Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the transformation taking place in the legal profession. Generative AI is rapidly transforming the legal landscape, adding new collaborators to lawyers' previously routine work of manual research and complex document review. LexisNexis, in particular, is a prime example of an early adopter of AI integration, and is recognized for its AI solutions based on billions of documents and data, reshaping the entire legal practice landscape.
LexisNexis has been integrating generative and agent-based AI into its platform for several years. The company's central platform, "Lexis+ AI," connects over 138 billion legal precedents and records with its AI assistant, "Protégé," which performs a variety of functions, including document summarization, complex question answering, drafting, and litigation analysis. According to a recent Forrester study, five large law firms that adopted this platform saw an average return on investment of 344% over three years, recovering their initial investment in less than half the time.
Even within law firms, productivity gains across generations have been evident. Entry-level lawyers have reduced previously unbillable non-billable work hours by up to 35%, while mid-level and above lawyers have been able to save over 2.5 hours per week on legal drafting. Dedicated legal research staff have also been able to free up an average of over 225 hours annually.
This shift goes beyond simply adopting IT; it represents a fundamental shift in how legal information is handled. Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North America and the UK, said, "When I first joined the company, half of our revenue came from print. Now, our entire information, analytics, decision-making tools, and workflows have transitioned to an AI-driven digital ecosystem."
This achievement is due to the company's extensive efforts to refine its content based on metadata. Protégé is not simply a chatbot; it categorizes users' questions and connects them to models suitable for drafting, summarizing, and more. Furthermore, all results are always accompanied by a reference to the original source, ensuring reliability even in environments where legal verification is essential.
AI is increasingly delivering results beyond expectations in the legal profession. AI acts as a tireless partner, even when lawyers generate questions to use during witness examinations. This allows lawyers to focus their time on strategic planning rather than simply formulating questions. CEO Fitzpatrick expressed his surprise, saying, "The impact of this inducing creative thinking was honestly beyond my expectations."
However, there are also significant limitations. "Hallucination," a key issue with generative AI, still requires caution in the legal field. Consequently, LexisNexis has focused on building models specifically tailored to the legal profession, rather than developing general-purpose chatbots. This approach has allowed clients to embrace a gradual transition, maintaining existing methods while automating only some processes.
However, it's also true that new technologies are disrupting the legal industry's inherent "apprenticeship model." Fitzpatrick stated, "We've now entered an era where AI can perform the roles of first- to third-year lawyers. The question of how to maintain the apprenticeship system in this environment remains a question that hasn't been fully answered."
Nevertheless, he emphasized that law firms that have boldly pursued AI adoption are reaping the greatest benefits. While some are still taking a wait-and-see approach, the majority recognize the need for AI and have already taken steps forward. The technology has already crossed the threshold into the legal profession, and the key now is how quickly it will become widely adopted.
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