Can law firms use AI to become more profitable?

Recently we’ve seen possibly one of the most significant technological milestones in a generation with the advancement of AI. The effective adoption of AI is one of the biggest changes your firm can make today.

That’s why it’s important to discuss the benefits and engage with any concerns around it. Law requires a human and nuanced approach – and AI can’t replace that.

However, AI tools can be used to make your working lives more efficient. The time you save may make your business more profitable – and can help to provide a more bespoke service to your clients and improve work-life balance.

1. Optimising staff output

Whatever the size of your firm, productivity is vital, and legal research can be extremely time-consuming. Allowing staff to make the most of their working time is one of the key benefits of using the right AI tools.

LEAP’s AI legal assistant, LawY, can be used to find out any information needed when referencing case law with simple search requests. This helps law staff speedily research and advise with confidence.

Knowing that it only links to resources and information gathered from legal teams means that it’s specifically designed for legal practitioners.

It also redacts personal information, so unlike many other AI tools, you won’t be putting a client’s data into a platform that could present significant data security risks.

2. Driving efficiency

One of the most time-consuming tasks for legal staff is reading through material for insights. AI tools can sift through, read and absorb large amounts of information to deliver meaningful insights in a much more efficient way.

LEAP’s Matter AI is an internal tool which can access information in seconds. It searches through every piece of your firm’s saved legal content, including scanned images and PDFs.

It can also draft documents or statements, and is useful for comparing the differences between two documents. This makes a lengthy manual process much quicker, simpler and more accurate.

As the content is specific to your firm and can only be shared with your staff, you can search using clients’ personal information. The tool searches through your internal data and does not access anything externally.

3. Recording time automatically

As a legal professional, your time is extremely valuable, whether it’s an hourly rate or a fixed fee

LEAP’s AutoTime tool records the time you spend on a specific matter, whether that’s working on documents, emails, appointments or meetings.

Relying on capturing time manually could risk inefficiency and inaccuracy. Some law professionals may also underestimate the time they spend on a task.

4. Improve billing outcomes

All time tracking activities can be recorded in an AutoTime report, which will tell you where time has been billed.

Efficiently tracking your time in this way will ensure that your charges accurately reflect the time being spent on particular cases. The more time captured, the more time can be billed – ultimately helping to increase your firm’s profitability.

Of course, using AI successfully may make your work more efficient, which could mean less time being charged for certain tasks. However, ensuring a good and effective service, alongside more accurate billing, benefits both you and your clients.

5. Enable innovation

Technology evolves so quickly that firms often don’t have time to investigate the latest innovations. So, you may wish to work with a technology partner who can focus on development and understand how new trends can integrate with existing platforms.

LEAP has introduced Matter AI for Word, which is a new prompt tool that integrates with Microsoft systems. You can use it to search for and add information directly to draft Word documents, such as a wills, briefs to counsel or other similar complex work.

The tool uses rules, instructions and preferences on how you want your document to be drafted to ensure accuracy.

6. Capture new business

AI platforms can be used as analytical tools to help save time and work faster. But they can also be used for other tasks to ensure that fee earners’ time is freed up to focus on the legal aspects of their jobs.

For example, it can be used to support new business efforts by taking a basic enquiry form and analysing it to deliver a qualified lead to you. It can also be used to craft replies to prospective clients to support with next steps.

Qualifying leads can be painstaking – and if you don’t win the business, it can seem like lost time and money. Upgrading your process could help you engage with prospective clients faster, ensure better engagement and improve the chances of winning their business.

How to get the best out of AI tools

It’s clear that firms can benefit from AI. But questions remain about how it should be used in our daily working lives and whether it will replace jobs.

The key is in combining your skills as a qualified legal professional with the right AI tools to get to the same or more informed outcomes much faster. The human element is essential. AI tools can’t work without human input and the data we provide.

What they can do is offer vital analysis and insights, reduce operational costs and speed up processes – ultimately keeping clients happier and helping your business succeed.