9 January 2024
As we step into 2024, the legal industry continues to be reshaped by technological advancements. This year promises to bring new developments that could revolutionize how legal professionals work and interact with clients. Here are key predictions for legal tech in 2024:
Prediction for 2024: Increased Adoption of Generative AI for Legal Services Use Cases
Last year, generative AI took the world by storm. And this year, we predict we’ll see more adoption of AI which is expected to revolutionize many aspects of the legal industry in the near future. With its ability to perform a variety of tasks, including drafting specific clauses, creating initial drafts of legal documents, summarizing documents, reviewing, translating, searching and retrieving, analyzing, comparing documents, responding to case-specific questions, automating deposition outlines, automating e-discovery, reviewing documents on a large scale, and automating Intellectual Property (IP) management, AI is set to become an essential tool for legal professionals. It is predicted that AI will significantly improve efficiency, speed, and accuracy in the legal industry.
Prediction for 2024: Evaluation of Generative AI Shifts From What’s Possible to What’s Practical
In 2024, we believe we’ll see the focus shift from merely showcasing AI capabilities to practically integrating them into business operations. Hanzo CEO Julien Masanes anticipates that companies will seek to emerge from the common trap of “”pilot purgatory,”” where organizations are stuck in endless AI testing cycles without full-scale implementation. Masanès suggests the key to escaping this is by prioritizing AI applications based on their practical value, adoption, and feasibility, with an emphasis on targeting core business outcomes like customer acquisition or service improvement. A practical application of AI in eDiscovery is where AI efficiently assesses relevancy in legal operations, seamlessly integrating into existing workflows and enhancing decision-making speed. Enterprises will adopt this strategic approach, focusing on real-world applications and incremental changes, marking the transition from AI experimentation to evolutionary transformation.
Prediction for 2024: More Companies Will Adopt Advanced Prompt Engineering in LLMs to Boost eDiscovery Efficiency
More companies will actively explore and adopt advanced prompt engineering in LLMs to optimize their eDiscovery processes. There is a growing recognition of the significant benefits that precise, prompt engineering offers in the realm of eDiscovery. The ability of LLMs to simplify complex legal cases into manageable facets, tailored through user intervention and generative AI, showcases the potential for increased efficiency and accuracy in legal document analysis.
Furthermore, the shift towards using a variety of LLMs for different tasks within eDiscovery — from generating diverse facets to classifying documents — indicates a trend towards more specialized, task-specific AI applications. This specialization not only enhances the precision of AI responses but also contributes to cost-effectiveness and scalability, crucial factors for legal firms and corporate legal departments.
Prediction for 2024: Standardization of Responsible AI in Legal Tech
The year 2024 is poised to be a landmark year for the legal tech industry with the anticipated standardization of responsible AI protocols and best practices. This development is expected to place a strong emphasis on governance, safety, security, and trust, addressing the burgeoning ethical and legal challenges posed by generative AI.
In the context of eDiscovery tools, the focus on responsible AI becomes particularly relevant. Client data security must be a paramount consideration in the design and development. As legal technology increasingly relies on AI and machine learning to process sensitive information, the need for robust protocols ensuring data security and ethical AI usage becomes critical.
Conclusion: Navigating the Future Landscape of Legal Tech
Generative AI will revolutionize the legal sector in 2024, bringing significant change and highlighting the importance of responsible innovation. It will redefine efficiency and accuracy in legal services, marking a significant evolution in how legal businesses operate. The trend towards advanced prompt engineering in LLMs signifies a deeper understanding and more nuanced use of AI in eDiscovery. The standardization of responsible AI protocols is critical, ensuring that advancements are ethically responsible and aligned with legal industry standards. As legal tech evolves, the focus will be on harnessing the power of AI to enhance service delivery while upholding the highest standards of security and ethical practice.