# 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 .

**Author:** Alex Denne  
**Category:** Insights  
**Published:** 2024-12-18  
**Reading time:** 3 min

**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](https://www.genieai.co/blog/legal-ai). Please download the full report to check any citations.

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Timeline of Legal AI‍

**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)

 • GenieAI ($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.

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