Artificial intelligence in the legal sector

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming numerous industries - including the legal sector. By automating everything from standard tasks to assisting with complex legal analyses, AI is enabling lawyers and legal departments to work more efficiently, accurately and innovatively.

The introduction of generative AI in the legal sector marks a turning point in the way legal processes are conducted, legal documents are created and legal advice is provided. AI technologies have the potential to fundamentally change the legal industry by not only increasing the efficiency and speed of legal processes, but also improving the accessibility and comprehensibility of legal information. This change affects all aspects of the legal system, from legal advice to the skills of lawyers and operational processes.

The integration of AI into legal advice enables lawyers to provide their clients with faster and more accurate legal advice. AI systems can search legal documents in a fraction of a second and filter out relevant precedents or articles of law. However, this requires lawyers to familiarise themselves with the new technologies and adapt their skills accordingly. They should learn to work with AI tools and critically evaluate the results.

Document creation:

AI-supported software can automatically create legal documents, including contracts, statements of claim or data protection declarations. By entering specific data, personalised documents can be generated that meet legal requirements and save time.

Document analysis:

AI systems are able to analyse large volumes of legal documents to extract relevant information, identify trends and perform risk assessments. This capability is particularly useful in due diligence and contract review.

User-friendly communication of legal content:

AI-based chatbots can provide users with legal information in understandable language. They are available 24/7 and can advise on basic legal issues, democratising access to legal advice.

Support with legal research:

AI can support lawyers in their research by quickly locating relevant legal texts and precedents. This reduces the time needed to search for information and enables a deeper and broader analysis of the legal situation.

A major advantage of AI in the legal sector is the simplified preparation of complex structured content. AI systems can analyse complex legal information and present it in a form that is understandable for non-specialists. In addition, access to technology through human language enables intuitive interaction with AI tools, which significantly lowers the barrier to their use.

When introducing generative AI systems in the legal sector, legal aspects must be handled with particular care. In order to fulfil professional and legal requirements, the following points must be taken into account:

• Data protection and professional legal obligations: The AI models hosted in the firm's own IT infrastructure, developed in accordance with KPMG global security standards, must fulfil all data protection and professional solicitor requirements. It is essential that both the confidentiality and the integrity of client information are secured at all times through the implementation of these systems. This includes ensuring that all data generated by AI is processed and stored in secure environments to guarantee the highest level of data protection and confidentiality.
  
  
• No full automation without humans in the loop: AI systems in the legal sector should never make fully automated decisions. Professional due diligence requires the involvement of a qualified lawyer who checks, validates and ultimately confirms the proposals and results produced by the AI. This guarantees that all legal judgements and decisions meet professional ethical standards and that a clear assumption of responsibility is possible for every decision made.

With our interdisciplinary team, consisting of lawyers and IT specialists, we offer you holistic support for the digital transformation in the legal sector. In our workshops, we provide your employees with in-depth knowledge on the application of generative AI technologies, supplemented by practical insights into current innovations.

Together, we identify potential and areas of application for your company. We support you in the realisation of ideas. Our particular focus is on supporting the change process: we motivate your employees and enable them to work competently with AI. We provide the necessary understanding to independently identify new use cases and analyse whether and how AI is suitable for specific use cases.

Philipp Glock, LL.M.*

Partner, Solution Line Head Legal Corporate Services, Head IT & Innovation
KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH

T +49 341 2257 2529
Email

Michael Roth*

Manager
KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH

T +49 211 4155597-527
Email

Kai Jacob*

Partner
KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH

T +49 151 1829 4300
Email

* Legal services are provided by KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH.