Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the legal profession, with the disruptive technology’s tools becoming indispensable to various aspects of legal work, according to a recent white paper.

AI adoption in the legal sector is on the rise, with no signs of slowing down: 61% of lawyers have already used AI or are planning to do so; and over a quarter (26%) of lawyers report regularly using AI as of January 2024, up 11% from just six months earlier, finds the AI and Law: Unlocking Global Success white paper, published by language AI company DeepL. As well, almost 50% of in-house counsel expect the law firms they instruct to be using AI within the next 12 months.

Globalization, the white paper notes, is driving the legal sector towards automation and optimization. The legal industry has become increasingly international over the past few decades, increasing competition and complexity for legal professionals, who now face the challenge of navigating a landscape of international regulations, multiple languages and diverse cultures.

Additionally, AI technology offers a valuable solution by assisting with tasks like translation, document review and research.

Language AI tools, the paper points out, are among the top AI solutions delivering proven results for the legal industry. Legal professionals, it stresses, face complex communication challenges, including navigating diverse global industries, overcoming language barriers, and writing and editing complex documents with precision and clarity.

This is driving adoption of language AI tools like DeepL, with the top use cases of its translation and writing tools being the translation of documents (54%), checking the accuracy of content (53%) and improving communications through better writing (54%). And the benefits are significant: 87% of global legal users report that the tools help them work faster.

“In today’s fast-paced and increasingly global legal market, AI tools are becoming indispensable, transforming various aspects of legal work, including document generation, review and translation,” says Frankie Williams, DeepL’s chief legal officer. “This frees up time for more impactful work. For example, AI-powered translation and writing solutions have a proven track record of reducing costs and enhancing collaboration across teams and clients.”