The Big Legal Questions Around Using AI in the Law World
Gregory Banner
Published May 5, 2025
These technologies are powerful but come with risks and require knowledge on how and when to use them responsibly.
What’s Happening with AI in Law?
Using generative AI, or GenAI, which creates its own content, is still new for lawyers, and it's not always clear how to use it correctly while still following the law and ethics.
There's no manual for this because tech changes fast. Lawyers must keep learning and experimenting with AI, making sure they understand both its strengths and potential problems.
Risks of Using AI and Language Models
There are big concerns about using GenAI and its language models because they're not perfect. They can make mistakes or "hallucinate" answers, meaning they might give wrong answers confidently.
This unreliable practice makes GenAI risky since they don't actually understand leagl concepts like a human lawyer would. In addition, there's the issue of bias; if the AI is trained on biased data, it will produce biased results.
The Challenge of Keeping Information Safe
A major worry is keeping information private, especially important in the legal field.
If lawyers use AI tools that don’t protect the data put into them, they could accidentally share private client information. Even with agreements to keep data secure, there’s no complete guarantee.
Ethical Dilemmas
Lawyers can’t just rely on AI; they’re responsible for their work. That means they need to really understand the technology they use, including its limits and how to check its work.
They also must protect their clients’ secrets, which could be risky if using AI involves sharing case details that should remain private.
Types of Legal Problems That Might Emerge
As we witness GenAI becomes more common, it could challenge current laws about evidence and privacy, causing new legal battles. Issues could arise over whether AI-generated evidence can be used in court or if using AI respects copyright laws.
AI technology is an exciting venture, but lawyers must be cautious when balancing innovation with their duty to protect their clients and follow the law.
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