How Law Firms Are Using AI: Quick Case Summaries and More

Artificial Intelligence (AI), at its core, is about creating intelligent systems that perform and/or speed up tasks that are manual and time-consuming. But, imagine being able to search through thousands of handwritten notes as easily as Googling something, or get the gist of a 100-page contract in a few minutes. How much more productive could law firms be?

How AI Functions in Law

Artificial intelligence is continually transforming the legal profession, enabling legal professionals to work more efficiently and effectively. AI-powered tools, such as generative AI and machine learning, are being used to automate routine tasks, analyze large amounts of legal data, and provide valuable insights to support strategic planning. The use of AI in law is becoming increasingly prevalent, with many law firms and legal professionals recognizing the benefits of AI-powered legal research, case law analysis, and document review.

AI Summarization Makes Case Review Easier

AI case summarization and analysis is one of the biggest ways firms are using AI today. AI tools can automatically check and improve citations in legal briefs. Traditionally, case reviews have been a tedious process, with legal teams having to manually go through a multitude of documents to extract relevant information. AI is changing this scenario completely with features like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Quick Summaries. Legal practice management software (LPMS) with these AI features is giving firms more efficient and effective ways to do case reviews.

However, there are risks associated with false information generated by AI tools, making it necessary to ensure accuracy to avoid serious implications in legal practice.

What is OCR?

AI-enabled OCR is a fancy phrase to describe a tool that can read text within an image.

For example, a legal practice management system with OCR can:

1. Convert a handwritten client statement into searchable, editable text instantly
2. Turn scanned contracts with handwritten notes into searchable documents
3. Digitize old case files and legal documents stored in paper format and make searchable
4. Extract text from message screenshots or social media posts submitted as evidence
5. Convert handwritten police reports or witness statements into typed documents
6. Digitize and make searchable handwritten notes from meetings or court proceedings

Imagine you’re working on a complex litigation case with thousands of documents spanning several decades. Some are typed reports, others are handwritten notes, and still others are photographs of relevant signage or documentation. Without OCR, reviewing all these documents would be a mammoth task, requiring countless hours of manual reading and note-taking.

With AI-enabled OCR, you can digitize the entire document collection, making every word searchable. Need to find every mention of a specific date across all documents? A simple search will do. Want to locate every handwritten note that mentions a particular client? OCR will do. Also, OCR allows for more in-depth analysis, reduces the risk of missing information and lets legal professionals focus on high-level strategy rather than getting bogged down in manual document review. OCR can assist in specific tasks like converting handwritten notes into searchable text, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of legal work.

What are ‘Quick Summaries’?

CARET Legal specifically has its own AI case summarization feature called “Quick Summary”. Quick Summary lets teams read and distill key points and information from long documents in a fraction of the time it would take a human to read and summarize manually. By condensing long documents into key points, Quick Summary significantly reduces research time.

Firms can use Quick Summary to:

1. Condense contracts into a one-page summary of key clauses and obligations
2. Extract core arguments and precedents from long court opinions
3. Summarize expert witness reports to key findings and opinions
4. Summarize regulatory documents or new legislation
5. Summarize opposing counsel’s briefs to quickly identify their main arguments
6. Create a summary of case files for client presentations

Imagine you’re preparing for a complex corporate litigation case. You have thousands of pages of contracts, emails, financial reports and witness statements to review. Without Quick Summary, you’d need to spend days, if not weeks, reading through all this material to get the gist of it.

Say goodbye to information overload with Quick Summary

With Quick Summary you can get a high-level overview of each document in minutes. This allows you to quickly identify the most relevant documents for closer review, understand the main points of contention and start formulating your strategy sooner.

But Quick Summary isn’t just about speed – it’s also about comprehensiveness and consistency. When you’re dealing with vast amounts of information, it’s easy for human reviewers to miss important details, especially when fatigue sets in. Quick Summary ensures every document gets the same level of analysis, regardless of when it’s processed.

Also, Quick Summary helps lawyers spot patterns and connections that might not be immediately obvious when reading documents individually. By summarizing multiple documents, it becomes easier to see how different pieces of evidence or arguments relate to each other.

Quick Summary doesn’t replace the need for thorough legal analysis. Instead it serves as a tool to guide that analysis. It helps lawyers focus their attention where it’s most needed, so their expertise is applied to understanding and strategizing rather than just reading and note-taking.

As with OCR, the technology behind Quick Summary is evolving. The latest versions can understand context, recognize legal jargon and even adapt to specific areas of law. So the summaries are getting more sophisticated and tailored to legal professionals’ needs.

OCR and Quick Summaries Together

While OCR and Quick Summary are powerful on their own, their true power is when used together. OCR makes documents searchable and accessible, Quick Summary makes them quickly digestible. Together they create a system for managing and analyzing legal information. This combination saves valuable time for legal professionals, allowing them to focus on more strategic and high-value activities.

Here are some example scenarios where the combination of these technologies shines:

1. Legacy Case File Review: Your firm takes on a case that’s been ongoing for years. You’re handed boxes of old case files – some typed, some handwritten. With OCR you can quickly digitize all these documents, make them searchable. Then Quick Summary can provide rapid overviews of each document so you can quickly identify the most relevant files for your current strategy.
2. Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: In a large M&A deal you need to review thousands of contracts from both companies. OCR can digitize all contracts, including those with handwritten notes or amendments. Quick Summary can then provide concise overviews of each contract, highlighting key clauses, obligations and potential conflicts. What would have taken weeks can now be done in days.
3. E-Discovery: During e-discovery you receive a massive data dump from the other side. OCR can make all documents – including PDFs, scanned images and even screenshots – searchable. Quick Summary can then provide overviews of each document so you can quickly identify which ones are relevant to your case and which might contain crucial evidence.
4. Regulatory Compliance: When new regulations are introduced companies need to review vast amounts of internal documentation to ensure compliance. OCR can digitize all relevant company documents, Quick Summary can then provide rapid overviews so legal teams can quickly identify areas that need attention.
5. Legal Research: Traditionally time-consuming manual searches through multiple databases, legal research is being transformed by OCR and Quick Summary. When researching a complex legal issue you need to review multiple case laws and academic articles. OCR can make older, scanned documents searchable, Quick Summary can provide concise overviews of each document so you can quickly identify the most relevant precedents and arguments for your case. They help you navigate through vast databases, return only the most relevant case laws, statutes and secondary sources. It can even be used to analyze legal documents and suggest additional relevant case laws that were not originally cited.

Other Ways Law Firms Are Using AI to Improve Their Practice

Beyond OCR and Quick Summary we’re seeing law firms using AI tools to predict case outcomes, identify arguments, draft routine documents and flag risks in contracts. These AI tools assist legal professionals with various tasks, enhancing efficiency and helping manage their duties more effectively. But these tools aren’t replacing lawyers; they’re amplifying human expertise by doing the routine tasks, so legal professionals can focus on the tasks that require judgment, creativity and emotional intelligence. However, there are challenges associated with the adoption of AI in legal contexts, such as retrieving appropriate legal precedents, ensuring the accuracy of AI-generated responses, and addressing the nuances and risks that accompany AI implementations.

Contract Analysis Made Easy

Using Artificial Intelligence for contract analysis and drafting is a symbiotic approach that saves time and optimizes processes.

AI excels at contract analysis by meticulously identifying risky clauses, contradictions and omissions so the review process is accelerated with a level of thoroughness and accuracy previously unattainable. This automation ensures issues are flagged early so the revision process can be more focused and efficient.

Inside CARET Legal, attorneys can automate the creation of standard contracts using pre-defined templates and client inputs, so the drafting process is streamlined. This minimizes manual input, reduces the risk of human error and saves a lot of time so legal professionals can focus on the strategic aspects of their work.

Predictive Power in Law

Predictive analytics is a fascinating application of AI in law. Legal practice management tools use AI to analyze historical data and ML algorithms to predict the outcome of legal proceedings. Federal judges have issued standing orders mandating the disclosure of AI usage in courtrooms, highlighting the significant federal interest in ensuring ethical compliance and professional responsibility in legal practice. AI can also help attorneys identify trends and patterns in legal proceedings so they can provide valuable insights for future cases and make more informed decisions when it comes to case strategy.

Data Privacy and Security in AI

Data privacy and security are significant considerations in the development and use of legal AI tools. Legal professionals have a responsibility to protect sensitive client data, and AI tools must be designed and implemented in a way that ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this data. This may include implementing robust security measures, such as encryption and access controls, as well as ensuring that AI tools are compliant with relevant data protection regulations. Additionally, legal professionals should be aware of the potential risks associated with using AI tools, including the risk of data breaches and cyber attacks, and take steps to mitigate these risks. By prioritizing data privacy and security, legal professionals can make sure that AI tools are used in a way that supports the delivery of high-quality legal services, while also protecting sensitive client data.

Modern Day Legal Assistants

Lawyers can use legal practice management software with AI features to be their own virtual assistants. Add automation capabilities — like CARET Legal’s automated workflows — and your LPMS can automate routine tasks and handle scheduling and email management. The synergy between AI assistants and platforms like CARET Legal is a more cost effective way of managing a law firm.

Try AI In Your Law Firm Today

The future belongs to those who can integrate AI into their practice, rethink workflows and develop skills AI can’t. As AI evolves it will make legal work not just more efficient but more thorough and accessible. The future of law is a combination of human expertise and AI capabilities working together to create a more just legal system for all.

Request a demo today to see how our AI tools can transform your legal practice.

So why wait to level up your practice with the most intelligent legal practice management platform today? Start your free trial of CARET Legal today.

We’re committed to making sure we’re using AI in the best way. That means regularly taking a close look at how we use, or plan to use, AI and the tools that support it. As an example, Quick Summary is powered by Microsoft’s Azure Open AI and built in a closed environment, meaning client data isn’t exposed outside of a firm’s instance of CARET Legal.