What Are the Best AI Tools for Writing Legal Briefs? - Bloomberg Law (2024)

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be used to write legal briefs? The short answer is yes. But lawyers must first understand the technology, then select trusted legal AI tools and learn how to effectively use AI tools for legal writing to avoid risk.

AI for legal professionals is a hot topic among lawyers who are interested in productivity tools that could help them save time and improve the quality of their work. Those considering these tools should get up to speed on this evolving technology before using AI in practice.

What is generative AI?

In its simplest form, AI is an overarching description for technologies that use computers and software to emulate human processes. This technology can serve a helpful purpose in day-to-day life – think of the functionality and ease of use Siri and Google provide – and it can also support certain tasks and workflows in the legal field.

In its more complex form, generative AI takes in massive amounts of preexisting data and learns patterns to create content, such as text, images, and videos. This technology can be helpful in certain areas, but it also carries significant risks for those working in the legal field.

Here, we discuss product features to look for when considering AI software and how this technology can be used by legal professionals to work more effectively and efficiently.

Can I use AI to write a legal brief?

Yes, you can use AI to help write a legal brief. Generally, writing, reviewing, and analyzing briefs can be a very time-consuming task for legal professionals. AI technologies can be leveraged as productivity tools for lawyers, ultimately increasing efficiency and optimizing workflows.

The potential benefits of using AI to write a legal brief are twofold: saving time and improving quality. For example, a legal research platform that leverages AI, such as Bloomberg Law, can sift through much more legal data than a human can in the same time frame, increasing the speed and breadth of research under tight deadlines or heavy workloads. These tools can also help aggregate or summarize data in a way that’s more useful.

Some professionals may wonder if an AI brief generator exists. As it stands, the Bloomberg Law platform uses nongenerative AI tools to assist in drafting and analyzing legal briefs. However, a tool that can draft a brief using generative AI is in development.

What are the best AI tools for writing legal briefs?

The best AI software for legal writing is transparent about the source of the information it provides, such as whether it’s from existing dockets or expert analysis. All of Bloomberg Law’s tools do this and are designed specifically to give lawyers peace of mind that the technology can be trusted to support them while saving time, ultimately providing a competitive advantage.

Here are a few key advantages to using AI tools in your brief writing process.

Trusted, authoritative sources to enhance an argument

Transparency is key with legal AI tools. Lawyers must be able to immediately see and account for the sources used by AI to use it to provide trusted, authoritative support to enhance an argument.

Bloomberg Law’s Brief Analyzer tool, for example, uses machine learning to quickly analyze briefs and generate a report of the cited authorities and arguments contained in the brief. It will also point you directly to relevant cases so users can review the citations and quotes from the authority.

When litigators craft briefs, they may start the research process using case law that’s familiar to them. By contrast, an AI tool can find relevant case law that the attorney may not have known to look for but that provides valuable points that could support their argument. For example, once you upload your brief into Brief Analyzer, the AI-driven tool will suggest related authoritative content from sources you may have overlooked and explain why the content could be relevant to your case.

Save time and enhance efficiency

A strong majority of litigators (84%) say drafting motions and briefs is one of their most time-consuming tasks. Brief preparation is a long, cumbersome process that often requires an average of more than 20 hours of work in a month. Legal AI can significantly cut down on research and drafting time.

For example, AI tools from Bloomberg Law can sift through 70+ page-long court opinions in a matter of seconds, then decipher what elements are relevant to the work at hand, pull out key data points, and display all reference sources.

Gain a competitive edge

AI tools can make connections and associations that an attorney might not think to make and can uncover relevant information not readily apparent to the attorney. With the help of legal AI, attorneys can have more confidence than ever that they have considered all relevant cases as they write their brief.

With Bloomberg Law in particular, attorneys can upload counterparty documents into Brief Analyzer to instantly identify the points that are potentially lacking in the opposing counsel’s argument, and ultimately strengthen their own case. When surveyed, 94% of users agreed that Brief Analyzer reduced the time required to research a brief and prepare a response.

What are the risks of using AI for writing legal briefs?

Legal professionals should keep in mind that not all AI software is created for lawyers – or by lawyers. And as when any technology is used improperly, there can be resulting risks. In the legal profession, these risks can lead to serious consequences.

Hallucinating false information

Hallucinations – the phenomenon by which generative AI tools provide false information in response to a prompt – are a major concern for litigators filing case briefs.

According to a 2024 Stanford University study, large language models (LLMs) hallucinate at least 75% of the time when answering questions about a court’s core ruling. In this study, all AI models used were general-purpose models – such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5, Google’s PaLM 2, and Meta’s Llama 2 – which weren’t built specifically for legal use. As a result, some courts are restricting the use of LLMs. At least 21 federal trial judges have issued standing orders regarding AI, and attorneys are often required to disclose all uses of AI.

The best way to protect against AI hallucinations in legal briefs is to use authoritative legal AI tools that are purpose-built with appropriate parameters in place.

Data privacy concerns

Confidentiality is another major concern of using generative AI for writing legal briefs. Legal professionals have a responsibility to keep their clients’ information private, but some LLMs are trained to generate an output based on the source information, or input, they receive. And if these legal AI writing tools aren’t properly set up with guardrails in place, case law, memorandums, motions, and other legal documents uploaded to them could get into the wrong hands.

Because these privacy risks can be so problematic for legal professionals in particular, the best AI for writing legal briefs is software that was specifically created for their workflows and that uses predefined data sets that can be more easily managed.

Navigate legal AI questions with trusted analysis from Bloomberg Law

For many litigators, brief writing and analysis can be stressful – an entire case can rest on a painstaking review of every argument and citation. In the past, getting it right has required significant time and resources. Now, the right AI tools for legal writing can accelerate legal research and drafting so litigators can spend more time on crafting a winning legal strategy.

Bloomberg Law leverages the power of AI for legal professionals to increase attorney productivity and eliminate the most time-consuming task with AI-driven workflow tools built for lawyers by lawyers – such as Brief Analyzer, Points of Law, and Docket Key search functionality.

Download our Art of the Brief special report for practical tips on adopting technology to streamline writing and responding to briefs while ensuring transparency.

Ready to get more from your legal software? Request a demo to see how Bloomberg Law’s AI tools can help you write legal briefs better and faster than ever before.