Litigants Turn to AI for Legal Memos to Cut Costs, but Risks Abound

In the rapidly evolving digital era, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a transformative force across industries, including the legal sector. One growing trend is the use of AI by litigants to draft legal memoranda, contracts, and even full defense statements, bypassing traditional law firms and legal consultants to save time and cut costs.

However, legal experts are sounding the alarm. They caution that while AI platforms like ChatGPT and DeepSeek provide accessible and instant solutions, their use by individuals without legal backgrounds poses serious risks—mistakes that could result in dismissed cases or forfeited legal rights.

Lawyers warn that AI-generated legal documents, when not reviewed by qualified professionals, can contain serious and potentially case-damaging errors. AI systems, they note, are not capable of verifying the accuracy of all content or considering the nuances of each unique case.

“AI cannot replace the expertise and judgment of a human lawyer,” said a group of practicing attorneys. “Using AI in legal processes must be done under the supervision of licensed professionals who can interpret and refine the generated texts with precision and professionalism.”

Legal experts caution against the full reliance on artificial intelligence technologies in complex legal matters. They acknowledge that AI has made significant strides in processing vast amounts of data, identifying patterns, and making decisions based on sophisticated algorithms. However, they stress that AI cannot replace human lawyers, as it still lacks the ability to apply reasoning and weigh the unique circumstances of each legal case.

According to these experts, tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek can be valuable to legal professionals as an initial step in preparing legal documents, particularly for information gathering. Such applications can also benefit the general public by providing instant answers to common legal questions or offering basic legal guidance before seeking professional legal advice. Users may ask general questions and receive foundational legal information. However, this does not mean that such AI-generated content is ready for formal submission. Law is not merely about texts—it involves understanding context and interpreting judicial precedents.

Speaking to Gulf News, lawyer Abeer Al Dahmani, Founder and Managing Director of Al Dahmani Law and Legal Consultancy in Abu Dhabi, emphasized the profound impact of AI on the legal system.

“In our fast-paced digital era, AI has moved from being a mere tool to a central element reshaping legal and judicial systems,” said Al Dahmani. “It’s no longer limited to improving operational efficiency—it now influences critical decisions and is redefining how legal work is conducted.”

Al Dahmani stressed the need for regulatory frameworks that keep pace with technological developments. “AI can be integrated into the legal system if governed by well-defined laws, similar to cybersecurity legislation. We must enact clear legal structures to manage AI use and penalize misuse. Looking ahead, the same will apply to robots expected to enter the market soon.”

Al Dahmani highlighted the advantages of AI in drafting legal memos:

Efficient legal research: Quickly retrieving relevant laws and precedents.
Analytical precision: Providing well-structured answers to legal questions.
Time and effort savings: Streamlining the writing and submission process.
Speed of delivery: Enabling faster production and submission of documents.

However, she also pointed to critical drawbacks:

High costs: Specialized legal AI software can be expensive.
Need for legal expertise: To use AI effectively, users must have legal training and technical proficiency.
Security concerns: AI platforms may be vulnerable to data breaches or cyberattacks, putting sensitive information at risk.

On the impact of AI on the legal industry, Al Dahmani clarified, “Human expertise is irreplaceable in critical professions like law and medicine. AI can assist, but cannot entirely take over.”

She warned that individuals relying solely on AI without any legal background risk serious errors. “In such cases, clients often return to law firms—but only after damaging missteps, which increase both the complexity and cost of legal resolution. This is why public awareness campaigns are essential to highlight the risks of unassisted AI use in legal matters.”

Al Dahmani identified three key solutions to address the shortage of lawyers specialized in AI:

Create specialized institutes and offer technology-focused training for lawyers seeking to keep pace with digital transformation.
Provide practical, AI-focused courses, including simulation-based training to ensure AI tools are used effectively.
Implement strict data security protocols to protect sensitive legal data from hacking or cyber threats.

As AI continues to shape the legal landscape, experts agree that its benefits can only be realized when it is used in conjunction with human expertise—not in place of it.

Regarding how artificial intelligence (AI) can address the accuracy of legal texts and differentiate between original legal provisions and subsequent amendments, legal advisor Abeer Al-Dahmani explains:

“In this regard, developers and programmers working on AI systems are continuously updating and refining the algorithms used, ensuring they reflect the most recent legal developments. However, it’s essential that a legal team is involved in this process, providing the latest rulings, laws, and legal principles. This allows designers and developers to incorporate those updates, ensuring that the underlying data and algorithms align with current legal standards. In my view, this is the only viable approach for AI to reliably handle the precision required in legal texts.”

Lawyer Abeer Al-Dahmani further notes:

“AI has the potential to excel in strategic legal analysis and in identifying loopholes that could benefit the defendant. It can do so through the use of advanced tools, including predictive analytics for case outcomes—one of the most sophisticated applications of AI in the legal field. These tools analyze historical case data and apply algorithms to forecast the likely outcomes of future cases. Such capabilities can significantly aid lawyers in offering more informed legal advice and assessing the chances of success in a case. These outcomes rely on the in-depth analysis of extensive datasets from past cases, including case-specific details, court rulings, and judicial reasoning.”

The integration of AI in the legal sector is a double-edged sword. While it offers significant benefits, the risks associated with unassisted use cannot be ignored. Public awareness and regulatory frameworks are crucial to ensuring that AI is used responsibly and effectively in legal processes.