A paralegal’s daily responsibilities can be, let’s face it, overwhelming. Caseloads are ever-increasing, and most tasks (research, document prep, and client communications) are time-intensive.
There are a lot of ways AI can reduce the workload of paralegals. But you have sensitive client data to protect and professional quality to maintain. So, how can you realistically incorporate AI tools into your daily tasks?
We’ve got six suggestions for implementing paralegal AI that are easy to try, along with three safeguards you should implement in your firm to use AI responsibly.
Disclaimer: The examples and tools in this article are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always review your local laws, professional guidelines, and firm policies before implementing AI tools in your legal practice.
Will AI take over paralegals’ work?
Many industries — including the legal industry — wonder if artificial intelligence might replace jobs in the future. But what we’ve seen so far is people in the legal profession getting burned when they use AI without any human oversight.
A family law paralegal on Reddit commented, “I am seeing stories about counsel/firms getting sanctioned by Judges now because they did not even bother to fact-check what the AI created — which turned out to be completely fictional cases the AI invented all on its own.”
Submitting incorrect or hallucinated AI information can have serious legal consequences. In New York, for example, a judge fined two lawyers $5,000 for submitting a court filing with fake citations generated by ChatGPT.
Legal work requires a thorough understanding of the law and its nuances. Effective legal representation also relies on discretion, clear communication, and ethical judgment — something AI can’t replicate.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t use AI in your business at all.
6 ways legal professionals can use paralegal AI tools
While AI can’t replace human legal knowledge, it can be a useful tool to help speed up administrative tasks. For example, it can organize, summarize, and give context when you’re working through a lot of information on a case. Here’s how:
1. Speed up research and drafting with a legal AI assistant
When you’re fielding client emails, chasing signatures, and prepping for court, finding time to focus on research or draft legal documents isn’t easy. These tasks require deep concentration. But if you’re constantly being pulled in different directions, they end up taking longer than they should.
Harvey AI is a research assistant specifically designed for law firms. It claims to offer enterprise-grade security and custom large language models built for legal professionals.
With Harvey, you can speed up research using sources like US case law, EDGAR, and files you upload. You can also ask for comparisons or summaries of documents to spot key information quickly.
While Harvey speeds up many parts of the legal research and review processes, you should always review the output for accuracy. Harvey is not intended to substitute legal judgment or advice.
2. Track every conversation detail for smoother follow-ups
Clients expect their lawyers to know every detail of their cases, including discussions during phone conversations. So you or your team may find yourselves digging through notes, voicemails, and emails, trying to piece together the entire context of a conversation (especially difficult when cases stretch over weeks or months).
AI recording tools can automatically capture phone calls and voicemails. In Quo, a business phone system for law offices, AI will also generate call transcripts and summaries. You can search and review every call with clients, so you have the information you need to follow up.
For example, Kompa Law, a Canadian employment and human rights law firm, uses VoIP AI with Quo to streamline client communications. Founder Samantha Kompa says, “If I’m wrapping up a client’s case and send them my reporting letter, I can go back and basically see a transcription based on the texts, calls, and voicemail.”
Texts, voicemails, and calls are stored with each contact, making it easy to follow up with clients since you have the entire context in a single thread.
3. Flag contract issues faster
Contracts are tedious and time-consuming and require an intense level of scrutiny. When you’re reviewing contracts multiple times for changes or under a tight deadline, it’s easy to overlook something.
AI contract analysis and review tools can speed up document prep before it goes to an attorney for a final review. The AI prep can help you give the attorney a more organized list of items that need extra attention.
For example, Wilson AI and Ironclad can scan contracts for missing clauses or unusual terms. With pre-set rules and risk categories, these tools can highlight any language that is a red flag and propose an amendment.
4. Never leave a caller hanging, even when you’re busy
It can be tricky to juggle answering calls on top of everything else you’re responsible for. If calls go to voicemail, it might lead to missed opportunities to speak with new clients or delays in communicating information about a case.
AI voice agents can answer the phone when you’re not available — during or after business hours — based on your preferences. Quo’s Sona can provide basic information through a phone conversation, such as:
- Answering FAQs, like the types of law your office practices
- Capturing leads, like a potential new client asking for an initial consultation
- Taking messages, like when a client requests an update about their case
It’s smarter than voicemail and more cost-effective than traditional attorney answering services. For example, one Quo customer implemented Sona with the following greeting:
“Hello, I’m Sona with [law firm name]. If you’re going through a divorce or family law issue, I can help. Would you like to speak with an attorney or leave a message?”
With this configuration, Quo works perfectly as a virtual lawyer office receptionist. If the caller asks to schedule a consultation, Sona asks follow-up questions, like whether the person already has an active case and which state they live in.
Every call handled by Sona includes a recording, transcript, and summary so you can review the conversations later. Quo works well as a virtual phone system for law firms because it keeps all communications within a contact’s conversation thread so you have a complete record of interactions.
5. Summarize depositions more quickly using AI
Summarizing hundreds of pages of depositions is slow, tedious work — but necessary for trial preparation.
AI-powered solutions like Parrot and SmartDepo are purpose-built for document review. When you upload a deposition transcript, you can generate page-line summaries with citations or create narrative summaries that are easy to scan. They can also identify key topics, names, timelines, or contradictions in the testimony.
6. Organize calls by case type or urgency with AI call tagging
When handling multiple cases, it’s important to have a system for organizing calls — especially those that need client callbacks. Otherwise, you might lose track of what each call was about or waste time figuring out which calls need your attention first.
Quo’s AI call tagging automatically categorizes your calls. You can prioritize calls based on their urgency or sort/filter calls based on the case type or issue. Instead of manually organizing your calls or digging through notes, you can quickly identify which calls belong with different cases or attorneys or need another type of follow-up.
In Quo, you can configure call tags based on criteria like context (e.g., a new client inquiry), customer sentiment (e.g., a frustrated client), or keywords (e.g., personal injury). Using AI to analyze phone calls, Quo automatically applies the relevant tags.
Then you can filter calls by their tag and take action, whether it’s returning the call to a prospective client or escalating the call to a member of the legal team for a case update.
3 safeguards for using AI responsibly in your legal practice
AI’s use in the workplace will continue to expand, and not using AI can lead to lagging behind the competition. It’s better to be prepared and learn to use AI responsibly within a law office. Here are three measures you can adopt:
1. Adopt a comprehensive AI usage policy
Without clear guidelines for AI use within an organization, employees may try tools on their own. This can lead to inappropriate handling of sensitive client or case data.
Your AI usage policy should cover — at a minimum — AI tools approved for use, specific use cases allowed (and those not allowed), and the handling of confidential information.
2. Implement rigorous verification processes
Make sure you implement policies that require any AI-generated content, like deposition summaries, research, and client communications, to be reviewed and approved by a licensed attorney. You may also want to prohibit the filing of any documents or the generation of legal advice without attorney review to avoid potential fines and the submission of AI hallucinations (as we saw in the case with the New York attorneys).
Emphasize that AI cannot replace legal judgment or decision-making and outline disciplinary actions for policy violations.
3. Ensure AI technology meets legal requirements and ABA guidance
In July 2024, the American Bar Association issued ethics guidance around the use of artificial intelligence. The opinion pointed out that lawyers have a duty to provide competent legal representation and protect client information.
Law firms should ask a legal tech vendor how it stores/retains sensitive data to ensure data privacy and that client information is handled appropriately.
Improve law firm client communications with Quo AI
AI can’t replicate the best qualities of legal professionals: nuanced knowledge of the law, critical thinking, and effective, empathetic representation of their clients. But AI can lighten the load, helping paralegals spend less time on routine tasks and more time on higher-value work.
For example, Quo’s AI-powered call transcripts, call summaries, and call tagging make it easier to track client communications and organize case data. Additionally, Quo’s AI voice agent, Sona, can help law firms serve their clients better by ensuring no missed calls.
“I’m pleasantly surprised with Quo and the role it’s taken as an assistant for my practice,” says Samantha Kompa, founder of Kompa Law. “Quo is the most important tool in my tech stack to run my digital law firm.”
You can check out Quo’s AI features with a free seven-day trial.
