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (i.e. one created by a computer with no human author), “the author is the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken.”. In theory, this could mean the person who prompted the AI or the developer of the AI could be considered the author. In the UK, this kind of work gets a shorter copyright term (50 years from creation, instead of the usual 70 years after author’s death). The law is a bit unsettled on how this applies to modern generative AI outputs – because arguably the user (you) provided input prompts and guidance, so you might claim authorship, or at least joint authorship. The AI company almost certainly will not claim authorship (to avoid liability and because it wants you to use it freely). In fact, OpenAI’s terms explicitly state, “You own the output you create with our AI, to the extent permitted by law” . So, practically speaking, if you use ChatGPT to help draft a document or image, you can treat the output as yours to edit and use, at least as far as the provider is concerned.

  However, note that pure AI output might not qualify as “original” authorship in some jurisdictions (like the U.S., the Copyright Office said AI-generated art with no human input isn’t copyrightable). In the UK, thanks to the provision above, you likely have a baseline copyright if you arranged for its creation. To stay on the safe side, consider that your final work will usually involve human creative choices (you’ll edit that AI-drafted clause, etc.), so it becomes a human-AI combined work, which strengthens the case that it’s protected by copyright with you (or your firm/client) as the author.

• Client Work Product and Ownership: If you deliver an AI-assisted work to a client (say an advice letter), the fact that AI helped doesn’t change the usual ownership arrangement. Typically, unless agreed otherwise, the client will have a licence to use the advice for its intended purpose, and you retain the underlying intellectual property in your know-how or templates. One caveat: check the terms of the AI tool for any restrictions. Some free AI tools might, for example, forbid using the output to train another AI or for certain commercial uses. Most reputable legal AI tools won’t place claims on your output – after all, they exist to assist you, not to own your work. But it’s worth reviewing terms. For instance, some terms might say you can’t resell the raw AI output as-is.

• Third-Party Content in Outputs: A sneaky IP issue is that AI might inadvertently include copyrighted text from its training data in the output. Ideally, well-trained AI won’t do this verbatim except for short phrases, but there have been cases with code (e.g., GitHub’s Copilot AI was found to reproduce chunks of licensed code without attribution in some instances, raising legal questions). For text, imagine you ask an AI to write a memo on a famous case and it pulls a paragraph from a law report or textbook. If you copy-paste that into your work without realizing it, there’s a tiny risk of plagiarism or copyright infringement of that third-party text. The risk is relatively low for small outputs and because most legal info has some license or is public domain (case law is not copyrighted; statutes aren’t either), but be mindful. Use AI output as a draft, and ensure the final product is sufficiently original and/or properly cited. If an AI provides a quote from a textbook, treat it like any source – cite it or paraphrase it.

• Terms of Service and Licensing: Each AI platform has its own terms. OpenAI (ChatGPT) says you retain ownership of input and output content, which is user-friendly. Microsoft’s Copilot likely follows similar lines (and any content is within your Office docs, anyway). Some legal AI tools might require a subscription license – e.g., you may only use it while you’re paying the fee, but any documents you produce are, of course, yours to keep. Watch out for any confidentiality or attribution clauses. A hypothetical example: if you use a free AI tool on the web to generate blog content, they might require you to attribute that the content was AI-generated (some content platforms do). As lawyers, we typically won’t want to do that – we’d edit the text and make it our own voice. Generally, for client work, you wouldn’t disclose “this was AI-made,” and there’s no legal requirement to do so unless, say, a court or regulator specifically asks. Your focus should be on ensuring you have the right to use whatever the AI gives you.

• Ownership of AI itself or Models: This is more if you develop something in-house. If a firm fine-tunes an AI model on its own data (some larger firms are doing this – training an AI on their precedent library), the model weights could become a valuable IP asset. Small firms likely won’t train their own AI from scratch (very resource intensive), but perhaps a consortium of solicitors might share one. In such a case, you’d have to clarify who owns the trained model and outputs. This is cutting edge – not a concern for most at the moment, but something to keep an eye on if you ever invest in custom AI development.

To put it practically: you can confidently use AI-generated content in your legal work products, just as you would content written by you or a colleague, with a few safeguards. Those safeguards are: (1) Check the AI’s terms to ensure you have rights to use the output (most do give you that right – e.g., OpenAI assigns you any IP in the output ). (2) Ensure the output doesn’t infringe on someone else’s IP – this is rarely an issue for text, but if you asked an image AI to create a company logo, for example, be careful it’s not too similar to an existing logo. For legal text, risk is low but be aware. (3) If the client is going to publish or rely on the material, treat it to your normal quality standards – you wouldn’t want something inadvertently copied or incorrect to slip through.

One more angle: who owns the liability for errors in AI output? This isn’t an IP question, but worth noting. AI tools typically come with disclaimers that they are not legal advice and have no liability. If the AI gives a bad suggestion and you use it, the liability is on you as the lawyer. So “ownership” in that sense – you own the mistakes too. 😉

Finally, note that IP law around AI is in flux worldwide. Courts and lawmakers are debating these issues (especially in copyright and patents for AI-created inventions). For now, operate under the assumption that the creative value you add as a human is critical. Use AI to assist, but always add your professional skill – that not only ensures quality, it also ensures the final work is unequivocally yours. If a client ever questioned, “did you just copy this from a machine?”, you can confidently say that the work is original, created under your direction, and that you have all rights to deliver it.

AI in Practice: Where It Works and Where It Doesn’t

So, what can AI actually do for a law practice, and where does it fall short? Let’s explore some real-world applications (and misapplications) of AI in legal contexts, especially relevant to small firms:

Where AI Works Well:

• Document Review and Analysis: AI shines at sifting through large volumes of text and identifying relevant information. For example, in disclosure/e-discovery for litigation, AI-driven tools (sometimes called TAR – technology-assisted review) can categorize documents as responsive or not, much faster than a human paralegal team. They can find that needle-in-a-haystack email where someone said “delete those files” in a pile of 100,000 emails. Similarly, for due diligence in transactions, AI can scan hundreds of contracts to find clauses that deviate from the norm, highlight change-of-control clauses, or extract key data like dates and parties. This was once the realm of junior lawyers locked in a data room for weeks – now AI can do a first pass in minutes. It’s not perfect, but it drastically reduces the grunt work and lets you focus on reviewing the flagged items. Small firms may not often face huge document sets, but even for moderate ones (say reviewing 50 employment contracts for a client), an AI tool could speed it up.

• Legal Research and Information Gathering: AI can help find relevant case law, legislation, or commentary quickly, by understanding natural language queries. Instead of crafting multiple searches in Westlaw with boolean strings, you could ask, “Has there been any recent case law updating the test for undue influence in wills?” and get a direct answer (with citations) if using one of these advanced research AIs. This is incredibly useful for routine research memos or getting up to speed in a new area. Even general tools like ChatGPT can be used to explain concepts (“explain the difference between a lease and a license in property law”) – obviously, you’ll verify and add nuance. Still, as a starting point or a sense-check, it’s handy.

• Drafting and Document Generation: AI is quite good at producing well-structured text given parameters. Need a first draft of a simple contract? AI can produce one in seconds, which you then tailor. Many lawyers are already using AI to generate templates, letters, meeting notes, and more. For example, if you had a meeting and you jotted rough notes, an AI could help turn those into a more coherent attendance note. If a client needs a basic will and your usual precedent is at hand, an AI could potentially fill in the blanks from info you provide (some experimental tools do that). It works especially well for repetitive documents where there’s lots of standard language (board resolutions, form letters, etc.). Do note: if the document is high stakes or heavily negotiated, AI’s draft must be scrutinized thoroughly. It gets the structure and boilerplate right, but might miss legal subtleties that a specialist would know. Treat AI drafts as a starting framework to build upon, not the final product.

• Summarising documents: One of AI’s most magical-feeling abilities is summarising long texts. You can feed a lengthy contract or an obtuse court judgment into an AI (ensuring confidentiality is addressed) and ask for a summary in plain English. The result can be a huge timesaver. For busy clients, you could use AI to help create an “easy read” version of a complex document (again, verifying it’s accurate and doesn’t omit critical caveats). AI can also translate legal jargon to layman’s terms quite well – useful for client communications. Some firms use AI to generate first drafts of client advice emails that explain technical points in simple language, which the solicitor then polishes. This assists in producing more digestible explanations, aligning with the duty to ensure clients understand the advice.

• Automation of Routine Tasks: Beyond text, AI can automate workflows. For instance, scheduling meetings by finding open slots (some AI schedulers exist that email participants to coordinate times), or monitoring deadlines (AI can scan emails for dates and automatically create calendar events and replies). AI can also help with conflict checks (comparing new client names against a database with fuzzy matching), or triaging inquiries (some firms have a chatbot on their website that asks the client for info and either provides basic guidance or routes them to the right lawyer). These practical implementations of AI reduce administrative load, which is highly valuable for a small firm with no large support staff.

• Predictive Analytics (With Caution): In some areas, AI can crunch historical data to give insights, like “What are the chances of success if we bring this type of case before Judge X?” There are tools (like litigation analytics in Westlaw Edge, Ravel, etc.) that aim to predict outcomes or at least show trends (e.g., a certain judge’s track record on summary judgment). For small firms, this can inform strategy or help manage client expectations (though one must be careful not to treat it as gospel – every case is unique). Similarly, AI can help estimate likely settlement values by comparing fact patterns in its database (this is still emerging, but some claim to do it). These are not widely used in the UK yet, but the future might bring more of this. For now, consider it an augment to your experience, not a replacement for legal judgment.

Where AI Doesn’t Work (or Struggles):

• Novel Legal Reasoning and Complex Strategy: AI is fundamentally based on patterns and existing data. It’s not great at truly novel reasoning or creative lawyering. If you have a case of first impression or need to craft a unique legal argument, AI won’t magically invent a brilliant theory that isn’t in the literature. It might recombine known arguments, but breaking new ground is a human lawyer’s domain. Likewise, strategy – deciding how to position a case, what tone to take with a difficult client, and how to negotiate a deal – involves human judgment, experience, and often emotional intelligence, which AI lacks. AI cannot gauge a client’s priorities or a counterpart’s hidden agenda the way you can. So rely on your human instincts for strategic decisions; use AI for background legwork.

• Understanding Context and Nuance: Law is full of nuance. A phrase in one context is harmless; in another, it’s explosive. AI can miss context. For example, AI might see “shall” and “may” as just words, but we know “shall” can impose an obligation and “may” is discretionary – subtle differences that are crucial. AI might summarise a case correctly on facts but not grasp the procedural posture that makes it distinguishable. Or it might translate a legal concept but not catch a play on words a judge used. Humans are still better at reading between the lines, detecting sarcasm or irony, and understanding the practical impact beyond the text. Always insert your contextual knowledge. One funny anecdote: an AI was asked about a particular UK case and gave a summary – but it didn’t realise the case had been overturned on appeal, so it was summarising an obsolete High Court judgment. It lacked the context to know the outcome in the Court of Appeal changed everything (because that wasn’t explicitly in the data it saw). A human lawyer would naturally check if there were an appeal. So context awareness is a weakness.

• Client Relationship and Empathy: AI cannot truly empathise or build relationships. It can generate words like “I’m sorry to hear about your situation,” but it doesn’t feel anything. Clients going through stressful legal matters often need emotional support – reassurance, understanding, and a personal connection. An AI email will never substitute for a phone call where you, as the solicitor, listen to a client’s concerns. Use AI to draft an informative letter, but maybe don’t use it to draft a message of condolence or a sensitive reply; those should come from the heart. Also, clients might be put off if they sense a robotic interaction. Many people still want to know their lawyer is personally engaged. There’s a role for AI in responding quickly to basic queries (like a chatbot giving status updates – “your hearing is scheduled for X”), but for nuanced discussions, the human touch is irreplaceable. As one commentary noted, half of a lawyer’s job is dealing with people – fostering trust, exercising judgement, giving counsel rooted in ethics – things no machine can replicate.

• Fact-Checking and Due Diligence (Ironically): While AI can surface information, it doesn’t inherently know truth from falsehood. If fed incorrect data, it might produce very convincing but wrong analysis. This is why you can’t outsource due diligence entirely to AI – it might miss red flags or, conversely, flag too much. It doesn’t have the intuition to say “hmm, that number looks off, let’s dig deeper” unless trained specifically. You still need to verify facts via reliable methods. For example, if AI summarises a witness statement, you should still read the key parts of the statement yourself to ensure nothing is lost in summarising. In contract review, if AI says “Clause 5 is unusual,” you should confirm why and decide if it’s actually a problem or just uncommon phrasing.

• Certain Creative Drafting: AI can draft boilerplate well, but when it comes to highly customised drafting that requires inventive thinking – e.g., crafting a new clause to address an unprecedented risk or writing a persuasive narrative in a witness statement capturing someone’s personal voice – AI is not great. Its writing can be formulaic or generic. It may also be overly verbose. Often, we need concise, sharp writing for legal documents. AI might need heavy editing to meet those standards. For something like a passionate argument in mitigation in a criminal case, a human will do a far better job invoking genuine emotion and tailoring to the specific case than an AI which will produce a cookie-cutter plea. Use AI for the mundane first 80%, but that last 20% – the polish, persuasion, and creativity – is where you earn your fee.

• Compliance with Specific Formats or Court Rules: AI might not know, for example, that your local court expects a certain wording or format in filings or that a certain form must be filled exactly so. If you let AI draft without knowledge of those specific conventions, you might end up with a document that’s technically fine in content but doesn’t comply in form. Always overlay your knowledge of procedural requirements.

Notable Missteps: We already discussed the ChatGPT fake case citation saga (which is a textbook example of not verifying AI output). Another humorous one: an AI once wrote a brief where it started citing Star Wars references (because the case involved “The Force” – a contract term – and it riffed on The Force from Star Wars in an argument!). Funny, but not appropriate for court. Luckily, that was caught by the attorney who was testing the AI. It shows AI doesn’t know the line between creative analogy and outright flippancy in a legal context. There was also the DoNotPay incident earlier in 2023 – the CEO of DoNotPay planned to have an AI via earpiece feed lines to a defendant in traffic court, essentially an AI lawyer in real-time. This was halted after (predictably) judges threatened sanctions (and possible jail for unauthorised law practice or recording in court). The lesson: just because AI can do something doesn’t mean it’s allowed or prudent. We have to integrate tech in a way that complements, not recklessly challenges, legal processes.

In summary, AI works best as a force multiplier for tasks that are repetitive, data-heavy, or formulaic. It stumbles in tasks that are human-centric, highly innovative, or deeply contextual. Knowing these boundaries will help you deploy AI where it can genuinely help your practice (and your clients) and avoid using it in ways that could backfire. Use the tool for what it’s good at, and rely on your human skills for the rest – that combination is the winning formula for now.

The Future of AI in Law

Looking ahead, how might AI reshape legal practice, especially for smaller firms? It’s always tricky to predict the future (no AI could perfectly do that either!), but we can identify trends and educated guesses:

• AI as Standard Part of the Lawyer’s Toolkit: Just as email and legal research databases became standard, AI tools might become ubiquitous in day-to-day practice. We may soon drop the “AI” label and just see these as features of our software. Drafting a document with an AI assistant suggesting language will feel normal. In five years, not using AI for initial research might feel as inefficient as flipping through a paper encyclopedia instead of using Google. Small firms that embrace these tools could compete effectively with bigger firms on efficiency. On the flip side, there’s a risk of an adoption gap – firms that don’t adapt could fall behind. As one legal tech expert said, “Whether we like it or not, it’s coming for us all. Ensure your law firm is prepared… to turn it from an existential threat into a competitive weapon.”. That captures the urgency many feel – adapt and leverage AI or risk obsolescence. But don’t worry, it’s not about replacing lawyers; it’s about augmenting them. Lawyers who use AI could potentially edge out those who don’t because they can deliver the same output faster and often cheaper.

• More Powerful (and Specialised) AI: Today’s AI (like GPT-4) is impressive, but future models (GPT-5, etc.) will be even more powerful, with likely fewer errors and more ability to handle complex tasks. We’ll also see more specialised AI trained on specific areas of law or specific functions. Imagine an AI trained solely on UK tax law or one that is an expert in European Court of Justice decisions – these could become like virtual consultants. There might also be AI “colleagues” with different roles: one might be great at project managing litigation (timeline, tasks, etc.), another at legal research, and another at drafting. They could work in tandem – your own mini AI team. This might sound far-fetched, but components of it exist already in rudimentary form. The key will be integration – getting all these AI to work together smoothly within the workflow of a small firm without needing a full-time IT staff to manage it.

• Changes in Legal Education and Training: As AI takes on routine tasks, the training of new lawyers might shift. Junior lawyers traditionally learned by doing first-draft work or large document reviews. If AI handles much of that, firms and law schools will need to ensure juniors still get the necessary experience in judgment, ethics, and client interaction. We might see more emphasis on tech skills in CPD requirements. Perhaps the SRA or Law Society will issue formal guidance on AI competencies. The Legal Services Board in the UK has even looked into whether lawyers should have mandatory training on AI to use it properly. It wouldn’t be surprising if at some point, understanding AI tools becomes part of being a competent solicitor. On the flip side, some fear a “de-skilling” if people over-rely on AI – something the profession will have to balance.

• Regulatory Developments: Regulators are paying close attention. The UK government’s approach to AI regulation (as per a recent White Paper) is currently light-touch and principle-based, encouraging innovation. In contrast, the EU is working on an AI Act which may classify and strictly regulate certain AI uses (e.g., in high-risk contexts like justice administration). While law practice tools probably won’t be banned or anything like that, we could see requirements for transparency (e.g., if AI is used in advising, maybe clients must be informed in some scenarios by law, echoing SRA’s guidance ). There’s also the possibility of standards or certification for legal AI tools – maybe an SRA kite mark that an AI product is “safe” to use for certain tasks. If AI starts providing more direct-to-consumer legal services (like automated online advisors), regulators will step in to protect consumers from bad advice or to ensure accountability. The definition of “legal services” might expand to cover AI-driven services, bringing them under regulatory scope. For small firms, it’ll be important to keep abreast of any new rules – for example, if a court requires a statement that “no portion of this document was drafted by generative AI without human revision” (something some US courts considered after the fake cases incident), you need to know that.

• New Services and Business Models: AI could enable small firms to offer new types of services. For instance, you might use AI to provide a low-cost document review service for SMEs – something previously not cost-effective. Or perhaps offer “AI-aided contract analysis” as a product, where clients send contracts, and you return a report quickly (with AI doing the heavy lifting and you doing a targeted review). Some firms might develop their own chatbots for client queries – imagine an employment law bot that answers basic HR questions for clients as a front-line service, with the firm stepping in for complex matters. Small firms could band together to share an AI resource – maybe a group of sole practitioners jointly invest in an AI that they train on combined knowledge and use collectively (like a cooperative model). The possibilities for innovation are wide open. By reducing overhead (time), AI can let you be more creative in what you offer.

• Access to Justice and Market Changes: A hopeful view is that AI could help bridge the access to justice gap. If routine legal advice becomes more automated and cheaper, more individuals and small businesses can get the help they need. Small firms could serve more clients with the same manpower. However, there’s also the spectre of non-lawyer services using AI to compete with lawyers (think of platforms that give legal guidance without a qualified solicitor involved – if those become sophisticated, they might undercut some traditional small firm work for simple matters). This could pressure some to lower fees or specialise in more complex work that DIY tools can’t handle. The profession will need to articulate the value of human lawyers – which we believe remains very high, especially when things go wrong or are complicated. The future might see a stratification: AI handles simple tasks directly for consumers, lawyers handle complex, bespoke, or sensitive tasks, often using AI in the background to be efficient.

• AI in Courts and Proceedings: We might see more AI in the court system too – perhaps AI-assisted judging for small claims (some jurisdictions have experimented with AI for small dispute resolution or at least triage). ODR (online dispute resolution) could incorporate AI mediators that propose settlements. For advocacy, maybe tools that suggest in real-time to barristers relevant case references when a judge asks a tricky question (like an in-ear prompter, though as noted, that idea has met resistance so far). If these become part of the court process, lawyers will need to adapt to them as well.

Throughout these changes, smaller firms have a chance to be agile. Without the bureaucracy of BigLaw, you can often adopt new tech faster. That said, budgets are smaller. The hope is that just as software moved to affordable SaaS models, AI tools will be accessible cost-wise (some are priced per use or have small firm packages). We also might see more open-source AI models that firms can use without hefty fees, as the technology matures.

One thing likely won’t change: the fundamental role of a lawyer as a trusted advisor and advocate. AI will reshape how you deliver services, but the service – guiding clients through legal challenges – remains. A client who is frightened about a litigation matter or baffled by regulations will still turn to a human lawyer for reassurance, judgement, and representation. AI may be working behind the scenes, and perhaps clients won’t even know half of what you used (just like clients don’t think about the fact you used Google!). They’ll just know you deliver great value quickly.

In essence, the future is one where AI is woven into the fabric of legal practice. Smaller firms can leverage technology to stay competitive, offer better client service, and focus more on the human aspects of law by automating the drudgery. As an analogy, think of a small craftsman who gets access to power tools – she can produce the same bespoke quality but faster and take on more projects compared to still using a hand saw. Similarly, AI is a power tool for legal craftsmen.

A recent Thomson Reuters report states, “72% of legal professionals view AI as a force for good in the profession”. Embracing it with a clear eye on ethics and quality will be key. The future isn’t man or machine; it’s man with machine, each doing what they do best.

Conclusion

AI is here to stay in the legal world, and for small firms and sole practitioners in the UK, it presents both exciting opportunities and manageable challenges. The key is to approach it proactively and prudently. To wrap up, here are some practical tips for getting started with AI in your practice while maintaining the high professional standards your clients expect:

• Start Small and Experiment: You don’t need a huge budget or IT team to dip a toe into AI. Try out free or low-cost tools in non-critical work first. For example, use the free version of ChatGPT to help draft a blog post or a marketing email for your firm (keeping content generic). Or test an AI research assistant on a legal question you already know the answer to, just to gauge its performance. This lets you learn the tool’s quirks without risking a client matter. Many legal AI vendors offer free trials or demos – take advantage of those with a sample task.

• Choose the Right Use Cases: Identify pain points in your practice that AI might solve. Drowning in documents? Try an AI document summariser. Spending too long drafting similar contracts? Test a contract AI like Spellbook on one. Struggling to keep up with admin? See if your practice management software has AI features to automate tasks. By focusing on specific needs, you can pick tools that give immediate benefit, which justifies the effort and any expense.

• Develop an AI Policy: Even if you’re a solo, write down a brief policy for yourself on how you’ll use AI. This might include rules like never inputting client names or sensitive data into unsanctioned tools, always verifying outputs, list which tools are approved for use in client work (and for what). If you have staff, educate them on these guidelines. An AI policy shows you’re taking a thoughtful approach – it could even be something you mention to savvy clients to reassure them (e.g., “We use AI tools to assist on some tasks, but we have strict policies to protect your data and ensure quality”).

• Keep Clients in the Loop (When Appropriate): You generally don’t need to burden clients with how the sausage is made, but if AI use will materially affect them (especially their data), inform and get consent. For instance, if you want to run their trade-secret documents through an AI analyser that involves cloud processing, ask permission in writing and explain the protective measures. Most clients will appreciate the transparency and your caution. Many will be intrigued that you’re using advanced tools for their benefit – it can be a value-added talking point (“we use cutting-edge technology to make our services more efficient for you”). Just be sure not to oversell – emphasise that all work is lawyer-verified.

• Double-Down on Your Strengths: As you delegate drudge work to AI, use the freed time to reinforce the human elements of your service. Spend more time calling clients with updates or adding personal touches to your communications. Dive deeper into strategy and creative thinking on cases since AI gave you extra hours. This improves outcomes and cements your relationship with clients – they see the value of you plus tech, not tech alone.

• Stay Educated and Up to Date: Make it a habit to keep current on AI developments relevant to law. The Law Society, SRA, and various legal tech blogs regularly publish updates and guidance (for example, the Law Society’s “Generative AI: the Essentials” guide is a good read). By staying informed, you’ll know about new tools, best practices, and any ethical/regulatory changes. Consider joining a legal tech forum or local Law Society tech section – sometimes, hearing peers’ experiences is invaluable. Since AI is fast-moving, what was cutting-edge this year might be standard next year.

• Maintain a Safety Net (Quality Control): Implement checkpoints in your workflow where a human review is mandatory if AI is used. For example, if you use an AI-drafted clause, have a colleague review that clause too (two sets of eyes, one of them being AI, one human). If solo, review the final document twice – once for content, once just focusing on any part AI touched, imagining “Is this correct?”. Over time, as you gain confidence in certain tasks, you might streamline this, but early on it’s a good discipline. It helps catch issues and also helps you learn the AI’s failure modes.

• Ethics and Confidentiality First: No matter the efficiency pressure, never compromise on core duties. If an AI approach ever seems to conflict with your obligations, err on the side of caution or seek a solution (maybe a different tool or method). For instance, if a client insists you use ChatGPT to draft something with their actual data, and you’re uncomfortable with the privacy aspect, explain the concern and offer an alternative (like you use ChatGPT on anonymised info or a secure AI instead). Clients will usually understand – they ultimately want their matter handled professionally and securely more than they care about how cool the tech is.

• Be Prepared to Defend Your Process: As AI becomes common, occasionally, you might get a question (perhaps from a court or a client or even an opponent) about whether you used AI and how accuracy was ensured. Be ready to answer that. For example, if a judge asks about a suspicious identical phrasing in two submissions and if it came from AI, be honest: if it did, say so and emphasise you verified it. If a client is worried about “Am I paying for your time or a computer’s time?” you can explain that AI helped reduce hours (and hence cost to them), but you reviewed everything – turning it into a positive. Have an explanation of your AI use that highlights responsibility and benefits.

• Embrace the Learning Curve, and Don’t Be Afraid: Finally, approach AI with a sense of opportunity. It can feel daunting at first – lawyers are trained to be risk-averse and detail-oriented, and here comes a tech that is probabilistic and occasionally wrong. But remember how lawyers adapted to computers, email, and online research – AI is another tool. You don’t need to become a programmer or data scientist. Many AI tools are plug-and-play. Start with curiosity. It’s okay to have a laugh at AI’s occasional goofy mistakes (ask it to tell a lawyer joke – some are terrible!). Through experimentation, you’ll get more comfortable. And comfort with the tool is key to wielding it effectively.

In closing, AI won’t replace small firm lawyers – but lawyers who use AI may well outpace those who don’t. The goal is to integrate AI to elevate your practice: maintaining ethical integrity, enhancing client service, and giving you more time to do what you do best (which is apply the law to help people, not shuffle papers). As the technology evolves, so will the norms around it, and your adaptability will be an asset.

The legal profession has always balanced tradition with innovation. Think of AI as the latest chapter in that story. By staying informed, being ethical, and harnessing these tools for good, you can ensure that your small firm not only survives but thrives in the era of AI. After all, at its heart, lawyering is about judgment, advocacy, and counsel – and those are inherently human talents. With AI carrying some of the load, you can focus even more on being the trusted lawyer your clients need, with a little extra superpower in your toolkit.

Final thought: AI is a powerful ally but not a substitute for diligence. Use it wisely, and your practice can reach new heights of efficiency and service. The future of law isn’t man versus machine – it’s man + machine, delivering better, faster legal help together. Embrace the change, stay cautious, and keep your wig on (figuratively!). The future courts will still have human lawyers at the forefront – possibly wearing smart glasses that whisper case citations via AI, but human nonetheless.

Webinar

If you’ve read this, and are still left wondering how you might start to use AI in your small law firm, then I’d recommend you attend one of my AI for Lawyers webinars.