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A recent LexisNexis report found that 61% of legal professionals now use generative AI for work purposes. It also discovered that those at private practice firms were more inclined to use legal tools relative to others. This is also evident from firms’ websites, which are increasingly spotlighting their engagement with the realm of AI and legal technology – whether it’s starting a tech-exclusive blog like Withers LLP, or forming incubators to support and grow legal tech start-ups (like Mishcon de Reya LLP’s MDR Lab or A&O Shearman’s Fuse).

As an aspiring solicitor, I frequently come across references to AI on law firm websites without fully understanding its significance or what it tells me about the firm’s relationship to current technological developments. Therefore, the aim of this article is to explore the different categories of legal AI software, outline their functions and better understand the role of AI in law firms. If you’re researching firms this application cycle and new to the realm of legal AI, read on!

Category one: contract review

Contract review AI software uses AI tools to analyse, interpret and locate valuable legal and business information from contracts. It identifies key clauses and inconsistencies between documents, by not only using a keyword search, but also analysing the meaning of legal concepts.

There are a number of examples:

• Spellbook: Spellbook, a legal drafting and contract review service, integrates as a Microsoft Word add-in. It flags risk and proposes AI suggestions and edits in real time – making it suitable for lawyers working directly in Word.
• LegalOn: founded in Japan in 2017, LegalOn's contract review software made the 2025 Theorem Best Legal Tech Awards for its strength in contract review. It works within Microsoft Word and online and offers pre-built customisable contract templates.
• Diligen: this platform was trained by experienced lawyers to recognise key clauses in contracts across areas such as mergers and acquisitions, finance and real estate.

Category two: e-discovery

If you’re applying to a firm with a heavy disputes focus, you may have come across this term before. e-discovery describes the process of using AI to comb through files for relevant data to use in legal proceedings. The AI identifies data that’s useful for a case, the relevant documents are placed in a legal hold so that they cannot undergo editing, and they’re then reviewed and shared with the other party before being used in legal proceedings.

For example, RelativityOne sifts through raw data from email, documents and social media to find key relevant information. It also offers generative AI to improve key e-discovery tasks, such as prioritising and reviewing critical documents and constructing case narratives from documents to ease case preparation.

Category three: legal research

AI-powered legal research software allows legal professionals to access and search comprehensive legal databases, including regulations, statutes and case law across various jurisdictions. These platforms can't do the work for you, but they do make research more efficient – allowing lawyers to conduct more comprehensive research at higher speeds, saving them time and saving clients’ money.

These platforms use AI to provide predictive analysis, make document review more efficient and ease legal case research.

Category four: predictive analytics

Predictive analytics, as the name suggests, involves using statistical modelling and data analytics to predict the outcome of a case based on legal precedent from large historical datasets, identify patterns and inform legal strategy.

For example, Premonition uses machine learning to analyse a large set of data on judges, lawyers and parties. This supports firms in crafting a case strategy as well as understanding the likely outcome of a case.

Category five: document automation

Providing templates for law firms to use, allowing lawyers to tailor these templates to clients and fill form fields directly from case records, saving lawyers time and effort.

For example, ContractPodAi is a contract lifecycle management company that uses AI to help firms and businesses automate, analyse and manage contracts.

Category six: legal drafting

These tools, such as Spellbook, help lawyers draft legal documents, allowing them to prepare, review, and format documents efficiently and swiftly.

Names to keep an eye on

Of course, there are software that combine the above features. These are the names taking the legal world by storm. You might have heard of a few of them:

Harvey

If you've read any piece of legal news from the past couple of years, you would’ve heard of Harvey. As the biggest and most well-known legal tech startup, this platform supplies firms and legal departments in over 50 countries. It’s built on a version of OpenAI's GPT AI, combined with general legal data such as case law, to support firms with contract analysis, due diligence, litigation and compliance. It can also provide insights based on data, as well as predicting case outcomes.

Legora (formerly Leya)

Many firms, from the magic circle to mid-market firms, use Legora (according to firm websites). This Swedish startup was valued at $675 million in May in an investment funding round. It uses AI to manage routine legal work, such as research, drafting and reviewing contracts.

Clio

Clio is a Canadian-owned cloud-based management software that supports law firms by automating legal tasks, centralising client and case information and making billing more efficient. Through one platform, it provides tools for client intake, scheduling, document management, invoicing, time and expense tracking.

vLex

vLex provides an extensive legal database of over one billion legal documents in over 100 countries, providing legal and regulatory information such as legislation and case law.

Though AI is revolutionising the future for lawyers, the common thread here is that firms are using this technology in a way that compliments, rather than replaces, their solicitors. From easing the process of contract review to producing document templates that can be according to a client, it's clear that the foreseeable future with AI involves AI working with lawyers to meet client's demands more efficiently. In this early age of AI, the software may sketch the outline, but solicitors are still needed to colour in the details with that essential human touch.