Balancing Innovation and Ethics: Using Ai in the Legal Profession

• Year: 2025
• Citation: Vol. 48 No. 2 Pg. 20
• Pages: 20

Balancing Innovation and Ethics: Using AI in the Legal Profession No. Vol. 48 No. 2 Pg. 20 Wyoming Bar Journal April, 2025

by Melissa B. Alexander

(drafted with the help of ChatGPT)

Genervative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the practice of law. From drafting and summarizing documents to conducting research and responding to emails, AI can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve performance. However, as with any new technology, using AI in law raises important ethical questions. This article discusses common uses for AI in legal practice, ethical duties lawyers should consider, and guidance for attorneys getting started with the technology.

1. Responding to Emails and Routine Correspondence

Generative AI can be a valuable tool for managing the high volume of emails and correspondence that legal professionals handle daily. AI-powered email assistants can draft proposed responses, suggest edits, and organize communication threads. This allows lawyers to spend more time on higher-value tasks while ensuring routine communications are handled efficiently and promptly.

2. Editing Legal Documents

Generative AI can also help lawyers edit documents, identifying potential grammatical errors or clearer ways to phrase text. By analyzing vast amounts of legal documents, AI may suggest edits that align with legal norms and conventions, making the editing process faster and more precise. Sometimes, AI can even help to ensure compliance with local rules and jurisdictional requirements, reducing the risk of oversight or errors. At a minimum, by installing and using Grammarly or a similar program, lawyers can eliminate errors and improve the clarity of their writing quickly and easily.

3. Summarizing Documents and Meetings

AI-powered tools can also quickly summarize emails, cases, and other documents, as well as meetings and interviews. While the output may need to be relined, summaries can be a significant time saver. AI can help lawyers determine which documents to prioritize reading closely and create initial task lists. It can also quickly and affordably transcribe audio files.

Beware, however, that AI tools use natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to understand the structure and key elements of documents. Legal reasoning is nuanced, and while AI may capture the general essence, it may gloss over important reasoning or fail to grasp the context.

4. Researching Legal Issues

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