Are Lawyers Welcoming Generative AI?

LexisNexis recently released results from a survey of 1,176 US lawyers, 1,239 law students, and 1,765 consumers. The research was conducted to better understand the overall awareness of generative AI, the current use of generative AI tools in daily work and the willingness to adopt them for various legal matters. The responses indicate that the top ways law firms and corporate counsel are using or would like to use generative AI tools in their daily work are increasing efficiency (61%), researching matters (59%), drafting documents (53%), streamlining work (46%) and performing document analysis (40%). But many lawyers have mixed feelings about what this technology means for the legal market. Only 14% said generative AI tools will have a positive impact on the practice of law. The same percentage believed it would have a negative impact; almost two-thirds (63%) said the impact would be mixed. In addition, 54% had some concerns or questions about the ethical implications of generative AI on the practice of law, while 28% had significant concerns. Generative AI isn’t just expected to impact the practice of law. A majority of lawyers (52%) and legal students (61%) predicted generative AI will change legal education as well.