Brief history of AI in the legal sector

Note: This article is just one of 60+ sections from our full report titled: The 2024 Legal AI Retrospective - Key Lessons from the Past Year. Please download the full report to check any citations.

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Current AI Applications in Law

The current landscape of AI applications in law encompasses several key areas:

• Document review

• Legal research and outcome prediction

• Contract review and analysis

• Contract drafting

• Risk monitoring and compliance

• Client engagement via chatbots

Market Growth and Investment

The AI in legal tech software market, currently valued at $548.44 million, is projected to grow by 17% over the next five years, reaching an estimated $2.6 billion. Between January 2023 and February 2024, LegalTech startups attracted substantial venture funding, with notable rounds including:

• Harvey ($80M, Series B)

• EvenUp ($50M, Series B)

• Darrow ($35M, Series B)

• Robin AI ($22M, Series B and $25m 'Series B plus')

• Spellbook ($27M, Series A)

• Genie AI ($17.8M, Series A)

Additional companies securing significant investments included Litify, Steno, Trellis, LawVu, PowerLaw, Parrot, Xapien, and Paxton AI.

"This recent influx of capital for legal AI companies demonstrates a timely optimism that coincides with increased adoption by practitioners in the industry. Taken together, the acquisition of Casetext by Thomson Reuters for $650m in cash, the $900m raise from Clio as they roll out Clio Duo, and the expansion of key players like Gavel adding AI features like Blueprint and Spellbook with Associate all indicate a rapidly shifting legal landscape poised for increased reliance on AI tools for increasingly complex tasks to free professionals up for the necessary human elements of the practice of law"

Brittany Hernandez, Head of Legal Innovation, Gavel, USA

From basic research tools to sophisticated systems capable of complex legal reasoning and interaction, this timeline illustrates a progressive integration of AI into all aspects of the legal sector.