It has become impossible to ignore and it engraved itself in our society. Artificial intelligence. Now, it is not only dominating school or personal life, but also the academic field, particularly our legal system.

In fact, an increasing number of law firms and legal professionals are now using AI tools support their daily work, from researching case law to drafting contrasts. Now by any means, I do not want to disregard such an act as AI, in some cases, presents itself as an opportunity to aid in the legal work, it makes it more coherent, easy, clear. However, I want to break down how AI is changing the legal sector and which inevitable consequences it brings with it. Thus, I also want to discuss in this article what this means for our future, and what consequences we have to bear for our actions.

Why use AI now?

Law firms are under constant pressure from clients to deliver faster and more cost-efficient legal results and services. At the same time, AI tools are becoming both more advanced and easier to access, which is both fortunate and unfortunate. Counting one and one together, this combination causes a major shift in the legal sector, not just in how legal work will be done, but in how law firms will compete with one another.

According to 2024 report, 89% of in-house lawyers either already used or are planning to use AI tools (“How AI Will Impact the Legal Sector”). This is a large increase of the last years reports uncertain 45% about IA. It has become clear that the focus of these industries and lawyers has been shifted from asking if AI will be used, to how it will be implemented most effectively.

What exactly can AI do in law?

AI is mainly used to automate routine legal tasks. These include for example;

• Legal research: Instead of spending hours going through case databases, AI tools can now summarize, extract and highlight relevant cases much faster.
• Contract review: AI can identify risks in a contract or point out unusual cluases within in seconds.
• Document drafting: Tools like generative AI can now create a first draft of legal documents based on a single short prompt.

Changing How Law Firms Work

This efficiency is also changing how firms bill their clients. Usually, lawyers charge by the hour – but with AI – some firms are moving toward value-based pricing. This means clients pay based on the results delivered, not just the time spent. AI also helps firms better understand what clients want and tailor services to fit these expectations. At the same time, AI makes it easier to offer legal services at lower cost, especially for smaller firms or clients with limited budgets. In this way access to justice can be improved, which is an important goal for the legal system as a whole.

Additionally, AI can save unnecessary and time consuming working hours for lawyers where they can than focus on other matters. For instance, one report estimated that AI could free up around four hours of work per week per lawyer, translating into more than $ 100,000 of extra billable time per year for U.S. law firms (Reuters).

While these are incredible statistics and tasks, there is always a downside to a new and exciting opportunity. First of all AI is not fully advanced and it can make mistakes, mistakes of either lower or higher stake where lawyers, and everyone else, have to be careful using it. Another important point in my opinion is that artificial intelligence takes such a major portion of our thinking, we have come to a stage where our society is dependent on it, and our independent and critical thinking skills can be affected. This leads me to discuss the risks of AI in the legal field.

Concerns and Risks

• Accuracy and bias: Some AI tools are known to produce false information. For example, a lawyer in New York once submitted a court document that included six fake cases created by an IA tool (“The Impact of AI on the Legal Industry”). It can be too risks to overly rely on AI without proper oversight!
• Data privacy: Lawyers work with confidential client information, and there is fear that Ai tolls might leak sensitive data or that it gets hacked. The discussion around cybersecurity is especially in law firms, one of utmost importance and a top concern (“How AI Will Impact the Legal Sector”).
• Ethical limitations: As an human instinct it is clear that most can agree on the fact that AI should never replace human judgement in court or give legal advice on its own. According to a recent survey, 96% of legal professionals said allowing Ai to represent clients in court would be “a step too far.” (Reuters)

What does this mean for future lawyers?

AI is unlikely to replace lawyers – but it will definitely change the way law will be conducted. Nevertheless, in order to use it appropriately and safe, future lawyers wil need to:

• Understand how to work with AI tools
• Focus on independent strategic thinking
• Be able to check and correct AI´s work

This is both a challenge and an opportunity. If done right, AI could help lawyers focus more on creative problem-solving, ethical questions, and high-level client support — the parts of law that truly require human skill and judgment.

Final remarks

Currently, the legal pathway faces pressure to modernize its growth. AI is already transforming how law firms operate and what lawyers do daily. While the risks are present and should not be ignored, the overall trend is clear: AI is here to stay in the legal sector.

For students like me who are planning to study law, it is important to start thinking not just about legal theory, but also about technology, ethics, and adaptability. I am convinced that the future lawyer will not just know the law – they will know how to work with the tools that are shaping it in ones one advantage.

Trust me, things are about to get even more interesting