INTRODUCTION

In the world of law, time is money and accuracy is paramount. So, any tool that can enhance productivity and streamline processes is welcomed with open arms. Microsoft’s CoPilot, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3 (“CoPilot”), is one such innovation poised to improve the way attorneys work. Co-Pilot offers multiple features that can assist legal professionals in various legal tasks, which results in attorneys saving time and clients saving money

RESOURCES

Attorneys generally spend hours on research, which consists of using multiple research platforms and sifting through volumes of legal documents to find relevant information.

By using certain prompts, CoPilot can provide relevant articles, and legislation, allowing attorneys to spend less time on various legal platforms and more time on analysing and applying the law to their cases.

Prompt example: “Provide me with employment law legislation in South Africa”.

When using such prompt, it is important to be specific to your geographical area since CoPilot could provide you with irrelevant documents that are applicable to other countries.

DATA PROCESSING

CoPilot can also generate summaries of research or documents uploaded to CoPilot. This assists attorneys who can use such a summary as an indication of whether the document is relevant. It can further be used to set out a chronology for attorneys to consider.

Prompt example: “Summarise the attached document to only include the most salient issues”.

These summaries can be useful, but are not always as accurate as may be required by legal professionals.

EDITOR

CoPilot can assist attorneys in reviewing correspondence and documents drafted by an attorney to point out grammatical issues or re-construct sentences and paragraphs to be more concise. This especially saves time when a senior is vetting a junior’s work. It can further be used as a thesaurus and dictionary.

Prompt example: “Re-phrase this sentence to be more concise: [insert relevant sentence]”.

It should be noted that CoPilot uses American spelling and as such the sentence should still be carefully reviewed for spelling errors for South African English.

DEVELOPING LEGAL ARGUMENTS

CoPilot can assist attorneys in creating arguments. CoPilot can suggest relevant statutes and legal articles to attorneys which can assist with suggesting arguments and provide attorneys with a “skeleton” argument, which attorneys can use to build their argument.

CoPilot does not have the context of a specific case and cannot assess all the factors and/or risks that will arise from a legal matter. As such, the content of the argument should not simply be taken at face value but should be considered critically.

Prompt example: “Provide me with defences against an unfair dismissal based on misconduct”.

By leveraging CoPilot, attorneys can optimise their time and resources, ultimately leading to cost savings for clients. The expedited drafting process means quicker turnaround times for legal documents, enabling clients to meet tight deadlines and capitalise on opportunities more efficiently. Ultimately, the adoption of CoPilot by legal practitioners translates into quicker outcomes and a more satisfying experience for clients, solidifying its role as a useful tool in the legal industry.

CHALLENGES FACED BY ATTORNEYS

While CoPilot holds significant promise in improving legal services, it is important to acknowledge some potential downsides arising from its use. CoPilot is not a replacement for human expertise. An attorney must exercise judgment and critical thinking when using CoPilot. An attorney should always verify the accuracy and relevance of the information provided.

The AI model is trained on vast amounts of text data, including legal documents and case law, which may contain inherent biases or inaccuracies. CoPilot can fabricate case law (i.e., give a name of a case which does not exist) or legislation, and may present something as a fact despite being incorrect. CoPilot also does not necessarily provide up to date information (which is particularly relevant to legislation, which is amended regularly). As such, attorneys must remain vigilant by critically evaluating the suggestions and recommendations provided by CoPilot to mitigate the risk of biases or errors in the attorney’s legal work.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, while CoPilot offers significant potential to enhance legal workflows and improve outcomes for clients, attorneys must keep in mind CoPilot’s potential risks to ensure its responsible integration into the attorney’s legal practice.

Please note: this article is for general public information and use. It is not to be considered or construed as legal advice. Each matter must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and you should consult an attorney before taking any action contemplated herein.