AI’s growing role in legal practices
Ryan Prins, senior account executive at Philips Speech AI Solutions, explores how AI is redefining legal workflows to save valuable time without compromising on quality
GenAI is already changing our work and personal lives in many ways. Even the legal industry — traditionally slow in the latest tech adoption — is increasingly reviewing how they can and must incorporate AI into their processes to stay competitive.
GenAI is no longer an abstract trend: it’s already reshaping how legal professionals work, research, document and collaborate. Even industries that are traditionally slow to adopt new technology are now reassessing how AI can support everyday tasks and improve efficiency. This article highlights the ways AI is being used in the legal sector today, along with the opportunities that come with it. Many claim that the legal sector still works the same way it did 100 years ago — with pen and paper, piles of printed documents, and secretarial staff taking shorthand notes. With new AI capabilities, this way of working is rapidly changing.
It’s important to try out new AI tools to not be left behind. Luckily, trying out these technological innovations does not require complicated instructions or specialty know-how. Instead, operations are intuitive and simple and often, it suffices just to speak. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that many firms and employees are quickly embracing AI tools to help speed up their daily work chores and become more self-sufficient.
How AI is reshaping everyday legal work
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Search large amounts of data
AI tools can now analyse vast amounts of legal material — from case law and contracts to transcripts and client correspondence — within seconds. They not only retrieve information but also help organise, summarise, and refine it for faster preparation of legal documents. This intelligent assistance saves valuable time and ensures legal professionals always have clear, accurate information at hand.
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Cluster and analyse
Once information is extracted, AI can group related materials, summarise key points, and identify patterns across cases or topics. These tools provide quick, well-structured overviews and highlight relevant connections, enabling legal professionals to focus on deeper analysis and strategy rather than manual data sorting.
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Easy to use
Today’s AI systems are designed for natural, intuitive interaction – they can understand plain language and adapt to individual workflows. They integrate seamlessly into existing legal tools, helping teams draft, edit, and organise content more efficiently without needing specialised training or technical skills.
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Timeline of events
AI can automatically create timelines from emails, documents, and transcripts, giving lawyers a clear overview of how a case unfolded. Modern speech recognition now produces transcripts with the option for automatic punctuation, corrections, and speaker identification. These capabilities turn spoken content into precise, ready-to-use text for faster and more consistent document preparation.
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Search for quotations with sources
AI-powered research assistants can now verify citations and provide direct source links, reducing the risk of errors and improving the reliability of legal writing. This ensures every quotation or reference is backed by verifiable material, enhancing accuracy and credibility while speeding up the research process.
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Great time savings
AI now supports nearly every stage of legal work, from research and transcription to drafting and review. Automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks allows professionals to focus on strategic, high-value work. The result is faster turnaround, improved accuracy, and more time for client-focused service — a crucial advantage in today’s competitive legal environment.
AI is rapidly becoming part of everyday legal work, helping firms handle rising workloads, tighter deadlines, and increasing client expectations. Instead of replacing legal professionals, modern AI tools support them by taking over repetitive, time-consuming, or documentation-heavy tasks.
Today’s solutions can assist with drafting, organising information, and processing large amounts of data far more quickly than before. Many legal teams now rely on AI-powered speech-to-text, clean transcripts, structured outputs and smarter review workflows to improve efficiency without compromising quality. Adopting these tools still requires thoughtful change management. Accuracy checks, data protection and clear internal guidelines remain essential as firms explore responsible use. With the right balance of human judgment and technology, AI can meaningfully support legal professionals and enhance the way work gets done.
