Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the operational practices of several sectors, and law is no exception. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a language model which can understand user questions, generate comprehensive responses, and facilitate conversation. This potent combination of capabilities has the potential to transform your law firm’s efficiency and effectiveness.
Below are four ways ChatGPT can help you and your team with day-to-day work.
One – Efficiency and Productivity
Solicitors manage a large amount of data daily, including case files, contracts, reports, and legal documents. Processing this data manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Here, ChatGPT shines as a potent tool for data management. It can help automate repetitive tasks such as drafting legal documents, reviewing contracts, and conducting due diligence, thereby freeing up valuable time for lawyers to focus on more intricate aspects of their cases.
Two – Client Interaction
A law firm’s reputation depends on its ability to listen to clients and solve their problems quickly and cost-effectively. ChatGPT can assist by providing chatbot functionality that helps solicitors handle client enquiries 24/7 by answering routine questions, providing status updates on cases, and helping with scheduling appointments.
Three – Legal Research
ChatGPT, trained on a wide range of data sources up to September 2021, can be an excellent tool for legal research. It can scan through enormous amounts of data to retrieve relevant cases, legislation, and journal articles, helping solicitors efficiently find the information they require to support their legal arguments.
Four – Document Review and Drafting
AI tools can pinpoint critical points in a contract, flagging potential issues, and suggesting insights and recommendations. They can also assist with first drafts of legal documents and opinions.
What Are The Risks For Solicitors Using ChatGPT?
There is no doubt that AI language model tools provide amazing opportunities for law firms to streamline their processes and increase their productivity. However, there are risks that you and your colleagues must be alive to when using these tools. Below are the top three risks you must watch out for.
One – Privacy
To build ChatGPT, Open AI scraped millions of documents available on the internet for data to train the model on how to communicate like a human. They did not ask permission from the original content creators, many of whom have launched major class-action lawsuits against Open AI and other developers for breach of copyright.
In addition, if you input client details and data into ChatGPT itself, for example to create a contract, you may find yourself in breach of the UKGDPR and other privacy laws. The risk is amplified by the fact that no one yet knows if ChatGPT is GDPR compliant. Until various Regulators provide guidance as to its use, it is best to proceed with caution when using AI language models.
Two – Security
One thing about cybercriminals, they are never slow to spot an opportunity. AI language models are already being used to write malware. Furthermore, they provide another gateway for a hacker to infiltrate your systems. If you are going to use ChatGPT, make sure your firm’s IT team are aware and have policies and procedures in place to manage any security breaches.
Three – Inaccuracy
ChatGPT has been trained on data up to September 2021. Therefore, any new laws or information relating to your matter that occurred after this date will not be included in any document you create. In addition, no AI language model is 100% accurate; therefore, anyone in the firm who uses it to create a document must check that what it states is correct.
Final Words
AI language models can provide considerable benefits to Solicitors if they are used cautiously. If you have any concerns or are unsure about whether using ChatGPT in a particular way could breach regulatory standards, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice.
We have been helping solicitors and other legal professionals with disciplinary and regulatory advice for 25 years. If you have any questions relating to an SRA investigation or an SDT appearance, please call us on 0151 909 2380 or complete our Free Online Enquiry.