AI vs ME

AI impact · verified capabilities

How AI is changing the work of Lawyers

For lawyers, the verified AI tools in our registry sit inside research, drafting and document review. They speed up finding authorities, first drafts and clause checks; legal judgement and responsibility to the client stay with the lawyer.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-27 · O*NET 23-1011.00 · Mapping confidence: medium

Where it touches the work

  1. Legal research: tools retrieve authorities and draft summarized answers with citations to verify.
  2. Briefs and memos: first drafts can be generated from research sources, then rewritten and argued by the lawyer.
  3. Contracts and due diligence: AI flags clauses and pulls key provisions from large document sets for focused review.

How AI is changing the work in practice

  1. Draft, review, and revise legal documents

    AI assistsAI tools can produce a first draft and flag issues or omissions in legal documents; the lawyer owns the final text.

    Sources:O*NET OnLineLexisNexis

  2. Research statutes, regulations, cases, and other legal authorities

    AI assistsAI tools can search case law and legislation and prepare an initial research summary; the lawyer verifies every authority against the primary source.

    Sources:O*NET OnLineThomson Reuters

Verified capabilities (up to 5)

  • NowEvidence: Strong

    AI-assisted legal research synthesis

    What AI can assist with: Legal AI retrieves authorities, synthesizes answers, and can attach citations or verification aids, while lawyers remain responsible for checking legal propositions.

    Practical meaning: this can speed up part of the task, but still needs human direction and review.

    Human responsibility: you review every output and keep the final decision.

    Source: Thomson Reuters
  • EmergingEvidence: Strong

    Legal citation checking

    What AI can assist with: Checks cited authorities and supporting citations in legal drafts.

    Practical meaning: this can speed up part of the task, but still needs human direction and review.

    Human responsibility: you review every output and keep the final decision.

    Source: Thomson Reuters
  • EmergingEvidence: Strong

    Grounded brief and memo drafting

    What AI can assist with: Drafts legal memos and briefs grounded in legal research sources.

    Practical meaning: this can speed up part of the task, but still needs human direction and review.

    Human responsibility: you review every output and keep the final decision.

    Source: Thomson Reuters
  • NowEvidence: Strong

    AI-assisted contract clause review

    What AI can assist with: Legal AI identifies, extracts, compares, or flags contract provisions and potential issues so lawyers can focus review on relevant clauses.

    Practical meaning: this can speed up part of the task, but still needs human direction and review.

    Human responsibility: you review every output and keep the final decision.

    Source: Thomson Reuters
  • EmergingEvidence: Moderate

    Due-diligence extraction

    What AI can assist with: Pulls key provisions and possible risks from large document sets.

    Practical meaning: this can speed up part of the task, but still needs human direction and review.

    Human responsibility: you review every output and keep the final decision.

    Source: Thomson Reuters

More source-verified AI capabilities

Additional reviewed research for this occupation. These do not replace the core capability list or prove real-world adoption.

  • Generative-AI e-discovery document review

    CoCounsel Legal documents large-scale document review and analysis across complaints, discovery, filings, and contracts with source links.

    Evidence: Limited

    Practical meaning: a defined part of this workflow can be automated; judgement and exceptions remain human work.

    Verified source

The AI tools entering the profession — and what’s coming next

Some are already available for work; others signal where the profession is heading. Inclusion does not imply broad adoption or proven outcomes.

  • Harvey

    Available now

    Legal AI platform for transactional work, including document review, due diligence, drafting, research, and transaction support.

    Important: The current source mainly describes transactional legal work; performance and fit vary by documents, deal, and jurisdiction.

    Source: Harvey

  • Lexis+ with Protégé

    Available now

    LexisNexis

    Legal AI workspace for research, drafting, and analysis, with citation validation through Shepard’s and integration with organizational documents.

    Important: Source coverage, features, and availability may vary by subscription and jurisdiction; model behavior can also differ by account.

    Source: LexisNexis

  • CoCounsel Legal

    Available now

    Thomson Reuters

    Legal AI platform for research, document analysis, and drafting, with workflows grounded in Westlaw and Practical Law.

    Important: Source coverage, features, and availability may vary by subscription and jurisdiction; every result requires verification against the underlying legal authorities.

    Source: Thomson Reuters

What remains human responsibility

Checking every citation, legal strategy, advice to the client, negotiation and court appearances remain the lawyer's professional responsibility.

Evidence limits

Each capability is verified from the cited source only. A source shows that a capability exists; it does not establish adoption, deployment depth or outcomes in any particular workplace.

Three practical ways to adapt

  • Run one closed research question through a legal AI tool and verify every citation it returns.
  • Compare an AI clause review with a manual review on one past, non-sensitive contract.
  • Write a short checklist for what must be verified before any AI draft leaves the office.

Short answers

Can AI write a brief on its own?
The verified tools produce drafts grounded in research sources. A lawyer still has to check the law, the citations and the argument.
Where does it help most in daily work?
In locating authorities, reviewing contract clauses and sorting large document sets.

Sources

See what this means for your own week

The free assessment looks at the tasks you actually do and your own AI habits.

Start the free assessment

Related occupations