11 minutes learn
Printed Jul 30, 2025
For solo and small to mid-sized regulation corporations, AI in authorized writing gives vital effectivity positive factors, streamlining drafting, summarization, and analysis. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge dangers like information privateness, “hallucinations,” and moral compliance. Authorized-specific AI options, comparable to Clio Duo, present safe help tailor-made for authorized professionals, prioritizing accuracy, jurisdictional consciousness, and shopper confidentiality.
Have you ever ever requested your self, “Can I take advantage of AI to put in writing a authorized doc?” With AI use more and more frequent, it’s solely pure that AI authorized writing instruments turn out to be a spotlight for authorized consultants. Already, 79% of authorized professionals use AI of their follow to a point. Whereas there are automation and AI instruments for authorized writing, it’s a brand new and blossoming trade and no two instruments are equal.
Learn on to find out how AI matches into the authorized area, dangers with AI use, which instruments are on the market, and the way Clio Duo can ship safe, legal-specific AI help.
What’s AI authorized writing?
AI authorized writing instruments are any instruments that leverage AI to help with each the creation of authorized writing, and numerous duties related to it. AI authorized writing can contain every thing from utilizing AI to streamline the creation of communications and templated items, to helping with analysis or modifying.
As a result of the authorized trade is sure by extra legal guidelines and rules than many different industries, AI authorized writing isn’t as “quick and free” as AI writing in different areas. Whereas AI authorized writing includes using generative AI and huge language fashions, each of which energy AI writing instruments in different industries, they’re normally extra restrictive and prescriptive in software.
Alternatives: How AI helps attorneys write quicker and smarter
The complete level of AI is to streamline beforehand handbook processes. With AI authorized writing, there’s little doubt it’s having a big affect on regulation agency productiveness: 82% of corporations report some extent of effectivity positive factors, whereas 65% are saving as much as 5 hours every week.
These productiveness positive factors aren’t manifesting out of skinny air. They’re the results of AI benefitting quite a few areas throughout AI writing and its related workflows:
Improved accuracy throughout paperwork
Consistency throughout documentation and communications, together with use of stats and language
Enhanced accuracy in due diligence and compliance issues
Quicker workflows that translate to extra immediate shopper communications and supply
On prime of the above advantages, some premium AI-powered authorized instruments will entry case regulation databases and assist expedite your authorized analysis. That is particularly helpful for newer attorneys, as it will possibly permit them to stand up to hurry quicker (delivering even additional effectivity positive factors for corporations and people).
Whereas AI isn’t right here to interchange attorneys and their function within the authorized system, it will possibly make routine administrative and writing duties far much less cumbersome than earlier than.
Dangers and considerations attorneys ought to learn about
Whereas AI in authorized follow is more and more frequent and has its advantages, there are nonetheless dangers and considerations attorneys want to pay attention to. That is very true when you or your workforce are utilizing basic AI instruments not constructed for authorized work.
Earlier than utilizing AI for authorized writing, there are a couple of considerations to have in your radar:
Knowledge privateness: Basic AI instruments, like ChatGPT, aren’t constructed to fulfill authorized trade confidentiality requirements. Inputting any shopper or case particulars into these sorts of instruments can breach numerous legal guidelines, compromise your moral obligations, and affect affected person belief.
Hallucinations: When AI generates false info, together with incorrect case citations or authorized reasoning, it’s known as a hallucination. These points can affect a case, your status, and even lead to court docket sanctions and fines.
Bias: Any AI educated on incorrect or biased info will affect what it creates. This can lead to biased suggestions and written merchandise, and make your agency look something however neutral.
Moral compliance: In 2024, the American Bar Affiliation launched their first official ethics steering to be used of AI instruments in regulation. It’s important that any AI instrument you employ follows their ongoing ethics steering, and that you just keep on prime of those pointers as they evolve.
Jurisdictional nuances: AI instruments, particularly basic instruments, can fail to acknowledge regional legal guidelines or court docket formatting necessities. It’s important attorneys evaluate any AI outputs to make sure these nuances are accounted for.
As is the case while you undertake any new instrument or software program, you must rigorously vet AI instruments earlier than implementing them. Your agency additionally must have the proper pointers and practices in place to make sure you use these instruments correctly and navigate the AI ecosystem efficiently.
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What to search for in AI authorized writing software program
There are numerous AI instruments accessible, and it’s vital you select the best one on your wants. The next are vital if you wish to get probably the most out of an AI authorized writing instrument.
Accuracy and authorized context consciousness: Authorized writing isn’t the identical as basic writing, so many basic AI instruments will misread context. Your AI authorized writing software program needs to be designed particularly for authorized professionals.
Quotation and jurisdictional alignment: Authorized writing will usually use authorized citations, like Bluebook or McGill. Authorized writing instruments ought to have the ability to deal with these citations when wanted.
Knowledge safety and shopper confidentiality: Safety is every thing in regulation. Your AI instrument of alternative ought to maintain all shopper information safe and confidential, utilizing the newest in cybersecurity.
Customization: An AI instrument shouldn’t maintain you again out of your distinctive objectives. Your instrument ought to have customizable templates, clause libraries, tone settings, and extra.
Workflow integration: An AI instrument ought to combine seamlessly into your workflows, whether or not it’s MS Phrase, DocuSign, or the Clio ecosystem.
In case you really wish to get probably the most out of your AI authorized writing software program, take our free AI certification course right this moment!
Finest AI instruments for authorized writing and drafting
There are numerous automation and AI instruments for writing authorized paperwork accessible, with extra exhibiting up each week. We’ve achieved the analysis so that you don’t should, highlighting the most effective in each legal-specific and basic use.
Authorized-specific instruments
These instruments are purpose-built for authorized professionals, providing AI-powered help and automation tailor-made to the distinctive calls for of authorized drafting, doc evaluate, and casework.
Clio Duo
Clio Duo is a authorized AI instrument that helps you streamline quite a few routine duties, together with scheduling and prioritization of your day. With Clio Duo, you possibly can:
Ask your AI assistant about your schedule for the day, have it create calendar occasions, and maintain you targeted on the current
Obtain summaries of your paperwork or circumstances, in addition to solutions to questions on specific case information on the fly
Extract in-depth insights and particulars from paperwork with the clicking of a button, enabling quicker, extra strategic decision-making
Generate skilled, on-brand messages and replies, permitting for immediate shopper responses
Clio Duo isn’t a substitute for conventional human writing, however it’s a highly effective complement to the experience of you and your workforce.
Clio Draft
Technically, Clio Draft isn’t AI. However, Clio Draft is a strong automation instrument tailor-made to the content material facet of the authorized trade, streamlining every thing from info gathering to doc drafting itself. With Clio Draft, you possibly can:
Save as much as 80% of the time it takes to manually draft authorized paperwork
Automate info gathering, together with shopper info consumption
Cut back errors with computerized pronoun and clause settlement
Pull from a library of present, ready-to-fill varieties for all 50 states
Signal on the go together with a federally-compliant signature instrument that works on any file kind
Convert present Microsoft Phrase paperwork into quick-fill templates, saving your workforce numerous time sooner or later
Better of all, Clio Draft pairs properly with Clio Duo. With each, you possibly can take a bulk of the busy work off your plate, permitting you to concentrate on constructing shopper relationships and discovering the most effective path ahead for each case.
BriefCatch
BriefCatch is one other AI instrument for attorneys, which focuses on the editorial facet of authorized writing. BriefCatch integrates with Phrase and Outlook, utilizing machine studying to research writing for:
Widespread errors
Correct citations
Areas of enchancment
Readability
In case you primarily use Microsoft Phrase and don’t want a extra fleshed out content material creation instrument, BriefCatch is a trusted and streamlined instrument for editorial workflows.
CoCounsel
CoCounsel by Thomson Reuters is an AI-powered set of authorized instruments that handles every thing from analysis, doc evaluate, evaluation, and drafting. CoCounsel boasts:
Excessive information privateness requirements
Safe processing for all shopper information
Finish-to-end content material help
CoCounsel is highly effective, nevertheless it comes at a excessive price. In case you’re a lean agency or a person lawyer, the pricing and one-to-three 12 months contract commitments could possibly be a dealbreaker.
Basic AI instruments
Whereas not designed solely for authorized use, these general-purpose AI instruments can nonetheless help with brainstorming, formatting, and analysis—simply remember to use them with warning and authorized oversight.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT has turn out to be a family title, and for good motive. With ChatGPT, you possibly can shortly:
Pull analysis summaries from throughout the net
Generate templates and descriptions based mostly on inputs
Obtain solutions to questions on the fly
Brainstorm with an AI-powered companion
Whereas ChatGPT is a extremely succesful instrument, it’s not constructed for authorized use. Consequently, you’ll want to contemplate your moral obligations in addition to the restrictions of basic AI instruments earlier than leveraging ChatGPT for authorized writing duties.
Need a safer means to make use of AI in your regulation agency? Attempt the AI for Attorneys GPT—a free, public-facing AI information.
GPTs are customized variations of ChatGPT that target particular matters—on this case, serving to authorized professionals perceive accountable AI adoption.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is one other basic AI instrument, just like ChatGPT, that’s able to serving to with the identical units of duties. Copilot is constructed into the Microsoft suite and requires a subscription.
Like ChatGPT, take warning when utilizing Copilot for any authorized issues. This instrument wasn’t designed for authorized use circumstances, and thus isn’t essentially updated with jurisdictional issues or authorized quotation codecs.
Actual use circumstances: How attorneys are utilizing AI writing instruments right this moment
You know the way to go about discovering the best AI authorized writing instrument. Now, how are these instruments truly being utilized in the actual world?
Contract drafting automation: AI can simply automate the drafting of basic contracts, leaving you with solely the duty of reviewing the contract earlier than supply.
Inner memo writing: AI can pull out of your model information or present messaging and shortly create inside memos, preserving your workers within the loop whereas staying on model.
Deposition and transcript summarization: AI can summarize deposition and name transcripts, offering highlights of the main factors.
E mail technology and shopper communication drafting: Just like memos, AI can simply create shopper communications, leaving you with evaluate and nothing extra.
Authorized analysis summaries: The best AI can comb via respected authorized analysis databases, providing summaries based mostly on the subject you’re trying to find.
Bear in mind, all the above nonetheless requires you, the human, to critically evaluate the AI-generated work product. However, it nonetheless saves useful time, releasing you up for different issues.
How Clio Duo helps accountable AI authorized writing
Clio Duo is our highly effective AI companion which is constructed straight into Clio Handle. Clio Duo helps authorized writing by AI to:
Pull instantaneous summaries of circumstances and shoppers
Streamline scheduling and calendar administration
Pull cited particulars from any paperwork in your system
Generate skilled replies utilizing your agency’s tone
Clio Duo is constructed particularly for authorized professionals and adheres to strict information safety requirements, enabling you to leverage AI whereas preserving shopper and agency information safe.
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When to make use of Clio Draft for doc automation
Clio Draft is a strong content material automation instrument that may ship even additional advantages with the best background data. Whereas Clio Draft automates a lot of the content material creation course of, it’s value noting it’s not AI, however as an alternative runs on cloud computing and conditional logic. Clio Draft is able to one-off content material, however really shines with any content material that’s:
Repeatable, like a type template
Structured in nature, comparable to authorized paperwork
Reliant on compliance and precision
Works the place you’re employed, proper in Microsoft Phrase
Doc drafting automation for attorneys
Drowing in paperwork?
Do you know Clio Draft helps create greater than 100,000 authorized paperwork each week? And it really works straight inside Microsoft Phrase. Doc drafting has by no means been really easy.
By permitting Clio Draft to streamline the above duties, you’ll have extra time for extra complicated work merchandise—or constructing relationships with shoppers and pushing your agency ahead.
Finest practices for utilizing AI instruments in your authorized writing
Highly effective AI instruments alone aren’t sufficient to see vital positive factors. With the next as foundational greatest practices, you need to use AI safely, ethically, and to the fullest:
All the time evaluate any AI output, irrespective of the duty
All the time concentrate on what’s shared with the AI
All the time keep on prime of compliance and best-use requirements
All the time confirm sources and citations from AI
The above could sound like a considerable quantity of handbook enter, however relaxation assured—AI evaluate will get quicker over time and you continue to wind up saving time in the long run.
Working smarter, not more durable
With the best automation or AI authorized writing software program at your facet, you may be extra productive than ever, bolster shopper satisfaction, ramp up new hires quicker, and in the end do extra with much less.
When searching for the best AI authorized writing instruments, take note they’re not all the identical. Basic AI instruments, whereas highly effective in their very own proper, aren’t constructed for authorized. Due to this, they carry sure dangers that might far outweigh any productiveness positive factors. Search for instruments constructed for the authorized trade, with safety and ethics on the forefront.
Lastly, concentrate on discovering a instrument that helps the place you want it most, whether or not that’s drafting or analysis or a bit of little bit of every thing.
Clio Duo checks all the best packing containers. Clio Duo was constructed from the bottom up for the authorized trade, providing protected, compliant AI. Clio Duo may help you get the solutions you want, summarize case supplies, and work extra effectively throughout the board. See for your self with a free demo.
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