TL;DR
Generative AI can dramatically improve legal workflows, from eDiscovery and deposition preparation to research and drafting, but it must be treated like a junior associate—not an unquestioned authority. Clear instructions, human verification, secure enterprise-grade tools, and responsible AI policies help legal teams capture AI’s efficiency while protecting confidentiality, accuracy, and professional obligations.
If 2025 showed us anything, it is that generative AI is fast and capable. With the right prompt, it can draft emails, summarize depositions, and analyze data in a fraction of the time it used to take. There are now plenty of tools on the market promising big efficiency gains for legal teams. Notable enterprise-grade options include Harvey, Relativity, and Everlaw, which provide robust functionalities tailored for legal professionals.
But as much as AI can do, it is not magic. It is a tool, and like any tool, it works best when you know how to use it and where it can trip you up.
The risks for lawyers are real. This year, we saw sanctions tied to AI ‘hallucinations’, which occur when the AI generates information that appears real but is not. That has meant fake case citations, inaccurate summaries, and misquotes. The biggest problem is when these slip into court filings without anyone double-checking.
The numbers make it clear. According to the AI Hallucination Cases database, in 2025, there were over 600 cases in which hundreds of lawyers faced sanctions totaling over $700,000, with at least 69 of those cases led to professional discipline. The most common mistake was inventing case law, followed by misrepresenting real cases and making up quotes. The root issue is relying on AI output without first checking it.
Generative AI as Your New Associate
The real challenge with AI is not technical. It is about mindset. You do not need to be a data scientist to use generative AI well. What matters is knowing what it is good at (speed, efficiency, first drafts) and where it falls short. This is not a barrier; It is part of the job now.
Think of generative AI as a new associate on your team, not a mysterious black box. That mindset makes it easier to see your ethical responsibilities and how to work with the technology.
- Give clear instructions: Just like when you brief a junior lawyer, you need to tell the AI exactly what you want. If your input is unclear, the output will be vague as well. That is where mistakes start.
- Check the work: When an associate gives you a memo or research, you review it before it leaves your desk. Do the same with AI. Every output is a first draft that needs your review.
This is not a new burden. It is just applying our existing ethical standards to new technology.
- Rule 1.1 (Competence): Requires lawyers to maintain competence, which now includes understanding the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.
- Rule 1.6(c) (Confidentiality): This is where understanding the technology becomes a critical risk management issue. Leveraging consumer-grade tools that may use input data for training purposes poses a material risk of piercing the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. This mandates a clear understanding of the difference between those tools and enterprise-grade solutions that offer contractual guarantees of data isolation. To manage these risks effectively, it is recommended that the firm adopt policies requiring the exclusive use of enterprise-grade AI tools. Additionally, establishing a straightforward approval process for AI tool usage will help partners proactively manage compliance and minimize potential risks.
- Rule 3.3 (Candor Toward the Tribunal): Mandates that an attorney’s submission to the court is truthful. By verifying AI output, you prevent accidental misrepresentation and uphold the integrity of the judicial process.
- Rule 5.3 (Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistance) This rule requires a lawyer with direct supervisory authority to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the nonlawyer’s conduct (including work product) is “compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer”. The Comment explicitly notes that a lawyer “should be responsible for their work product.” This rule parallels the “trust-but-verify” supervision model required for AI work product.
When you understand how and why the technology works, you move from just accepting what it gives you to using it as a real advantage. This is not about slowing you down. It is about speeding up work like eDiscovery, contract review, legal research, drafting, transcript analysis, and client pitches. The goal is to use these efficiencies so you can focus on the strategic advice and counsel that matter most. To support responsible AI adoption across teams, consider investing in training and upskilling opportunities for lawyers and staff. These programs can empower your team to navigate AI’s capabilities and limitations confidently.
None of this is a reason to avoid the technology. Used well, AI is a valuable tool fit to assist in myriad endeavors. The key is to use this new associate wisely so it lifts your practice rather than introduces new risks.
The Strategic Efficacy of Generative AI
While it is clear we need to use AI responsibly, the upside is just as clear. Generative AI is not just a small step forward. It is the tool that helps legal teams keep up with the growing volume of electronic information in today’s cases. It lets you move past the old limits of keyword searches and slow, often manual, review.
In eDiscovery, using AI well means you see real, immediate value:
- Culling Large Document Sets: Use Gen AI’s ability to understand language to sort through massive datasets with simple, natural language searches. No need for complicated Boolean strings.
- Building Timelines: Quickly create detailed timelines and case narratives to get to the facts faster.
- Checking Accuracy: Use Gen AI tools that give you direct citations and sources, so you can check their work and keep your process defensible.
- Privilege Logs: Get to the substance of privileged documents quickly, so your team can build accurate, defensible logs faster than before.
- Deposition Prep: Walk into depositions ready, with instant summaries of documents, testimony, and key facts for each witness or topic.
Legal technology is moving fast, and the gains in efficiency and quality will only grow in 2026 and beyond. The opportunity is to use these tools wisely and responsibly.
We are here to provide comprehensive support and guidance to help you integrate Gen AI into your workflows, from early case assessment through review and production. Our services include consulting to tailor AI tools to your needs, training sessions to ensure your team is comfortable and proficient with the technology, and policy reviews to align AI usage with legal and ethical standards. Our goal is to help you achieve the best results with this new technology.
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