AI makes inroads into legal firms

INDIA'S LEGAL FIRMS – big or small – are united in shedding their tech-averse image and adopting artificial intelligence (AI) with a bang.

- JYOTSNA BHATNAGAR

In a move to consolidate the adoption of AI, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) has entered into a partnership with Harvey, a leading generative AI platform tailored for legal professionals, making it the first Indian law firm to deploy Harvey's full AI suite across all seven offices.

"This move strengthens SAM's leadership in legal innovation, accelerating contract drafting, due diligence, legal research, and predictive analysis while upholding strict confidentiality and data security standards," says executive chairman, SAM, Dr Shardul S Shroff.

Rohit Shukla, chief digital officer at Khaitan & Co, affirms that there's a clear and accelerating shift in how law firms are engaging with AI. What was once a cautious, even skeptical approach is now giving way to serious investment in internal capabilities. KCo commenced its AI strategy almost two years ago when the firm started preparing its internal data ecosystems to responsibly leverage the potential of AI. Says Shukla, "We designed and launched our in-house AI platform — KAI (Khaitan's AI), which is built around real, high-impact use cases that integrate directly into daily legal workflows. Importantly, the platform is firm-specific and secure, use-case led and multifunctional."

Hemant Batra, lead and senior legal consultant, new ventures and growth at SAM said although AI is being widely used—especially in areas such as workflow automation and information retrieval—"there's still considerable room for growth."