Free AI diagnosis: 30 minutes, and you leave with a plan

Guide

AI and law: what lawyers actually do

How lawyers use AI today, whether it will replace them, what the ethics rules say and where the courts have drawn lines. Written for anyone, not just lawyers.

Updated 7 min read

The short answer

AI and law covers two things: how lawyers use AI in research, drafting, review and admin, and the rules that apply to that use and to AI itself. AI speeds up routine work. Lawyers remain responsible for every output.

Key points

  • AI helps with research, drafting, review and admin
  • Lawyers stay fully responsible for AI-assisted work
  • Fake citations have already drawn court sanctions
  • Lawyer jobs are projected to grow, paralegal jobs to stay flat
  • AI itself is also regulated, for example in the EU

How lawyers use AI today

AI use in legal work is growing but uneven. The American Bar Association's 2024 survey found that 30% of responding lawyers use it.

Size matters. The same survey reports 46% of firms with 100 or more attorneys use AI, against 18% of solo attorneys.

  • Legal research: finding and summarizing cases and statutes
  • Drafting: first versions of letters, memos and contracts
  • Document review: reading large sets of files for key terms
  • Admin: intake, invoice entry, scheduling and time records

Will AI replace lawyers?

The best available evidence says no, at least not soon. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects lawyer employment to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations.

It also expects about 28,700 openings for lawyers each year. The Bureau adds that automation is not expected to reduce overall demand for lawyers.

Online debates are blunter. One Hacker News commenter wrote that lawyers are among the last to be replaced. Another thread predicted AI would kill all the lawyers. The data sides with the first view.

What about paralegals and support staff?

The picture is less comfortable for support roles. The Bureau projects little or no change in paralegal and legal assistant employment from 2025 to 2035.

It says demand for these workers is expected to be limited by advances in technology, including AI. Routine tasks like document review and drafting are the ones most exposed.

What AI changes about the work

The Bureau expects automation to let lawyers spend more time on client meetings and strategy. Time saved on routine tasks moves to higher-value work.

The Thomson Reuters Institute estimates AI could free up 266 million hours for US lawyers combined. It frames this as about $100,000 in new billable time per lawyer each year, at current average rates.

That is a vendor-sponsored projection, not a measured result.

The same report found 77% of respondents expect AI to have a high or transformational impact on their work over the next five years.

The ethics rules for lawyers using AI

The ABA's Formal Opinion 512 says lawyers using generative AI must consider their duties of competence, confidentiality, client communication, supervision, candor toward the tribunal and reasonable fees.

On confidentiality, it says informed client consent is required before inputting client information into a self-learning AI tool whose output could lead to disclosure.

California's State Bar guidance is just as direct: a lawyer remains fully responsible for any work product generated with the assistance of AI, and professional judgment cannot be delegated to AI.

  • Competence: understand what the tool can and cannot do
  • Confidentiality: get informed consent before sharing client data
  • Supervision: check what staff and tools produce
  • Candor: never put unchecked AI output in front of a court
  • Fees: charge only reasonable amounts for AI-assisted work

Fake citations in court

The best-known case is Mata v. Avianca in 2023. Lawyers submitted non-existent judicial opinions with fake quotes and citations created by ChatGPT.

The federal court in New York said existing rules impose a gatekeeping role on attorneys to ensure the accuracy of their filings. It imposed a $5,000 penalty.

This is why caution runs deep. In the ABA survey, three-quarters of hesitant respondents named concerns about AI hallucinations as the reason.

Laws that regulate AI itself

Separate from lawyer ethics, some laws regulate AI systems.

The EU AI Act lists AI systems used by a judicial authority to research and interpret facts and the law in its Annex III of high-risk uses.

High-risk systems face extra requirements before use. The AI-and-law field is moving quickly, so check current rules for your jurisdiction. This guide is not legal advice.

How a firm can start safely

Start with low-risk administrative work, such as invoice entry, intake and matter updates, before touching legal judgment.

Write a short policy on what data may enter which tool. Require a lawyer to check anything that reaches a client or a court.

If you want help choosing where to begin, our page on AI for law firms covers the practical side.

FAQ

AI and law questions

  • The evidence points to no. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects lawyer jobs to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035 and says automation is not expected to reduce overall demand.

  • Lawyers are safer than support roles. The Bureau expects little or no change in paralegal employment, with demand limited by AI. Routine tasks are the most exposed.

  • Lawyers can, but they stay fully responsible for the output. Bar guidance requires competence, client consent before sharing confidential data and checking every citation before filing.

  • Lawyers filed non-existent judicial opinions with fake quotes generated by ChatGPT. The court said attorneys must ensure their filings are accurate and imposed a $5,000 penalty.

  • The ABA's 2024 survey found 30% of responding lawyers use it. Adoption was 46% in firms of 100 or more attorneys and 18% among solo attorneys.

  • AI law can mean either. Some laws regulate AI systems directly, like the EU AI Act, which classifies certain judicial uses as high-risk. Others are lawyer ethics rules on using AI.

  • The ABA says informed consent is required before inputting client information into a self-learning AI tool whose output could lead to disclosure. Rules vary, so check your state's guidance. This is not legal advice.

  • Our free AI diagnosis is a 30-minute call. We find the manual work that costs you most and put a number on it, live. You leave with a plan.

Related

Keep reading

Final step

Pick a time. Let's talk.

You leave knowing which processes to automate first and what each one costs you today, whether we work together or not.

You can keep paying for manual work, or find out this week exactly what it costs you.

What happens on the call

  1. Before

    You answer 3 quick questions when you book, so we come prepared.

  2. On the call

    We find the manual work that costs you most and put a number on it, live.

  3. Decide

    An honest read on whether we're the right fit. If we're not, you'll hear it on the call.

Once you book, we look at your site and tools before the call, so the 30 minutes go to your numbers, not introductions.

Prefer to write first? Email us directly: contact@nexumautomations.com

30 minutes · Video call · Free