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Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing how legal professionals work day to day.
According to the American Bar Association's 2024 Legal Technology Survey Report, 30% of legal professionals have used generative AI tools in their work, up from 11% the previous year.
The survey also found that time savings and increased efficiency are still the top reasons lawyers are interested in using AI tools in the first place.
That lines up with what many legal teams are dealing with, like shorter timelines, more documents to review, and clients expecting updates yesterday. Generative AI for legal work is being used to cut through that clutter.
They’re helping lawyers write faster, research smarter, and stay on top of routine work without getting buried in it. Whether you’re drafting a contract or just trying to keep a client in the loop, AI can handle the repetitive parts and help you move forward faster.
This guide breaks down how generative AI fits into legal work today, what kinds of tools are out there, and where it can actually make your day easier.
Generative AI is a form of machine learning that creates new content, like legal clauses, summaries, or emails, based on patterns it learned from large amounts of text. It runs on large language models trained on everything from books to contracts, which makes it capable of handling all sorts of legal work.
This tech started out in general writing tools, but it didn’t take long for corporate legal departments to notice. They saw a way to speed up contract reviews, research, and document prep.
As generative AI tools improved, law firms followed suit, using them to draft faster and stay competitive. Now, we have AI for legal writing.
Companies like Aline built tools just for legal departments. These are trained on legal texts and built to follow model rules around accuracy, confidentiality, and oversight. Lawyers stay in control and review everything before it’s final.
Today, legal technology powered by generative AI is showing up across the field. It’s not replacing lawyers, though. It’s just allowing them to get more done, more quickly, without cutting corners.
Generative AI legal software refers to tools built with large language models that help legal teams get work done faster. But it’s not just one kind of software. It’s a growing set of tools, each built for different tasks across the legal field.
Some are focused on digital contracts, others on research, and some assist with client updates or internal communication. What they have in common is that they generate text or insights based on legal data. These tools give you a head start, so you're not starting from a blank page.
Here are a few common types of generative AI legal software:
One example is Aline, which combines drafting, approvals, redlining, and AI playbooks in one system to keep legal work fast, organized, and secure.
Generative AI fits into many parts of legal work. Lawyers, paralegals, and legal operations teams can use it to get through daily work faster. Here are the best uses:
In the legal industry, drafting eats up hours. You handle contracts, memos, and the odd legal brief, and every clause must be spot-on. Legal AI now takes the first pass.
A GenAI tool scans vast amounts of templates, statutes, and past case files, then hands you a solid draft ready for tweaks.
Picture a tireless junior who types fast but never misses a rule. You drop in key facts, pick a template, and a clean draft appears in seconds. With AI:
Teams in professional services feel the biggest boost. Routine NDAs, purchase agreements, or policy docs jump from idea to finished copy in a single review cycle.
Generative AI changes how legal research gets done. Ask a question, and the tool pulls the most relevant court opinions, summarizes the key arguments, and links to supporting legal information.
As a result, you can move through questions faster and cut out the back-and-forth between tabs or casebooks.
The real benefit is how it clears space for more important work. When routine tasks take less time, you have more room to focus on strategic work. The research stays accurate, but the process feels a lot less heavy.
Plus, you’re still reviewing the output and applying your judgment. The AI sorts the facts and narrows down what you need to see.
Legal document review takes time, especially when you're working through contracts or long memos. You’re looking for key terms, unusual language, or gaps that could create problems later. With help from GenAI, that process gets quicker and more straightforward.
These tools support everyday legal processes by picking out important parts and pulling together summaries you can actually use. Like the other use cases, you're still doing the final check, but you're not starting from scratch every time.
Here’s how generative AI helps with document review and summarization:
This kind of support is vital in busy workflows. You get through the volume faster and stay focused on decisions, not the time-consuming tasks that don't contribute much to your billable hours.
In firms where many attorneys handle multiple matters at once, maintaining order is half the battle. Legal workflow automation solves this by using tools powered by AI to move documents, assign tasks, and keep timelines on track.
At the core of this is smart document analysis and task coordination. The system reads the document, understands what it’s about, and can route it to the right person or queue.
If something’s missing, like a signature block or a required clause, it flags it. This allows large law firms to keep work moving without delay.
An AI assistant might scan incoming emails, connect them to the right matter, and even generate a quick summary or response. Research steps, filing deadlines, or review cycles can all be tracked automatically.
According to a 2024 Thomson Reuters report, AI-powered technologies could free up the average professional as much as four hours per week within the next year, equating to 200 hours annually. For a U.S. lawyer, this could translate to an estimated $100,000 in additional billable hours.
Clients expect more than just great legal service; they want clear, timely updates and easy access to information.
A 2025 Gitnux report shows that 78% of legal clients expect consistent communication throughout their case. Meanwhile, 65% consider an attorney's responsiveness as the most critical factor in their satisfaction.
Luckily, generative AI can assist legal professionals in meeting these expectations by simplifying communication tasks.
For instance, when updating a client on a recent filing, an AI tool can summarize the court document in plain language and draft an email that's easy to understand. This allows you to quickly review and send the update, which saves time while maintaining a personal touch.
Incorporating AI into client communication helps legal professionals provide more value by delivering timely and clear updates. It lets you focus on strategic aspects of your practice while making sure clients feel informed and supported throughout their legal journey.
Litigation moves fast, so much so that missing a detail can throw off your entire approach. That’s why many teams are using AI solutions to assist with prep, review, and analysis.
For the legal profession, that means better decisions, clearer timelines, and fewer last-minute surprises.
Generative AI fits naturally into modern legal practice, especially when cases involve lots of data or multiple filings. It supports daily tasks and lets you focus on strategy rather than menial research.
Here are a few ways Gen AI can support litigation teams:
Such a level of smart support brings real balance and frees up time for the work that shapes the outcome.
Generative AI strengthens internal collaboration by making firm knowledge easy to reach. For example, with conversational search, you can ask, “Show clauses for early-termination in SaaS deals,” and surface past work, notes, and supporting evidence in seconds.
These new capabilities also tighten decision-making. When everyone has the same facts in front of them, strategy sessions turn into action plans instead of scavenger hunts for information. The firm spends less time chasing drafts and more time winning new business.
Build this workflow now, and you will stay ahead of shifting client demands while laying the groundwork for the future. A shared, AI-powered knowledge base keeps insights flowing to the right people at the right moment.
If you’re dealing with contracts every day, Aline is built to make that easier from start to finish. It’s not just AI that writes text. It’s a full legal workspace that’s actually designed around how legal teams work.
You can draft faster with AI Playbooks that follow your rules and style. The Aline Associate gives you smart suggestions based on past contracts and clause libraries. Need a signature? Use AlineSign; you get unlimited e-signatures, and it’s all tracked.
Once contracts are in, Aline’s AI Repository helps you search across them by party, term, or topic. You’ll find what you need in seconds, not hours. And when you're managing reviews across legal, sales, and ops, built-in workflows keep everyone aligned without the email chaos.
If your team wants fewer delays and better control over contract work, Aline is a definite must-have.
Check out Aline and start your trial today.
Generative AI runs on large language models built by companies like OpenAI, and legal teams use tools built on top of those models. In the legal space, software like Aline combines AI-powered drafting, approvals, and collaboration features tailored to contracts and legal workflows. These tools focus on speed, accuracy, and data privacy.
Legal teams use generative AI for drafting, summarizing, reviewing documents, and even answering questions based on firm materials or case law. It supports practical law tasks by cutting down routine work while keeping the lawyer in charge of the final review. It’s often used to prep contracts, create research summaries, and generate correspondence.
Yes. Westlaw Precision includes generative AI features to help users search faster, summarize case law, and pull relevant citations. It's designed to keep the output legally sound while reducing the time spent sorting through materials.
That depends on your use case. If you're in law, you’ll want tools like Aline that are built for contracts, not general writing. They offer drafting support that follows your playbooks, manages approval flows, and keeps everything secure.
Legal work includes a lot of repetitive tasks. Generative AI helps handle those parts faster, with less stress. The growing interest comes from firms and legal departments looking to do more without adding headcount.
Brent is an attorney, a full-stack JavaScript engineer and the CEO of Aline.
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