AI + Legal Advice: How to Make the Most of Both Worlds
Update by James Hsu, Head of Employer Services, Lawyer
AI tools like ChatGPT are everywhere, and we see them implemented in several parts of our clients’ respective organizations, from HR to marketing to customer service. But what about legal work? Can AI help you get better results from your lawyer (us)? Have we been replaced?
The Warnings
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman recently made waves online (at least in some legal circles) for a comment he made during a podcast reminding listeners that asking legal questions to ChatGPT was not the same as talking to a lawyer, that there was no privilege attached and that OpenAI could be legally required to produce those conversations.
Without diving into the rabbit hole of the law of privilege, confidentiality, and disclosure obligations of companies, the take-away is clear: AI has not replaced lawyers (yet), and replacing your lawyer with AI comes at significant risk.
Proceeding with caution extends to lawyers leveraging AI in their own practice as well. For example, the BC Courthouse Library recently reminded lawyers in a BarTalk article aimed at lawyers using AI: “In plain terms, if you ask generative AI for case law, there’s a strong chance you will receive pure fiction presented with unwarranted confidence.”
A Responsible Path Forward
With these warnings in mind, at PortaLaw we believe AI can still be leveraged responsibly as a tool when accessing legal services. As set out in our firm’s Blueprint, innovation is one of our four core values. This means we embrace new technology – especially when it benefits our clients.
To that end, below is a list of Do’s for using AI when working with us (because who wants to hear any more “don’ts” from your lawyer):
DO be honest and transparent around your use. Honesty is the best policy for using AI. If you’re using AI to explore legal issues, draft documents, or summarize facts, tell us. Knowing when and how you've used AI helps us assess potential risks (like privacy breaches or outdated or incorrect legal information) and understand your comfort level with these tools.
It also gives us insight into how you see the issues at hand e.g., what came from you vs. AI, how hands-on you want to be, your skill and desire in using AI, and where you’d like support, allowing us to align our advice to your needs.
DO acknowledge both the limitations and the benefits of AI. Being on the same page about the limitations of AI (i.e., (at least for now) AI should not and does not replace the advice of your lawyer), means we can instead spend our energy working together on how to leverage AI within our legal services to you.
DO consider confidentiality. AI tools (especially free or public ones) aren’t always secure. If you're entering sensitive information such as names, contract details, or pending legal issues, there’s a risk that data may be kept or used to train the model.
DO use AI to help with organization and presentation. With confidentiality in mind, leveraging AI tools can be an effective tool for summarizing and organizing information for us to review and consider. Having a clearer picture of a chronology or important background information is a helpful jumping off point for us that may save time and/or help us identify key issues we need to focus on.
DO feel free to use AI to draft (certain documents) as a starting point for our review. While we pride ourselves on our drafting abilities, our clients know that we also pride ourselves on providing flexible and affordable legal services. This means, sometimes, we edit our clients’ legal documents rather than draft from scratch or use our own templates.
For certain documents such as employee letters and policies, AI drafted documents created with thoughtful prompts and a focus on confidentiality can provide a decent first draft. If you’ve used AI to generate a document and want us to review or improve it rather than starting from scratch, let us know. If we feel we can work with your draft in a more cost-effective way, we are happy to do so.
Summary
At PortaLaw, we strive to be tech-forward and client-focused. Used wisely, AI tools help our clients (small and mid-sized businesses, non-profit societies, and individual employees) get more out of their legal budget, stay ahead of issues, and move faster.
But like any tool, AI is most effective when paired with care, good judgment, and the guidance of experienced legal counsel. We’re here to help you smartly use both.
Curious about how to responsibly use AI to prepare legal documents, policies, or workplace communications? Reach out to James Hsu, our Head of Employer Services, to talk about where AI fits into your employment law strategy, and where legal advice still matters most.
