From Case Files to Code - How Artificial Intelligence is Reshaping Commercial Law

Author: Shaun Johnson

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) into legal practice represents an exciting development for aspiring solicitors. The Professional Law Institute, together with the wider student community at King’s College London, is committed to supporting students in building their understanding of AI’s use in the legal sector, preparing them for future roles as trainee solicitors or paralegals.

This focus is particularly timely, with competition among international law firms to attract early talent having never been fiercer. Magic Circle and White Shoe firms are now offering increasingly competitive salaries and structured training programmes. Students with a clear understanding of AI in legal practice will have a distinct advantage.

The Legal Tech Society (“LTS”) is eager to engage students with the range of legal technologies that law firms are integrating into their client offerings. These AI tools vary widely, reflecting the diverse needs of law firms in supporting drafting, research, and management work across transactional, contentious, and regulatory practices. Understanding the role of AI in these tasks will be crucial for aspiring solicitors seeking to develop their skills.

AI in transactions

The competitive nature of the legal market in London has primarily focused on transactional output. This is particularly relevant given the insurgence of private equity in the British capital – it has been reported by BVCA that private capital backed businesses directly support approximately 7% of UK GDP in 2025 (link). American firms have disrupted the institutional foothold that the Magic Circle had in European private equity, with leading firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Weil, Gotshal & Manges all rapidly expanding their transactional capabilities in the UK capital.

As part of this expansion, firms are seeking to use the emerging AI tools primed to maximise the efficiency of contract review and drafting for transactions. Both Latham & Watkins and Willkie Farr & Gallagher have followed A&O Shearman in adopting Harvey AI, an emerging market-leader for use by transactional lawyers to assist in drafting and review of documents (link).

Harvey AI can draft various legal documents, including share purchase agreements, non-disclosure agreements, private placements and due diligence reports. Through enterprise agreements, law firms can draft documents using firm-specific templates and data to ensure a streamlined process. Through Harvey AI’s Vault feature, lawyers can upload documents into a virtual data room as part of document management (link).

Luminance has emerged as another popular tool used by law firms for the same purposes. The technology is primed for rapid analysis of transactional documents, with a built-in traffic light system to highlight items according to risk level when reviewing documents (link) alongside language mechanics for multijurisdictional deals requiring contract review in multiple languages (link).

AI in litigation

AI is also seeing a growing role in contentious work undertaken by international law firms. Like transactional tasks, litigation requires processing many documents pertaining to a dispute alongside checklist planning to ensure that deadlines are met under relevant civil procedure rules. In addition to Harvey AI and Luminance, several other AI tools have emerged as excellent offerings for litigators.

For example, CoCounsel by Thomson Reuters has become a key tool used by many law firms for litigation-related workstreams. Built on the extensive case law database of Westlaw, CoCounsel can generate explanations of how courts have treated similar disputes in the past with citations to binding authorities. CoCounsel is also able to draft timelines and summaries quickly, crucial for cost-effective litigation work (link).

Importantly, these citations are less prone to hallucinations in comparison to standard generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Law firms have previously come under scrutiny for misuse of AI in litigation. This issue has recently arisen before the High Court in Hamad Al-Haroun v Qatar National Bank and QNB Capital. This case involved an £89 million damages claim, with the claimant relying on witness statements which relied on either sham authorities or fictitious quotes. The High Court subsequently restated the importance of adhering to professional standards set out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (link).

Such cases serve as a cautionary tale to international law firms who have a strong presence in commercial litigation, international arbitration and government investigations in London. The remaining popularity of English law governing international commercial activity alongside the established reputation of the London Court of International Arbitration brings an acute focus for AI use in contentious work.

AI in regulatory advisory

In addition to the AI tools mentioned above, companies are seeking to develop tools specifically tailored towards regulatory advisory work for international law firms. Regulations vary both cross-industry and cross-jurisdiction – therefore, an AI tool which can accurately synthesise regulatory frameworks is invaluable to providing advisory notes on legal issues.

Currently, the growth of generative AI has not included significant exposure for tools used for regulatory compliance. AI tools like Harvey AI, CoCounsel and Luminance focus on contract review, drafting and legal research, with regulatory synthesis across jurisdiction a more challenging area for generative AI to become proficient in. Entrenched providers such as Lexis offer regulatory compliance tools which incorporate elements of AI such as Natural Language Processing. However, a gap remains in the current market for legal tech when considering the demand for tools capable of producing advisory notes on legislation across the international community.

Concluding note

LTS is excited to continue engaging students on the different AI tools emerging in the legal tech market. As AI becomes increasingly relevant to practice at international law firms, the proficiency of students in being able to use AI effectively to assist in proofreading, drafting, research and bundling is becoming crucial. LTS will continue to host discursive sessions with practitioners at leading firms surrounding the integration of legal tech. We encourage students in the King’s community to engage with these events if they are interested in the integration of AI in law firms.