Across all industries, recent years have brought change, advancement and new opportunities for any business embracing AI. And while some may have considered the technology a magic “silver bullet” that could streamline everything, we’re now learning which tasks it can handle reliably and safely.
The legal sector is a strong example. AI has not replaced lawyers. But it has helped reduce administrative tasks and free up time. According to a recent Thomson Reuters report, proper AI implementation could save each lawyer up to four hours per week – valuable time when added up across a firm.
But instead of using public AI tools such as ChatGPT, many firms have implemented more refined Microsoft AI for legal teams. Using those tools, legal professionals are able to increase productivity, reduce admin and improve their client services.
In this blog, we’ll see how legal teams are already using AI. Then, we’ll explore the benefits, safety considerations, and the proper implementation steps you can begin today.
How are law firms using AI?
Law firms and legal teams are embracing AI to handle time-consuming and repetitive tasks. Previously, these tasks would have demanded hours of manual effort. But now, tools powered by AI are being used to:
Automate contract analysis and document summarisation
Accelerate legal research with more accurate and context-aware search
Identify and summarise previous cases
Support compliance and risk assessments
Streamline various administrative processes.
What’s key here is that AI is supporting these processes. It isn’t replacing human expertise. Legal professionals still bring strategy, context and client care that no tool can safely replicate. But with AI taking on repetitive and laborious routine work, professionals can use their time for higher-value tasks.
Jack Fisher, Solutions Architect at Nasstar said: “At Nasstar, we have already begun supporting legal clients with the implementation of Microsoft AI tools. These tools have been instrumental in helping our clients enhance their operational efficiency and client services.
“For instance, we have used Copilot Studio and its extensibility to connect into diverse line-of-business applications, ensuring AI functionalities are not only embedded within commonly used apps like Word, Outlook, and Teams, but also within specialised legal software. By doing so, Microsoft Copilot enables legal teams to leverage AI across various platforms in a secure and governed manner, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of their work without compromising on privacy or control.”
Microsoft AI vs other LLM tools
There are many AI tools available to legal teams today. These range from niche legal research platforms to general-purpose large language models (LLMs). But what makes Microsoft AI different is its integration with tools firms already use daily, as well as its added privacy benefits.
When properly implemented, Microsoft Copilot, embedded within Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Outlook and Teams, works with your own data. That’s different from other AI tools, which are usually trained on public data. This way, Microsoft Copilot can produce more relevant, accurate and secure outputs.
Jack said: “The ability to ground your Copilot Agents in specific data and turn off the use of general knowledge can be a real win for law firms, helping to give confidence that AI is answering from the correct source of truth. New functionality is now becoming available for fine tuning your models in Copilot, giving further clarity to the responses received.”
The benefits of Microsoft AI for legal teams
On top of accuracy benefits, there are also other advantages for legal teams using Microsoft AI.
Time savings
AI can quickly summarise long documents, extract key points and highlight differences. As we’ve seen, this can potentially save hours of manual reviewing. For legal professionals, this means a much faster turnaround and more time to focus on other tasks.
Cost efficiency
Similarly, AI can help reduce the cost of legal operations by automating repetitive work. This takes the time out of routine tasks, lets smaller teams handle higher workloads – and helps free up more billable time.
Increased accuracy
There are also potential benefits compared to human error. By analysing large volumes of internal documents, Microsoft AI can identify relevant information that might otherwise be missed.
Faster research
One of the most obvious advantages, but also one of the most compelling. AI can search through documents at remarkable speeds compared to humans. This could save a lot of time on manual, mundane document sifting.
Predictive insights
AI doesn’t only look backwards. Using its learnings, AI can help make predictions and forecasts based on previous outcomes. This may be in terms of financial values, case outcomes, or even more intricate details.
Easier compliance
Law firms are held to incredibly stringent compliance standards. AI-powered tools can assist in compliance monitoring by identifying gaps and staying up to date on regulations.
Concerns and limitations of using AI in the legal sector
AI has strong potential. But it also has its challenges. To make the most of any AI implementation, it’s vital to acknowledge, understand and mitigate these limitations.
Data quality
AI is only as good as the data it draws from. Put simply, you don’t want to use a tool trained on bad data. Poor-quality, outdated or disorganised information can all limit AI’s effectiveness – and potentially have harmful consequences. That’s why companies must clean and structure any data before using it in AI applications.
Hallucinations and inaccuracy
LLMs can generate convincing but incorrect information. Without an untrained eye looking over any outputs, this can lead to incorrect information or flawed advice. That’s why careful data selection and human expertise are still absolutely essential. However, this can be mitigated carefully. Grounding data and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) can be added to help lessen inaccuracies and hallucination.
Privacy and data access
Unlike public generative AI models, Copilot works based on the data the user has access to in Microsoft 365. While that is a benefit, it also brings risks. If access controls are too broad, users may inadvertently query sensitive or confidential data. A crucial initial step is to work with IT to audit and tighten access permissions before deploying any AI model.
Compatibility and system readiness
It’s also important to have an overall IT system that’s ready for AI. Many features require integrated, cloud-based environments that legacy systems or fragmented IT infrastructure might not support. In some cases, this may require initial work to improve the whole system before rolling out AI.
Ethical concerns
AI in law raises potential ethical considerations. Above all, AI tools should be designed to promote fairness, accountability and transparency in everything they produce. They also need to avoid any bias and have clear boundaries for their safe usage. Of course, any use of AI must also align with data protection laws, professional ethics, and client confidentiality agreements.
How can the legal sector use AI?
The good news is, with careful planning and implementation, it’s already possible to use AI in day-to-day workflows. In fact, many legal firms already do. Specifically, AI is already helping with:
Legal research by searching across laws and regulations
Document review and summaries
Generating first drafts of documents, briefs and client letters
Automate admin tasks such as creating meeting notes, email drafting, and task tracking
These processes aren’t replacing human experts. But they are taking the mundane and time-consuming tasks out of valuable hours.
Legal AI implementation best practices
Looking to implement Microsoft AI for your legal team? To get the best results, it’s important to follow these key steps:
Assess your current tools
Is your company already in the Microsoft ecosystem? Then chances are, you’re already licensed for Microsoft AI features through your Microsoft 365 subscription. If so, you’re ready to make full use of what’s available without investing in any third-party tools. If you don’t have a Microsoft subscription, the migration process is usually straightforward with expert guidance.
Get your data in order
AI relies on good data. Investing time into cleaning up shared drives, unifying file naming and identifying sensitive documents all helps bring better end results.
Prioritise privacy and security
Next, it’s time to review your access controls. Who can see what data within SharePoint, Teams or Outlook? Align your permissions with your firm’s data governance policies before rolling out AI more widely.
Start with the right use case
A manageable, low-risk process is a great way to try AI. Tasks like summarising meeting minutes or onboarding clients can help build confidence in the tech and deliver value early.
Train your people
People can be resistant to change – especially with the feeling that AI is coming for their jobs. Inform them of how it will benefit them instead of replacing them. Then, give them new skills, including prompt engineering and critical review of outputs. This will help make the project successful early.
Monitor performance
Remember, AI isn’t a set-and-forget tool. To get the best from your investment, you’ll need to regularly review its effectiveness, accuracy, and usage trends. Use this to refine your approach and improve.
On this, Jack commented: “Legal teams using Microsoft AI should focus on three things: grounding outputs in trusted data, keeping humans in the loop, and applying clear governance. That’s how you get speed without sacrificing accuracy.”
How Nasstar can help
At Nasstar, we help legal teams use Microsoft AI securely and strategically. If you’re exploring Copilot, we can help you set solid foundations for success by:
Evaluating your licensing to make sure your implementation is cost-effective
Building a futureproof infrastructure that’s AI-ready
Defining trustworthy business automation use cases that deliver measurable results
Getting value from your data and ensuring regulatory compliance
Training your teams and supporting adoption
Providing advice on how to make the most of AI in the future.
For more information, speak to a specialist for tailored expert advice.
