What Kind Of AI Do Legal Professionals Use?

Legal work comes with a lot of reading, checking, and organizing. AI steps in not to take over, but to help expedite the bulk of the process.

You’ll see it quietly working behind the scenes, sorting through documents, scanning for patterns, or even handling basic communication. And this is just the beginning.

Let’s walk through the specific types of AI that lawyers and legal teams actually use.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP is a type of AI built to read and understand language in the way people write or speak it. In the legal profession, it’s often used to:

• Pull out important clauses
• Spot inconsistencies
• Turn complicated legal text into simpler summaries

An AI legal assistant tool using NLP might scan a 40-page contract in seconds and highlight every clause related to termination, renewal, or payment terms.

That’s something a junior lawyer might spend hours on. With NLP, the process becomes quicker and more reliable, which frees up time for real legal thinking.

This kind of support is becoming a regular part of daily work across firms and legal departments, especially when dealing with large volumes of documents or tight deadlines.

Machine Learning (ML)

Machine learning helps software improve by learning from past examples, and legal tools use it to spot patterns across thousands of cases, contracts, or rulings.

For example, ML might analyze how a specific judge has ruled on similar cases or identify which clauses in complex legal documents often lead to disagreements.

Many law firms use ML-powered tools to sort through large amounts of case history, flag riskier language in contracts, or even help price legal services more accurately based on past outcomes. 

The more data the system sees, the better it becomes at offering insights that support decision-making.

Document Automation Engines

These are the tools that help with repetitive document work. You plug in the info, like names, dates, terms, and the software fills out the forms for you. Some go a step further by reviewing those documents for mistakes or missing pieces.

Classification and Tagging Systems

Think of this as smart sorting. These tools can go through a pile of files and group them by topic, urgency, or risk level. Instead of manually organizing everything, you let the system handle it in seconds.

For example, during a discovery process, an AI system can tag thousands of emails by categories like “privileged,” “time-sensitive,” or “requires review.” This can help legal teams find what matters quickly. It’s especially useful when you’re dealing with large volumes of data in litigation or compliance.

Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

Some firms use chat-based tools to handle common client questions or intake forms. Others use them internally to help staff find documents, check schedules, or get reminders.

Make no mistake; these tools definitely don’t replace the service a human can provide. They’re just designed to handle routine back-and-forth so people don’t have to.

Predictive Models

These tools crunch numbers from past cases and try to project how things might play out. Lawyers use them to weigh options, prep strategies, or advise clients on risks. They don’t guarantee outcomes, but they offer a data-backed reference that can support decisions with more clarity than guesswork.

For instance, a firm handling employment disputes can use a predictive model to estimate how similar cases have been resolved in a specific jurisdiction. This helps set client expectations and build a case strategy that aligns with likely outcomes.

Best Ways To Apply AI To Legal Work

AI isn’t limited to tech companies anymore. Legal teams are already using it in practical, everyday ways. However, the key is knowing where it fits without overcomplicating your workflow.

Here are a few areas where it actually helps.

1. Document Automation

You’ve probably handled the same document types over and over, such as contracts, NDAs, and client letters. After a while, it’s less about legal thinking and more about filling in blanks.

Luckily, this is exactly the kind of work legal AI software can take off your plate, and it’s actually one of the earliest uses of legal AI.

With the help of a generative AI tool powered by large language models, you can draft complete documents in minutes. Just plug in the key details, and the system builds a first draft based on templates, prior work, or firm-specific language.

Document automation doesn’t stop at writing, either. Many tools can also do legal document review, flag missing terms, or point out risky phrasing before anything gets sent out.

Let’s say your team needs to send out 50 vendor contracts. Doing that by hand would take hours. With AI, you feed in the details once, and the software generates clean, review-ready drafts, all aligned to your standards.

This approach clears out routine tasks and gives you back time for actual legal judgment. And in a profession where precision and speed both matter, that shift makes a difference.

2. Contract Management

Contracts are a core part of legal work, but managing them can often be tedious and slow. With AI-powered tools and smart legal software, however, that process starts to move a lot faster and with fewer mistakes.

These systems help organize files, flag risks, and even compare language across documents to keep things consistent. During legal contract drafting, for example, AI can highlight missing clauses or alert you when something doesn’t line up with company policy.

According to Weshare, automating contract management can speed up negotiations by nearly 50% and cut down on payment errors by up to 90%. When you apply AI correctly to the contract management process, you’re saving time and reducing a lot of risk.

Here’s what these AI solutions are built to do:

• Track renewal dates and deadlines
• Spot non-standard language during legal drafting
• Flag high-risk terms
• Compare multiple contracts quickly
• Pull reports for internal use or audits

These tools aren’t replacing legal review. They’re enabling attorneys to handle contracts faster, with more confidence, and less manual work.

3. Legal Research

Digging through case law, statutes, and commentary used to take hours, sometimes even days. With today’s lawyers’ AI tools, those long research sessions are getting shorter without cutting corners.

AI with strong legal research capabilities can quickly scan thousands of documents, rulings, and articles to find what matters most. Instead of reading through every case, you get:

• Summaries
• Relevant quotes
• Direct links to related materials

Apart from being fast, AI helps you find what’s actually useful to your case.

For example, when you conduct legal research on a complex issue, AI can pull past rulings, compare how judges have interpreted similar clauses, and even suggest secondary sources that apply the same legal principles.

You’re still in charge of the analysis, but the most time-consuming tasks are handled for you.

Whether you’re prepping for a hearing or checking how a specific statute has been applied over time, AI tools built for legal research give lawyers a stronger starting point and more room to think through the arguments.

4. Administrative Tasks

Not every job in the legal industry involves analyzing cases or arguing in court. A big chunk of time still goes into scheduling, tracking hours, managing files, and handling billing. These may not be the most exciting parts of the job, but they keep law firm operations running smoothly.

AI is now being used to take care of many of these routine and repetitive tasks. In turn, this frees up time for more complex tasks that need legal insight.

In day-to-day legal operations, AI tools can:

• Handle timekeeping and generate billing entries automatically
• Manage calendars, reminders, and deadlines across teams
• Sort and store files in the right folders with smart tagging
• Draft basic correspondence, like follow-up emails or status updates
• Pull data for client reports or internal reviews

Note that these tools aren’t meant to replace real people; they’re designed to support them. By taking on the background work, AI lets legal teams shift more energy toward higher-value legal tasks that need real attention.

5. Risk Management

You’ve probably reviewed contracts or long reports where something felt off, but finding the exact issue took hours. An AI-powered solution can actually help, not by replacing your judgment, but by getting you to the risky parts faster.

Let’s say you’re doing a quick contract analysis for a deal that’s been sitting in your inbox all week. The AI can scan the whole thing in seconds and highlight the unusual payment terms or missing indemnity clauses that deserve a second look.

Some tools go a step further by identifying patterns in how documents are written. They read through lengthy documents, analyze the legal narratives, and point out wording that could cause confusion or conflict down the line.

When you’re juggling multiple matters and deadlines, this level of support keeps you focused on the real legal issues, not the busywork. With an AI assistant by your side, you can scan smarter, act quicker, and feel more confident that you haven’t missed something important.

6. Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics is the use of data, patterns, and historical trends to estimate what might happen next. In the legal practice, that means looking at past rulings, judge behavior, contract terms, and similar cases to make smarter decisions, not guesses.

These tools don’t offer guarantees, but they give lawyers a stronger sense of direction. By analyzing legal information, they help identify risks, likely case outcomes, and even how long a matter might take to resolve.

Say you’re doing due diligence before a merger. Predictive tools can scan key documents and flag language that’s often linked to past disputes. Or maybe you’re preparing a case; AI can look at similar rulings to suggest where things might lean based on precedent.

Such insight can give context early in the process, which can shape strategy, save time, and help manage client expectations. In short, it gives legal teams a head start with the facts to back it up.

7. Client Service

Speed matters more than ever. A recent FindLaw and Thomson Reuters survey showed that 59% of legal consumers contact only one attorney before making a decision, and many act within a day. In that kind of environment, slow responses or confusing intake processes can push potential clients elsewhere.

Today, AI-driven platforms help law practices keep up by handling quick tasks like scheduling, follow-ups, and basic intake. That means less waiting around for the client and more time for your team to focus on delivering quality service.

Still, it’s not only about speed. People want clear communication and a sense that their matter is being taken seriously. Tools that manage contact history, track progress, and automate reminders can support lawyers’ work behind the scenes without letting anything slip through.

Here’s how AI can help improve your client service:

• Faster intake and scheduling through smart forms
• Consistent updates to keep clients informed
• Easier tracking of case details and conversations
• Quick answers to basic questions
• A smoother process overall, especially for first-time clients

Basically, using the right tech means less friction and an overall better experience. This is something that sticks long after the case is closed.

What Are The Benefits of AI Legal Tools?

Legal work is changing, and AI adoption is playing a big part in that shift. According to Bloomberg Law, generative AI is expected to play a steady, long-term role across multiple layers of legal work. In fact, it’s already becoming part of how lawyers research, draft, and review.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits you can expect:

• Faster turnaround times: AI helps draft, review, and organize legal materials in a fraction of the time.
• Fewer manual errors: Built-in checks catch mistakes before they become problems.
• Smarter legal document creation: Templates and auto-fill features cut down on repetitive writing.
• Improved legal research: AI tools surface relevant cases and statutes quickly.
• Better risk spotting: Contract review tools flag language that could create issues later.
• Stronger organization: Files are auto-tagged and searchable without manual sorting.
• Easier task management: Routine follow-ups and reminders happen automatically.

With the right AI capabilities, legal teams can focus on strategy while still handling the everyday work that keeps everything moving. However, there are still a few questions we need to answer.

Is Legal AI Here To Stay?

If you’re working in the legal field today, you’ve already seen how AI has changed the pace and structure of your work. Tasks like document review, case research, and drafting take less time than they used to. That change isn’t slowing down.

Harvard Law professor David Wilkins recently shared that we’re only scratching the surface of what AI will mean for law. He explained that generative AI is starting to support more advanced tasks and is becoming part of a lawyer’s regular workflow.

It’s no longer something you use once in a while. It’s becoming part of how daily work gets done.

You’ve probably felt this shift yourself. Tools that once seemed experimental are now baked into platforms you already use.

You’re not handing anything over, you’re adding tools that support the way you already work. Legal AI is here to stay, and how you work with it now will shape the kind of legal work you do tomorrow. It’s already changing the tools. Soon, it may shape expectations, too.

Remember, Human Expertise Is Still Superior

As AI becomes more common in legal work, it’s easy to wonder how far it will go. But just like looking up symptoms on WebMD doesn’t replace seeing a doctor, using AI to handle contracts, research, or summaries doesn’t replace what a lawyer brings to the table.

These tools are good at spotting patterns, pulling case law, and filling out basic forms. They can help with the structure and the speed. But they don’t understand context. They don’t weigh judgment calls or spot the gray areas that real legal decisions depend on. That’s something only a human can do.

You can use AI to handle the first draft or check for missing terms. But reviewing that work, thinking through the implications, and giving clients actual guidance—that still depends on you. So no, AI is not replacing human lawyers anytime soon.

Stop Wasting Time On Manual Document Drafting

What would your day look like if you didn’t have to draft the same type of motion, discovery request, or brief over and over?

AI is already changing how legal work gets done. It’s speeding up research, tightening review, and clearing out the parts of your workflow that drain time without adding value. But none of it matters without your judgment and experience behind the wheel.

Briefpoint is built for that balance. It takes the slow parts, like repetitive drafting, and handles them with speed and consistency. You’re still in control of the outcome, but you don’t have to waste hours getting there.

With Briefpoint, you can speed up drafting for:

• Requests for production
• Requests for admission
• Interrogatories

With Briefpoint Bridge, you can also collect client responses faster and more effectively. It can translate interrogatories into plain English and plug your clients’ answers directly into your document. That’s less time spent on back-and-forth communications.

Book a demo and see how it can take care of the work you shouldn’t have to do twice.