AI and the Law: What Every Solicitor Should Understand in 2026
The legal profession has historically been slow to adopt new technology. AI is changing that. Not because lawyers want it to, but because clients are demanding it — and competing firms are doing it.
Here's what's actually happening.
What AI is doing in legal right now
Contract review and drafting
Tools like Harvey.ai, Luminance, and Thomson Reuters CoCounsel can review contracts in minutes, flagging unusual clauses, missing provisions, and deviations from standard terms.
For first-pass due diligence in M&A transactions, AI can review hundreds of contracts overnight — work that would previously take a team of associates weeks.
The catch: AI tools can miss nuance. A clause that's unusual but strategically appropriate in context might be flagged incorrectly. Human review of AI output is essential.
Legal research
AI tools trained on case law can surface relevant precedents significantly faster than traditional database search. What took two hours in Westlaw or LexisNexis can now take ten minutes.
The risk: AI systems sometimes generate plausible-sounding citations that don't exist — a phenomenon called "hallucination." Always verify citations directly before including them in documents.
Contract lifecycle management
For in-house teams, AI tools are being used to track contract obligations, flag renewal dates, and monitor compliance — reducing risk across large contract portfolios.
The ethics and professional responsibility angle
Most law societies have issued guidance on AI use. The core principles are consistent:
- Accuracy: You're responsible for everything you submit, regardless of whether AI drafted it.
- Confidentiality: Understand where client data goes when you use AI tools. Most reputable legal AI tools have appropriate data processing agreements.
- Supervision: Junior lawyers using AI still require supervision and training. AI-assisted work is not independently supervised work.
What AI won't change
- Advocacy. The ability to construct and present an argument persuasively remains deeply human.
- Negotiation. Complex commercial negotiations involve relationship dynamics, psychology, and strategic judgement that AI can't replicate.
- Advising clients under pressure. When a client is in crisis, they need a trusted adviser — not a well-worded document.
- Professional judgement. Applying the law to unusual facts, exercising discretion, and advising in genuinely uncertain situations require human expertise.
How to approach this practically
- Try one tool. Most legal AI platforms offer free trials. Pick one task — contract review, legal research — and run a pilot.
- Verify everything. Treat AI output as a well-researched starting point, not a finished product.
- Talk to your PII insurer. Some are already offering guidance (and preferential pricing) for firms using approved AI tools with appropriate oversight.
The legal profession is not going to look the same in five years. The solicitors who adapt early will be better positioned. The ones who ignore it will be competing on price with firms using AI to undercut them.