How legal professionals are using AI with Bijal V. Vakil

When you're using AI tools for legal research or drafting, how do you verify the output? What's your process for catching hallucinations or errors?

We haven't seen tools that have evolved enough to date to meet our client's standards for legal research and drafting. But there is little doubt with the investment dollars going into legal tech that the tools will get there.

Have you encountered a situation where AI led you astray or gave you problematic advice? What happened and what did you learn?

I have used it for personal research and found it wrong, including looking up my own background!

How are you thinking about confidentiality and data security when using AI tools? What guardrails have you put in place?

Confidentiality is key for any use that involves client information. Be mindful of having these tools run on your own servers where you can create your own guardrails on information.

What kind of legal work do you think AI will never be able to do well, and why?

Partners at law firms are more than just legal advisers; they are trusted advisers to the business. Coupling both of those skills is going to be very difficult despite the increases in computing power.

How has AI affected your professional relationships in terms of what services or work you provide, how you communicate or what others expect from you?

AI is predictably going to increase the data we need to review. We saw this with the introduction of computerized legal research - briefs and case citations became longer. We saw this with the pivot from faxes and overnight mail to email - all of us send and receive exponentially more messages than before we had email. AI is going to do just that - give lawyers more information to review.

If someone just entering the legal profession asked you how to think about AI in their career development, what would you tell them?

Embrace it. It is not going away. But be mindful that no computer, no software and no combination of the two can replace human interaction.