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Legal AI has become a necessary technology when the work of in-house lawyers and legal managers is more complex than ever. Workloads are increasing, turnaround times are shrinking and the pressure to optimise processes is constant. Technology has arrived to alleviate that pressure and legal AI is at the heart of this transformation.
However, you will have found that not all AI tools are the same. Choosing the right one can make the difference between a leaner, more efficient legal process or a tool that doesn't fit your workflow or meet your security requirements. Welcome to this article, in which we will discuss how an in-house lawyer can choose the best legal AI and what steps to take to implement it successfully.
This article is available in Spanish.
In this article you will find:
- Why do you need a legal AI? Defining your department's needs
- What features should a good legal AI have?
- Evaluating the options: how to compare different legal AI tools
- Implementation and first steps with a legal AI
- How to improve the use of your legal AI over time
Why do you need a legal AI? Defining your department's needs
Before evaluating tools, first ask yourself what specific problems you want to solve with legal AI. Not all solutions are designed for the same tasks, so it is essential to identify in which areas you need more support.
Some of the most common applications of legal AI include:
- Contract review and analysis: detect risky clauses, automate reviews and suggest amendments.
- Regulatory compliance: ensuring that documents comply with regulations such as GDPR, ISO or local regulations.
- Case law search and analysis: identify relevant rulings and regulations in seconds.
- Document automation: generate contracts, NDAs and commercial agreements with little or no manual intervention.
Practical example:
An in-house lawyer in a retail company spends hours reviewing contracts with suppliers. By implementing a legal AI specialised in contract analysis, he can automate the detection of risky clauses and receive alerts about terms incompatible with company policy, in order to reduce review time and minimise errors. By contrast, a lawyer in a large firm working on dozens of cases simultaneously needs to check their contracts against a legal database that provides reliable references for legal content.
What features should a good legal AI have?
Regardless of the specific functionality they should provide, not all legal AI tools offer the same level of accuracy, security or ease of integration. Here are some other key factors to consider when evaluating a solution:
1. Accuracy and reliability
A legal AI must deliver accurate and contextualised results. It is not enough that it generates answers, it must do so based on up-to-date and relevant legal data.
Key tip: ask the provider how they train their AI and what margin of error or hallucinations their model may exhibit.
2. Adaptability and customisation
Every legal team has different workflows. The AI you choose should allow for customisable configurations and the ability to adjust analysis and content generation criteria.
Key tip: opt for tools that can customise business rules, templates and search criteria.
3. Integration with other tools
If you already use a CLM, ERP or CRM, make sure that legal AI can be integrated with these platforms to avoid duplication of tasks and facilitate access to relevant information.
Key tip: consider choosing the most versatile solution for your department, the one that is the most scalable and versatile.
4. Security and compliance
As you know, your work and the data you handle are confidential and sensitive in most cases. Legal AI must comply with data protection regulations and offer secure encryption for the storage and processing of information.
Key tip: check if the tool has certifications such as ISO 27001 or if its servers are hosted in GDPR-compliant regions.
5. Ease of use and learning curve
A good legal AI should be easy to adopt without the need for lengthy training or complex configurations.
Key tip: request a demo before making a decision and evaluate whether the platform is intuitive and easy to implement.
Evaluating the options: how to compare different legal AI tools
Once you are clear about the functionalities you need, it is time to compare tools available on the market. Here is a practical strategy for doing so:
- Ask for free trials and customised demos: the best way to find out if a tool fits your needs is to try it out in real scenarios.
- Analyse the licensing model offered: some tools work with monthly subscriptions, while others require licences per user or volume of documents processed or tokens.
- Read reviews and success stories: research how other companies similar to yours have implemented legal AI and what benefits they have gained.
- Evaluate technical support: a successful implementation depends on the provider offering fast and efficient assistance in case of problems.
Implementation and first steps with a legal AI
Choosing a legal AI is only the first step. To maximise its impact, follow these recommendations during implementation:
- Define an integration plan: Who will be responsible for the initial setup? How will it integrate with existing systems?
- Train your team: Make sure in-house lawyers know how to use the tool to get the most out of it.
- Start with a pilot: Implement AI in a specific area before rolling it out to the whole team.
- Measure results and adjust: Establish success metrics such as reduced review times, accuracy of analysis and improvements in document management.
How to improve the use of your legal AI over time
The adoption of legal AI does not end with its implementation. To ensure it continues to deliver value, consider these points:
- Adjust prompts and parameters: If the tool uses generative AI, refine the instructions through legal prompting to improve the accuracy of responses.
- Request improvements from the provider: Many tools evolve with feedback from users. Communicate your needs so that the system is better adapted to your work.
- Measure the ROI of the tool: Is it really optimising your time? If you don't notice improvements, maybe you need to adjust its implementation.
Legal AI as a strategic tool for lawyers
Legal AI is not only a tool to optimise processes but also an opportunity for in-house lawyers to take on a more strategic role within their firms. By delegating repetitive tasks to artificial intelligence, legal teams can focus on what matters: negotiating better deals, minimising risks, and delivering business value with more informed decisions.
The real challenge is not whether to adopt legal AI, but how to do so in a way that is smart and aligned with the legal department's goals. The technology is here to stay and will evolve with those who know how to take advantage of it. Are you going to lead this change or be left behind?
