Embracing AI – The Whys and the Hows
The advent of AI is bringing about unprecedented changes across industries, with its widespread impacts driving businesses of all sizes to adapt swiftly. PERSOLKELLY’s 2024 APAC Workforce Insights Report, “Future Workplace: Opportunities and Adversities in AI” (the Report), found that our Little Red Dot is ahead of its Asia Pacific counterparts when it comes to adoption of AI in the workplace – with 45% of businesses in Singapore already using AI, as compared to the 39% in APAC. Furthermore, 38% of businesses in Singapore are considering adopting AI in the near future.
However, the same study revealed that only 11% of business leaders believe that legal departments in companies would be affected by the adoption of AI technology. This is surprising, considering AI’s vast potential for paper-heavy sectors like legal. With AI, law firms and legal departments within organisations can unlock their full potential through process streamlining and more.
In Singapore, the legal industry has already started embracing AI for tasks like document review and legal research. While this is a positive step, given the scale at which businesses are adopting AI and the benefits it can bring, it is crucial for the legal sector to consider a full shift to embracing AI across various workflows, beyond what is in place now. We are saying that the legal industry should not be overlooked in the rat race to adopt AI. Outlined below are some considerations.
Why AI Should Be Your Partner in Law
Before delving into the “how”, it is essential to grasp the “why” behind AI’s transformative potential for businesses. From the Report, companies are adopting AI technology to reap the myriad benefits it brings – increasing efficiency (51%), increasing productivity (44%), reducing operational costs, and increasing cost-efficiency (35%), reducing the risk of human error (32%) and to stay competitive in the market (29%). So, what does this mean for legal practitioners?
AI helps to streamline legal processes and optimise workflows. Legal associates from both law firms and corporate legal departments grapple with immense volumes of documents and contracts on a day-to-day basis. Alongside this abundance comes the challenge of searching for the right document, as well as reviewing, and analysing them. This can be frustrating – not only is it time-consuming, but it also increases the risk of human error, potentially hindering progress and case closure for law practitioners. With AI, algorithms can meticulously analyse vast datasets, proofread and conduct rigorous legal research while significantly reducing the likelihood of errors. This is especially beneficial for time-sensitive cases like complex litigation. Automated templates also enable legal associates to swiftly create customised contracts to accelerate turnaround time. Additionally, AI can be leveraged to build a centralised intelligent repository that facilitates easy searching, filtering and navigation of documents – with only one source of truth (no need for double entry), everyone is on the same page.
Ghows, a law firm in Singapore specialising in technology, intellectual property, and data privacy, is one of the few firms that have adopted AI to manage operations and sharpen workflows. The firm uses AI software to run checks on drafted contracts, retrieve information ranging from judgements to settled cases and handle administrative tasks like billing expenses. While initially sceptical, associates at Ghows quickly learned that integrating AI into workflows could reduce excessive amount of time spent on menial tasks and overhead costs.
By entrusting these routine tasks to AI, legal professionals can free up time spent on painstaking labour and redirect their focus to advising clients and working on more complex and strategic activities, thereby boosting overall productivity and collaboration. Automating mundane tasks not only cuts down on high overhead costs associated with paper volumes but also reduces the need for extensive manual labour, translating into cost savings that can be allocated towards strategic initiatives and client services.
In industries like legal where compliance and security are paramount, AI tools play a crucial role in minimising risks through features such as digital audit trails, encryption, and ID verification. This is especially advantageous in tasks such as contract management and legal compliance, where precision is crucial. For example, in Singapore, Sign with Singpass empowers businesses and their customers when signing digital agreements. Sign with Singpass uses signing certificates issued by the National Certification Authority. Upon the National Certification Authority’s accreditation, signatures made using the Sign with Singpass will be regarded as secure electronic signatures under Singapore’s Electronic Transactions Act. The digital signature is cryptographically linked to the signer, providing businesses higher assurance of the authenticity and the integrity of the signed documents. Leveraging such AI tools will help law firms accelerate the contract turnaround time while giving signers a peace of mind knowing that sensitive information is secure and protected.
AI Your Case: Examples of Tools and Use Cases to Streamline Practice
- Document Summarisation: Singapore-based legal firms and departments can consider leveraging tools which help with agreement summaries such as AI Assistant for Acrobat or Docusign Agreement summarisation. This makes it easier to grasp the meaning of a document so you can make faster decisions.
- Legal Research and Insights: Solutions such as Intelllex offer AI-powered platforms tailored to the Singaporean legal landscape. Scott is one example of a generative AI litigation research assistant that law firms in Singapore such as Ghows are utilising to streamline workflows. These tools utilise natural language processing (NLP) to analyse legal texts, providing comprehensive access to case law, statutes and precedents. Legal professionals can swiftly locate relevant information, gain insights and make informed decisions with ease. By leveraging these AI software, law practitioners can analyse judicial decisions and understand how judges have ruled on similar cases in Singapore in the past. This can inform litigation strategies and improve the chances of success.
- Contract Management and Automation: For tech start-ups or small businesses looking for help to draft legally binding documents, LawCanvas leverages machines learning algorithms to automate contract creation, customise clauses and ensure compliance. By simplifying and streamlining contract management tasks, legal teams can enhance efficiency and mitigate risks effectively.
- ID Verification: The Singapore government has just given electronic signatures the green light for certain legal documents, along with the ability to take oaths via videoconference last year. While Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Health Rahayu Mahzam mentioned that more details will be provided later, it is certain that AI-enabled systems can help to analyse various factors, such as facial movements, to confirm the person in the video matches the image on their identity document, and is a “live” person as opposed to a pre-recording or deep fake.
- Assisting Self-represented Litigants: Singapore courts are testing the use of generative AI such as Harvey AI to help litigants with claims and defence. By utilising Harvey AI, self-represented litigants can evaluate his next steps, whether there is a deadline, how much he could get from his claim and what the legal costs are. The AI would guide the litigant in proceeding with his claim and point him to relevant websites, forms and how to reach settlement. By feeding the AI with specific information based on Singapore’s law, previous cases and court systems, accuracy and reliability is assured when it comes to relying on such technology.
Tips for Navigating the AI Era
While we have explored the reasons and some use cases of adopting AI in the legal sector, it is equally vital for leaders to foster an environment conducive to helping their teams comprehend this transition, stay motivated, and remain relevant.
1. Develop an AI ready workforce
It is fair to say that both employees and businesses cannot afford to ignore this trend if they want to remain relevant in the future. Developing a comprehensive understanding of AI technologies, their applications, and their implications for workforce dynamics is essential. The Report reveal that the top three strategies for bridging the skill gap to implement technology include internal upskilling (18%), training and knowledge sharing for AI-related skills (14%) and supporting employees in obtaining AI certification/education (14%). Law firms and corporate legal departments need to look into implementing these strategies to ensure that associates do not fall behind in the adoption of AI.
While AI technologies deliver efficiency and automation, they fall short of the human touch. In recent years, anxiety about AI has surged. Employees worry about the technological skill gap and the possibility of being replaced by AI, resulting in apprehension about their future in the workplace. This underscores the importance for leaders to strengthen employee engagement, boost morale and create upskilling opportunities for long-term organisational success.
2. Look from implementation to adoption
Beginning the adoption of AI entails a meticulous assessment process, pinpointing areas within the legal framework where AI can exert the most significant influence. By identifying specific pain points and inefficiencies, practitioners can aptly select the most suitable AI tools.
However, the adoption process does not conclude with implementation; it marks the inception of an ongoing journey necessitating continual refinement. Here, it is crucial to outline the significance of continuous improvement and development. As legal professionals continue to engage with these tools, they may uncover unmet needs or discover features that are underutilised. In this regard, leaders must foster an environment where staff are encouraged to provide continuous feedback, facilitating the continuous refinement and improvement of workflows, thereby fostering sustained success.
3. Prioritise ethical AI practices
Ethical considerations play a crucial role in integrating AI technologies into legal operations. As highlighted in a report by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) of Singapore, ethical AI practices are essential for fostering trust among employees and stakeholders. Adhering to ethical AI standards empowers legal professionals to uphold fairness, transparency, and accountability in the application of AI technologies, thereby fortifying their relationships with clients and the broader legal community.
Recognising the need for a unified strategy to foster trust, PDPC developed the Principles and Governance Framework to guide organisations with developing a nuanced and ethical approach to AI implementation. Law associates can rely on this framework to mitigate bias, uphold transparency and trust in the adoption of AI in legal practice.
The adoption of AI in the law and legal sector benefits not only the law firm, legal associates and paralegals but also the customers of legal services eagerly awaiting your support. By freeing up practitioners’ time to focus on meaningful work, this translates to heightened efficiencies and a higher success rate in closing cases. Clients today are also increasingly anticipating practitioners to utilise technology in delivering legal services, mirroring their expectations from other service providers. Such a future is one we should consistently endeavour to achieve.
