How law firms use AI: ten office jobs

How are law firms using AI?

Mostly on the office work around a matter: first drafts of attendance notes, client care letters and standard letters, reading long documents against a checklist, and finding past advice. The SRA's AI notice of 17 August 2026 says these tools have become commonplace and many firms use them safely.

Which jobs suit AI first?

Jobs that follow a pattern, draw on your own documents, get checked by a person anyway, and take enough hours to measure. Attendance notes, client care letters and chasing clients often fit. Legal advice, court work and AML or conflict decisions stay with a solicitor.

The ten office jobs

01
Answering and logging new enquiries
What AI does: Draft first replies, log the details and flag the urgent ones for someone to approve.
What stays with people: Whether to take the matter on, and anything said to the client.
02
Conflict, ID and AML checks at file opening
What AI does: Gather and summarise what has come in, and list what is still missing.
What stays with people: The risk assessment, the conflict decision and the sign-off.
03
Chasing clients for documents and information
What AI does: Draft reminders and keep track of what is still outstanding on each file.
What stays with people: Any call or message that needs judgement about the client.
04
Opening the file and the client care letter
What AI does: Draft the letter from the matter details and your standard terms.
What stays with people: The fee earner checks the scope and the costs information before it goes.
05
Attendance notes and file notes
What AI does: Draft each note from the fee earner's dictation or a meeting transcript, in your layout.
What stays with people: The fee earner checks the note against what was said and signs it off.
06
Reviewing leases, contracts and long documents against a checklist
What AI does: Give a first read that pulls out the terms on your checklist and links each one to its clause.
What stays with people: The advice, and anything said to the client about it.
07
Standard letters and documents from precedents
What AI does: Produce a first draft from your own precedent and the details on the file.
What stays with people: Review by the fee earner before anything goes out.
08
Finding past advice, precedents and emails
What AI does: Search the files and mail people already have access to and show where each answer came from.
What stays with people: Deciding what the answer means for the matter.
09
Time recording and bill narratives
What AI does: Draft narratives from the activity on the file for the fee earner to edit.
What stays with people: The fee earner approves the time and the bill.
10
File reviews and compliance records
What AI does: Pull the facts together from the file and draft the record.
What stays with people: The judgement on breaches and what to report, which stays with your COLP or COFA.

Is it safe to use ChatGPT for legal work?

Not with client information in a free public tool. The SRA's notice quotes the Upper Tribunal: putting client letters into an open source AI tool such as ChatGPT places them in the public domain. Use only tools your firm has approved, with the right safeguards.

Can AI review contracts and leases?

It can give a first read: pulling out the terms on your checklist, such as rent reviews, break clauses or liability caps, and linking each to its clause so a fee earner can check it quickly. The advice stays with the solicitor.

How do you test AI safely?

Start with one job in one team. Time it as it runs now, use an approved tool, and have a named fee earner check every output. After four weeks, compare the hours and the quality.

The free check picks the job from your answers.