The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to its widespread use by individuals and businesses in some instances using it to address legal disputes. This may include drafting grievances on employment related issues, wider complaints, taking initial steps, and creating policies and guides for internal and external use, amongst other actions. AI has already found practical application in several areas. These capabilities highlight the growing versatility of AI tools.
While the usage of AI has its advantages, we have increasingly seen that it also has its drawbacks.
The use of AI primarily allows for efficiency, and it also reduces cost and time.
Those using generative systems, such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Microsoft Copilot, are able to automatically summarise information supplied by the user and draft simple documents upon request. These platforms, alongside others like Claude and Gemini, offer similar capabilities for generating content, summarising data, and assisting with basic legal documentation, making them widely adopted tools The cost to the user is minimal and the time spared is seen as a huge benefit.
However, as practitioners, it has become increasingly obvious to see where AI has been used in drafting a grievance or letter of claim for instance. The content is often generic and does not apply the law to the facts of the case. This can lead to incorrect assumptions, misapplication of the law or users overestimating the value of their claim based on the assumptions used. Similarly, in a business context, templates may not often be suitable for use or even apply in their circumstances.
In the legal press, it has been observed that there have been instances of authorities quoted by parties in court which simply do not exist; this clearly evidences that AI can hallucinate, making its accuracy sometimes questionable.
Whilst AI should be welcomed because of the benefits it does have, caution should be exercised and it is recommended that if you are considering taking legal steps, it is always sensible to obtain advice and guidance from a solicitor who can articulate any arguments, apply the particular facts of the case to the law and ensure that any documentation is suitably tailored.
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