Why Law Firms Need to Embrace Artificial Intelligence to Transform the Indian Legal Industry

Summary

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in myriad fields has the ability to transform the economy, politics and society. Therefore, the authors of this chapter would like to talk about the urgent need for the Indian legal industry to embrace AI. India has a rich tradition of lawyering, and AI can take this service to the next step of development.This chapter explains the technology involved with the use of AI in law at present and what improvements can be made in regards to the existing framework. The potential of AI is limitless. The benefits of law firm's embracing AI could include reduction in working hours and increased productivity amongst professionals, which will yield better results for clients. And indirectly, the law firm can increase work load and deal with various clients without compromising employees, which could further help establish the work‐life balance that most associates in large corporate firms complain about. Even if AI methods were to be employed, sound lawyers need to exist to interpret the same. Artificial intelligence can never replace the moral factor in law because unlike other fields there is a grey area, i.e., nobody is completely faultless nor completely defenseless in the eyes of the law. Law evolves with time and this morality debate of AI making decisions for humans has existed for a long time; thus, the authors of this chapter would like to express their views on the same. However, they believe that the next big player in the legal industry in the digital age would be one who is able to make effective use of AI technology. The chapter also discusses the safety issues currently faced in relation to data protection. With the tech revolution, how do lawyers in India tackle challenges and meet the requirements of effective protection of the data of their clients? Several issues and challenges faced by the Indian legal industry when it comes to embracing AI will be discussed exhaustively by way of this chapter.