Technology is bringing about a significant transformation for the legal profession in Pakistan as well as in many other nations. Among those innovations Artificial Intelligence AI could be regarded as one which radically transform the system of legal education, as well as organize and perform legal practice. Yet, AI is very relevant in the available segments of legal education such as research, caseload, and analytical prognosis. In the contemporary legal environment characterised by legal formalism and the use of data, the inclusion of AI into lawyer training in Pakistan is not only advantageous but necessary for the model legal professional.
In the case of legal training, Artificial Intelligence is defined as the capacity of a computer system to accomplish a task which ordinarily requires human intelligence. Such operations include, data mining, modeling, data understanding, natural language processing and producing decision making. In the legal industry, artificial intelligence is used to identify patterns, automate work, do legal researches, write documents and even to estimate the potential outcome of the existing or future cases. This technology helps the lawyers work more effectively, minimize on mistakes that maybe made and even assists in coming up with a solution that is most appropriate.
The legal education in Pakistan has been mostly imparted through more traditional technique of teaching that include lectures, case laws and internships. Concern has been more on the accumulation of theory with minimal application on skills and technology assistances. These methods have, however, been able to produce adequate competent lawyers but not fit for the current practice most of which involves use of technology and data analytics. The application of AI in legal education can close this gap by availing knowledge readiness that will enable law students and practicing lawyers to practice in the digital environments.
Perhaps the most prominent ways that have been observed are in relation to improved legal research. The legal research information can be broadly categorized as legal data and these are case laws, statutes and legal literature among others and such a data can easily be searched by an AI- powered legal research system in a few seconds. Some of these are ROSS Intelligence and LexisNexis which relies on natural language processing that helps it to take and process queries like a human lawyer and deliver results instantly. In Pakistan it is believed that by implementing and using such tools, there is an enormous potential to enhance the legal research skills teaching and training of law students and young lawyers. Thus, employing AI for the research contributes to the student’s capability to find solutions for intricate legal issues, as in the present day legal environment, it is essential.
AI’s capability of predicting a case outcome by evaluating former data trends is another big domain of possible uses in legal coaching. Probabilistic judgments: By going through past judgments, the existence of similar features can be deduced and therefore AI systems can come up with probable outcomes in the present cases. This capability assists lawyers to bring forward improved staking out as well as anticipating for potentials. The improvement of analytical and strategic thinking skills of law students of Pakistan through predictive analytics means that students get effectively trained to work in the real field of litigation. Besides, it plays a crucial role in choosing the legal strategy but also in providing a client’s advice based on analysis, more confidently.
Drafting legal documents is very important in the practice of law and but it also consumes a lot of time and is usually accompanied by mistakes. In terms of assisting the general public interact with the legal system there is the ability to draft simple forms, letters and to fill in forms in legal matters this include contracts wills briefs and the likes. At the same time, they are very helpful because they are also efficient and help avoid mistakes that may violate legal regulations. Adoption of the use of AI in document generation in the legal studies in Pakistan can assist the students and young lawyers with positive experience in developing legal documents alongside allowing the trainers to cover more legal practice areas.
E-discovery refers to the processes of identifying, collecting and producing messaging and other electronic data in support of legal cases and it is a developing subject in legal profession. That is why AI can sharply accelerate e-discovery by means of rating vast electronic data and defining pertinent documents with higher speeds and accuracy in comparison with people. Introducing the e-discovery tools with artificial intelligence interface for training the Pakistani law students can acquaint them with the modern litigation processes that are being used in today’s world wherein, the digital evidence holds significant importance.
Even though learning system with help of AI may apply limited personalization for law students. Each of them utilizes analytics in an effort to determine learners’ performance characteristics and supply content and feedback in line with the analytics. Here, the personal touch that is usually applied can help the students grasp legal concepts that they at first may not understand clearly and this they get to do, at their own pace. Incorporation of AI in the learning processes of the law schools in Pakistan can bring a new facet of teaching and learning in Pakistan’s Higher Education Institutions.
There might be numerous unexciting, monotonous, and dreary work that lawyers might have to invest their precious time and energy on which could be re-allocated and transferred to AI Tools & Technology for accomplishing. This not only serves the practicing lawyers well but also stresses on the fact that students are able to spend more time in honing up on their analytical rather than spending unnecessary time on typing. With the help of AI, some of the typical work like legal research, document preparation and data analysis has lesser chances of human errors which will definitely be time bound and repetitive. This reliability is actually important since in legal practice precision is very important. Most importantly legal practices when trained to use AI tools experience reduced mistakes and enhanced quality of their work.
In terms of potential, AI helps to get informed of the tendencies and activities within the legal sphere as well as changes in legislation in due time. This is particularly important because oftentimes there is a need for a lawyer to acquire up-to-date knowledge of legislation in a relatively short period of time due to the constant changes to legislation. Integrating AI into legal training in Pakistan makes sure that, not only are the legal trainee’s informed, but they are informed in a way that if updated information is received they are capable to modify from the old information to the new.
AI cuts down the amount of manpower required for undertaking researches and going through documents for example; this relieves the cost of service provision in legal industries. For law firms and legal departments this translates to cost savings whereby they can offer lower prices to their clients. It becomes easier for the employers to attract qualified lawyers who have embraced the incorporation of artificial intelligence in their skills making them more valuable to the employers.
Despite the benefits, integrating AI into legal training in Pakistan faces several challenges. Several conventional law schools in the Pakistan are not ready for technology assisted training with adoption of artificial intelligence. Staff training should be an important factor for ensuring that students have a chance to get acquainted with different AI tools and platforms. Some resistance may be found from legal educators and legal practitioners in particular who are used to the conventional way of teaching. To overcome this resistance some awareness and training programs that explain more about and benefits of AI in teaching law.
The cost of implementation of AI tools and their availability are relatively high and many law schools and firms cannot afford it. Lack of funds and sponsorship as well as minimum investment in IT infrastructure in law schools and universities in Pakistan make the access to AI tools possible through collaboration with technology vendor companies and support from the government.
There are legal and ethical issues on use of AI in practice for example there is an issue on data privacy and on Algorithm bias and on accountability. Mitigating these issues involve the use of strong laws and code of conduct to regulate the implementation of intelligent use of AI in the practice of law.
The use of AI in training of lawyers is one of the developments that has the potential to boost the abilities of legal experts in Pakistan. When applying AI legal schools and practitioners can enhance the quality of education provided that legal education would correspond to the current need of the practicing law.
Still, to achieve the level when AI tools are effective in training lawyers, several issues must be solved, namely infrastructure, access, and ethics. Appropriate steps and investment in the AI techniques may act as a great contribution to enhance the legal training environment in Pakistan and to prepare lawyers to address the issues of the new generation world.
The author is a principal at Quaid-e-Azam Law College Kasur and can be reached at e-mail: [email protected].
