Generative AI tech adoption in legal markets is being driven by corporate counsel with expectations of AI use for drafting documents and research
NEW YORK – LexisNexis Legal & Professional®, a leading global provider of information and analytics, today released the results of its International Legal Generative AI Survey. The survey asked 7,950 lawyers, law students, and consumers across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and France about their overall awareness, its anticipated impact on the practice of law, use of generative AI, and expectations of adoption.
Across countries, there is an expectation that AI will substantially impact the practice of law. Among the key findings, 47% of respondents believe generative AI will have a significant or transformative impact on the practice of law. Another 45% of respondents believe generative AI will have some impact, while only about 7% believe generative AI will have no impact.
According to the survey, there is an overall expectation among corporate counsel that law firms will adopt AI technology, with 60% agreeing that they expect law firms to use cutting-edge technology like generative AI tools and with only 10% who disagree. Law firms agree, with 52% affirming that their corporate counsel clients will expect them to use generative AI tools, while only 17% disagree.
Among countries surveyed, 67% of U.S. corporate counsel, followed by 61% of French counsel, 59% of U.K. counsel, and 53% of Canadian counsel, expect their law firms to adopt generative AI tools.
Additionally, there is an expectation of transparency when generative AI tools are used, with 78% of corporate counsel agreeing that law firms will make them aware when using generative AI tools.
Potential Use of Generative AI
Lawyers see the highest potential for generative AI tools to assist them in researching matters (65%). Drafting documents (56%), document analysis (44%), and email writing (35%) are also important potential use cases.
“Our survey confirms what we hear from customers all over the world every day, that they are excited about the potential of generative AI to help improve their productivity, efficiency, and overall business and practice of law,” said Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional. “Customer-driven innovation is core to the approach we take with product development, and LexisNexis is excited that our Lexis+ AI platform safely and securely provides critical generative AI tools to help legal professionals excel in their jobs.”
Awareness of Generative AI
Overall, the survey results show high awareness of generative AI, with 89% of legal professionals having heard of generative AI tools. For consumers, awareness is much lower (61%).
Ethics Regarding Generative AI
Most lawyers have at least some concerns about the ethical implications of generative AI on the practice of law (88%), with a third citing significant or fundamental concerns regarding ethical implications. This finding points to a need for legal professionals to work with trusted and ethical companies as they begin to use generative AI solutions in their work.
Consumer Use of Generative AI for Legal Work
Consumers largely use generative AI for researching legal topics (60%). Many would consider using AI for legal assistance to create a will (40%), set up a business (37%), and develop a rental agreement (39%).
Methodology
The survey was conducted across 7,950 people, including 3,752 lawyers, 1,239 law students, and 2,959 consumers in the US, UK, France, and Canada between March and July 2023. Surveys were conducted in English and French, and respondents were prompted for feedback via Pollfish/Forsta.
Lexis+ AI
Earlier this year, LexisNexis announced Lexis+ AI, a generative AI platform designed to transform legal work. Lexis+ AI is built and trained on the largest global repository of accurate and exclusive legal content, leveraging an extensive collection of documents and records to provide customers with trusted, comprehensive legal results with unmatched speed and precision and backed by verifiable, citable authority.
Commercially available this summer, Lexis+ AI features conversational search, insightful summarization, and intelligent legal drafting capabilities, all supported by state-of-the-art encryption and privacy technology to keep sensitive data secure. Conversational search simplifies the complex and time-consuming legal research journey, providing a search experience for diverse legal questions with citations, facilitating lawyers’ ability to complete research effectively and efficiently. Enhanced summarization provides a custom summary of legal documents to speed up and guide insightful analysis. Generative document drafting guides customers throughout the legal drafting process, generating a first draft of a legal document, and allowing users to change the language and tone from a simple prompt.
At the same time, LexisNexis has announced its AI Insider program, which is open to all legal professionals. The program is designed to support the legal industry with generative AI education and LexisNexis breaking news on the latest AI developments. Insiders can sign up to be among the first to experience Lexis+ AI. To sign up for the Lexis+®AI Insider program, visit www.lexisnexis.com/ai-insider.
LexisNexis is responsibly developing legal AI solutions with human oversight. LexisNexis, part of RELX, follows the RELX Responsible AI Principles, considering the real-world impact of its solutions on people and taking action to prevent the creation or reinforcement of unfair bias. The company’s commitment to data security and privacy in the legal industry spans more than 50 years. LexisNexis employs over 2,000 technologists, data scientists, and subject matter experts to develop, test, and validate its solutions and deliver comprehensive, accurate information.
For more information on Lexis+ AI, visit www.lexisnexis.com/ai.
To download a copy of the LexisNexis International Legal Generative AI Survey report, visit www.lexisnexis.com/international-gai-survey.
About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,300 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
Media Contact
Dana Greenstein
Director of Communications, North America & UK
LexisNexis Legal & Professional
212-448-2163
dana.greenstein@lexisnexis.com