Document scanning, AI could change landscape for lawyers
Many law firms are caught in something of a conundrum: They want to be able to take advantage of the document management and scanning technology that's now widely used in other industries, but they face legal constraints that require them to still rely on physical files as well.
There does not, however, have to be a significant shift to use of document management platforms – coupled with robotic process automation – to make it easier to access, search through and analyze huge quantities of legal files, evidence and the like. According to the Times of Israel, those efforts might soon get much easier for law firms to carry out, thanks to rapid developments in artificial intelligence that make legal analysis easier and faster.
A closer look
The Israel-based developer LawGeex participated in a joint study with American law organizations to have its AI analyze non-disclosure agreements alongside a team of extremely experienced lawyers. Generally speaking, the AI did the job in a matter of seconds (as opposed to hours) and more accurately, the report said.
That kind of technology, in turn, may free up legal professionals to focus on other issues related to their field, the report said. If contract analysis and other more mundane legal work is left to machines through document scanning, the profession may be able to change a lot over the coming years.
No automation fears?
Some in the legal field may see this trend as alarming, potentially portending a day when machines replace lawyers, but experts don't think that's particularly likely, at least not any time soon, according to Hackernoon. As the use of this kind of technology – as well as others associated with it – proliferates, there will still be a need for lawyers to initially draw up these contracts, who need to determine what aspects of certain agreements might be legal or enforceable. Current AI technology is incapable of handling these processes.
When law firms are looking at all their options for improving workflows and ensuring operational efficiency, finding cutting-edge document management solutions could go a long way toward achieving those goals on an ongoing basis.
