AI for your industry / Professional services
AI for solicitors: a practical start for UK law firms
UK law firms see the clearest early wins from AI in reading and drafting: first drafts of letters and attendance notes, summaries of long bundles, and checking contracts against a playbook. Fee earners stay responsible for the advice, so every output needs a named person to review it.
Pick one matter type with high volume and fixed fees, such as residential conveyancing or wills. Map the file from instruction to completion, then test AI on the reading and drafting steps in an approved business account.
7,310 UK firms in legal services have 5 to 249 staff, out of 34,255 in total. Source: ONS, UK business: activity, size and location 2026.
Where AI pays back first
More revenue
Handle more fixed-fee matters per fee earner, and reply to new enquiries faster with a clear quote, which lifts conversion on conveyancing and private client work.
Lower costs
Reduce write-offs on fixed fees, where time spent reading searches, bundles and correspondence often runs over the quote.
Time back
Give fee earners back time spent on attendance notes, chasing letters and summarising documents, so more of the day is chargeable.
Jobs worth looking at
| Job | How it often runs now | Where AI can help | What a person still checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| New enquiry to client care letter | A fee earner rings back, types a quote and adapts an old client care letter. | Draft the quote and client care letter from the enquiry form and your fee scales. | A fee earner confirms scope, conflict check and costs information. |
| Reviewing searches and title | Each report is read in full and issues are typed into a report to the client. | Summarise search results and list points that need a question to the seller's solicitor. | The conveyancer reads the flagged sections and decides what matters. |
| Bundles and disclosure in employment and family matters | Hundreds of pages are read to build a chronology by hand. | Build a first chronology and list of key documents with page references. | The fee earner checks each entry against the source page. |
| Contract review for commercial clients | A lawyer marks up each contract from memory of the firm's usual positions. | Compare the contract to your playbook and flag clauses outside your standard positions. | The lawyer decides the mark-up and advises the client. |
| Attendance notes and file notes | Notes are typed up after calls, often days later. | Turn call recordings or rough notes into a structured attendance note. | The fee earner corrects and approves the note before it goes on file. |
Firms already use case management systems such as LEAP, Clio, Actionstep or Proclaim, plus legal research tools from LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters that now include AI. General tools like Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude business accounts help with drafting and summaries.
Different firms, different starting points
Conveyancing
High volume, fixed fees and many documents. AI fits search summaries, enquiry letters and progress updates to clients and agents.
Employment law
Bundles, chronologies and settlement agreements take the time. AI helps build first drafts that a lawyer then checks.
Family law
Financial disclosure and Form E work are document-heavy and sensitive. Use AI only in approved accounts and keep a person on every figure.
Private client
Wills, lasting powers of attorney and probate follow set steps. AI helps with letters, estate asset lists and client updates.
Commercial
Contract review against a playbook is the best-known use. It works best when the firm writes down its standard positions first.
Worked example
A conveyancing team that answers enquiries the same day
A six-person conveyancing team gets about 60 new enquiries a month and converts a third of them. Quotes go out a day or two after the enquiry, often after the buyer has instructed someone else.
They map the enquiry step and set out their fee scale and standard disbursements in one document. AI drafts the quote and a short welcome email from the web form within minutes.
A conveyancer checks each quote before it is sent. The team tracks conversion for eight weeks to see whether faster quotes win more instructions.
Illustrative example with made-up details.
Try a practical task
Find your first job to fix
Paste this into a business AI account. Fill in the brackets. It asks you questions first, then suggests one job to test.
Try this in your AI app
ChatGPT
Claude
Gemini
CodexUsing Gemini? The button copies the prompt. Paste it into the new chat.
Act as an operations adviser to a UK law firm. Ask me one question at a time and wait for each answer.
Ask which matter types we handle [conveyancing, employment, family, private client, commercial], which are on fixed fees, and our case management system.
Then suggest three tasks where AI could help, ranked by revenue first, then cost, then time. For each, name the fee earner check that keeps us within SRA expectations.
End with a short test plan for one matter type, with what we will measure and what client data the tool can and cannot see.
Rules that shape the work
The SRA expects firms to protect client confidentiality, supervise work and stay competent when they use new technology. Its risk outlook on AI explains what this means in practice.
Read the source: SRA: risk outlook on AI in the legal market
The Law Society's guide to generative AI covers the main risks, including made-up case law, confidentiality and checking outputs.
Read the source: Law Society: generative AI essentials
Courts have warned lawyers about citing fake cases produced by AI. Check every authority in a primary source before you rely on it.
Read the source: Judiciary: AI guidance for judicial office holders
Shadow AI
Trainees and paralegals under deadline pressure are the most likely to paste client documents into free tools. Approve one business account, train everyone on it, and make it easier than the workaround.
Keeping data safe
Use business or enterprise AI accounts with model training turned off and a data processing agreement signed. Client matters carry legal privilege, so keep case files inside tools your firm has assessed and record the use in your privacy notice.
What each leader should do first
Managing partner
Set an AI policy, choose one approved tool and name a partner to own supervision. Start where fixed-fee write-offs are highest.
Head of department
Map one matter type from instruction to close and test AI on reading and drafting, with review built into the file.
Practice manager or COLP
Update risk assessments, client care wording and training records so AI use is covered by your compliance plan.
Questions owners ask
Can solicitors use ChatGPT?
Yes, with care. Use a business account with training off, keep client data within your firm's rules and check every output, especially case law, before relying on it.
Does the SRA allow AI?
The SRA does not ban AI. It expects firms to keep confidentiality, supervise work and stay accountable for the service, whatever tools they use.
Will AI replace solicitors?
AI reduces reading and first-draft drafting time. Clients still need a qualified person to advise, negotiate and take responsibility, so the role shifts towards judgement.
What is the best AI for law firms?
Start with the AI inside your case management and research tools, plus one general business assistant. The best choice depends on your matter types and how your files are stored.
How do we stop AI making up case law?
Never cite an authority you have not found in a primary source. Ask the tool to work only from documents you provide and check every reference.