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AI is no longer theoretical in the legal world – it's transforming how lawyers work, serve clients and think about the value of legal services. From automating routine tasks to enhancing legal strategy and client insight, this article explores how AI is reshaping the legal sector, and what law firms must do to keep up.

Learn how AI is reshaping legal services – from document automation to predictive tools – and what law firms need to do to keep pace.

<p aria-level="1">With the highly anticipated release of OpenAI’s new flagship model <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/rumors-of-gpt-5-are-multiplying-as-the-expected-release-date-approaches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GPT-5</a> around the corner, it’s a good time for lawyers to get up to speed with how AI is impacting the legal profession. In recent years, attitudes towards artificial intelligence in the legal profession have undergone a marked shift. Where AI was once met with disquiet, wariness and scepticism, with perceptions swinging wildly between extremes – either as an existential threat or a passing fad – it now appears that there is a growing consensus among lawyers that AI will be a net positive force in the legal sector, helping to augment lawyers’ abilities, assist with workloads and automate repetitive parts of their work.</p>
<p>According to the Thomson Reuters 2025<a href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/ewp-m/documents/thomsonreuters/en/pdf/reports/future-of-professionals-report-2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Future of Professionals Report</a>, 80% of legal professionals believe AI will have a high or transformational impact on their work within the next five years – up 10 percentage points from 2023. Critically, as of 2024, 72% now see AI as a <a href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/ewp-m/documents/thomsonreuters/en/pdf/reports/future-of-professionals-report-2024.pdf">force for good</a> in their profession.</p>
<p>But AI is still a novel and evolving technology, and with numerous companies vying to compete in a ballooning market, the AI landscape can be a dizzying place for users to navigate. In this article, we consider how AI is currently being used in the legal profession and discuss what firms and in-house teams should do to keep up with developments in AI technology.</p>
<h2 aria-level="2">The key players in legal AI</h2>
<p>Many people familiar with the discourse around AI will have heard of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. These are just a handful of models – all backed by giant tech corporations with enormous market caps – vying for the top spot. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, and each sector is seeing a boom in smaller, industry-tailored AI, which promises to specialise in the specific needs and knowledge bases of their relevant industries.</p>
<p>In the legal sector, this boom is being led by platforms such as<a href="https://www.harvey.ai/"> Harvey AI</a>, Thomson Reuters’<a href="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/westlaw-precision"> Westlaw Precision </a> and Lexis Nexis’<a href="https://plus.lexis.com/"> Lexis+</a>. The advantages these tailored AI platforms supposedly have over, for example, ChatGPT, is that they are private and secure, trained on a curated legal database, and fine-tuned to meet a lawyer’s needs.</p>
<h2 aria-level="2">How AI can help improve efficiencies</h2>
<p>There are caveats to bear in mind when using AI, and especially for legal work, as we have <a href="https://www.linnearlegal.co.uk/resources/risks-pitfalls-using-ai-legal-profession/">explored in previous articles</a>. But as with any tool, AI can help improve certain efficiencies, and as AI improves, this will only become increasingly the case. Below, we explore some of the ways AI can be used to improve efficiencies in the legal sector.</p>
<h3 aria-level="3">AI as an assistant</h3>
<p>Lawyers know all too well how time-intensive legal work can be, with many junior city lawyers in the UK clocking up to<a href="https://www.legalcheek.com/2021/10/revealed-the-extreme-working-hours-of-big-paying-us-law-firms-in-london/"> 70-hour work weeks</a>. But much of the day-to-day work done by lawyers, and especially junior lawyers, is highly repetitive work, such as document review, case summarisation and the drafting of routine contracts (e.g.<a href="https://www.linnearlegal.co.uk/resources/non-disclosure-and-confidentiality-agreements-for-businesses/"> NDAs,</a><a href="https://www.linnearlegal.co.uk/resources/employment-contracts-guide/"> employment agreements or engagement letters).</a></p>
<p>Lawyers are already using AI for these more repetitive tasks, but it’s anticipated that AI will become even more useful for them in the future. The 2024 Future of Professionals Report estimates that lawyers could save up to four hours per week, or 200 hours per year – translating to around $100,000 in new billable time per lawyer annually, based on average rates in the United States.</p>
<p>More generally, AI’s capabilities as a personal assistant could be particularly helpful to those in the legal profession who need to better manage their workloads, responsibilities and documents. Beyond billables, the same tools can help streamline workflows, reduce turnaround times and improve consistency in client service.</p>
<h3 aria-level="3">Client-facing benefits</h3>
<p>AI’s most transformative impact may ultimately be felt not inside law firms, but in how firms serve their clients. Respondents to the Future of Professionals Report highlighted three areas of direct value:</p>
<ul>
<li>Faster client response times (41%)</li>
<li>Reduction in human error (35%)</li>
<li>Advanced analytics for better decision-making (33%)</li>
</ul>
<p>Tools that can comb through thousands of documents, precedents or case law in minutes provide a new kind of leverage – helping legal teams answer client questions quickly and with more comprehensive evidence.</p>
<p>Real-time language translation capabilities can help firms expand to international clients, while multinational firms will be able to handle global matters with fewer bottlenecks.</p>
<p>It’s also envisioned that predictive modelling tools – which we explore in greater detail below – will help offer insights into likely litigation outcomes, aiding strategy and negotiation.</p>
<p>However, AI platforms must rely on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology to reliably understand legal documents and context – and it&#8217;s essential that lawyers choose platforms that prioritise security and data privacy. Recent examples of ChatGPT conversations being <a href="https://www.techlusive.in/news/thousands-of-chatgpt-conversations-leaked-on-google-search-how-to-check-if-you-were-affected-1581359/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indexed by Google</a> as OpenAI prepares to release GPT-5 have laid bare the extent of such risks when it comes to these platforms and privacy, and lawyers should be very careful with how they allow sensitive information to be processed.</p>
<h3 aria-level="3">Predictive AI: promise and pitfalls</h3>
<p>Predictive AI – which analyses past outcomes to model future results – is one of the most talked-about areas of legal innovation. In theory, such tools could help lawyers assess the likelihood of success in court, estimate the value of a claim or model the risks of a proposed deal.</p>
<p>In practice, these systems are still in their infancy. Most rely heavily on the quality and granularity of available data, and they often struggle with edge cases, jurisdictional nuance or the unstructured complexity of real-world litigation.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the direction of travel indicates that over time, and perhaps very soon, these tools may become integral to case strategy – much like legal research databases or document management systems are today.</p>
<h3 aria-level="3">AI and the billable hour: rethinking legal pricing</h3>
<p>One of the more contentious debates AI has reignited – which has an impact on what we discussed above in ‘AI as an assistant’ – is whether the billable hour model is fit for purpose. If a tool can draft a contract in seconds that used to take an associate three hours, how should that work be priced?</p>
<p>For some firms, this opens the door to value-based pricing models, where clients pay for outcomes or services delivered &#8211; not time spent. For others, it raises concerns about revenue loss, de-skilling or the shifting expectations of clients.</p>
<p>Regardless, optimism remains that if lawyers can spend less time on admin-heavy tasks and more time on strategy, creativity or negotiation, the value of legal advice itself may rise. After all, a lawyer’s main purpose is to provide advice and representation, and so it follows that reducing the administrative burden on a lawyer could empower lawyers to hone in on this function to a greater level.</p>
<h2 aria-level="2">Opportunity for the legal sector to shape AI</h2>
<p>AI is already reshaping the legal profession. From legal research to client service, administrative automation to predictive insights, the tools already exist to reduce inefficiency and augment legal judgment.</p>
<p>The question today is not whether AI will transform the legal sector, but how it will transform the sector. Firms must be proactive in understanding the benefits and risks of using AI, and take steps to understand, regulate and integrate the technology. This means upskilling staff, testing platforms, reviewing data policies and participating in the ethical debate.</p>
<p>On the flipside, this interaction with AI – and being part of the conversation – is fundamental if lawyers are to have an influence over how AI impacts their work. With legal regulation still taking shape around the world, there is an opportunity for firms today to contribute to the landscape and discussion surrounding AI.</p>
<p>For more information about AI in the legal sector, take a look at our series on <a href="https://www.linnearlegal.co.uk/news-insights/tag/ai-technology/">AI and technology</a>.</p>


The legal world is already feeling the impact of AI on legal workflows, client services and pricing – we outline how lawyers can safely integrate AI into their practice.

How AI is transforming the legal profession

AI is reshaping legal work and client service. Discover how firms can harness its potential while avoiding key risks and compliance pitfalls.

How AI is transforming the legal profession | Linnear Legal

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How AI is transforming the legal profession

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