ChatGPT For Lawyers: 5 Use Cases + 5 Legal Prompts
When you think about ChatGPT and AI technology, the word “lawyer” usually doesn’t come to mind.
But with the right approach, ChatGPT by OpenAI might be the best new technology in your law firm’s toolbox. Not only is it a massive time-saver, it’s also useful in enhancing tasks like legal research, client interactions, and even marketing.
Let’s look at the basics of ChatGPT and dissect what your firm can do with it.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot that took the internet by storm with its ability to generate human-like text in seconds.
Its AI model uses Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), and tons of publicly available information to complete almost any written task, like “define digital marketing in 100 words” or “write a 1,000-word rhyming children’s book about two sisters who don’t like to share.”
While ChatGPT represents the most mainstream and accessible implementation of generative AI, some attorneys already took a step further by investing in legal-specific tools with fine-tuned language models.
Mathew Kerbis, founder of Subscription Attorney LLC, shares his experience with these alternative AI tools:
I use legal-specific AI that has a proprietary, legal, large language model and can plug-and-play with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other LLMs.
Since I’m essentially getting access to ChatGPT features in a higher-level subscription from a premium GenAI product, I’m not using ChatGPT directly. I use this legal-specific GenAI to help in all aspects of my business, including substantive legal work.
Top 3 Benefits of ChatGPT for Lawyers
It’s easy to see the advantage of ChatGPT for professional writers, particularly in terms of productivity. For legal professionals, a generative AI chatbot offers these top three benefits:
- Save time on repetitive writing tasks. It only takes ChatGPT seconds to create first drafts for legal documents, including business contract summaries, abstracts, and memos.
- Fill skill gaps in your marketing. ChatGPT can accomplish a variety of marketing-related tasks, like copywriting, email marketing, and landing page optimization.
- Conduct legal research more efficiently. ChatGPT instantly pulls information on general facts, statutes, local government regulations, and more to aid your legal research.
For Hunter Garnett, founder and managing partner at Garnett Patterson Injury Lawyers, saving time is the primary benefit of ChatGPT. But you have to be mindful when it comes to your prompts:
The beneficial aspect of ChatGPT is that you can use it to save time. As an attorney, saving time is always the ultimate goal. I would not say that ChatGPT and other AI services are negatively impacting the legal industry. If you are creative with your inputs, you will receive great outcomes.
To put this into perspective, our firm has used ChatGPT to find the best way to format spreadsheets and to find the most effective way to communicate ideas to staff or clientele.
Will ChatGPT Replace Lawyers?
Despite the mind-blowing capabilities of AI and Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), it still can’t replace human lawyers — and that’s not likely to change in the future.
ChatGPT doesn’t possess the legal expertise, professional ethics, moral judgment, and flexibility needed to represent clients in a courtroom. AI also has a handful of limitations that are impossible to overcome without a human lawyer to bridge the gaps, like:
- Build an entire case by itself
- Provide legal advice
- Recognize nuances in legal cases
- Provide accurate facts 100% of the time (human verification is needed)
Ladah Law Firm founder, Ramzy Ladah, says:
ChatGPT’s impact on the legal industry has been transformative but also demands a balanced approach. While it accelerates routine tasks and can provide quick insights into legal research, it doesn’t replace the nuanced judgment and tactical decisions experienced attorneys bring. It’s an excellent tool for enhancing productivity, but it works best under the guidance of skilled legal professionals who can add context and deeper legal understanding to its outputs.
Remember, ChatGPT isn’t designed nor is it capable enough to fully replace you. But professional and ethical considerations aside, it can definitely enhance your firm’s efficiency in time-consuming tasks.
Let’s look at some ways in which you can use ChatGPT.
Related reading: Future of Legal Marketing
How to Use ChatGPT for Lawyers: Top 5 Use Cases
Good news: using ChatGPT is extremely easy. Think of it as typing orders to a smart, virtual butler who can fulfill almost any request — as long as the task is completed via text output.
To get started, go to the official ChatGPT website and sign in or create a new account.
Upon login, you’re all set. Just type in exactly what you want ChatGPT to do. Hit ‘Send Message’ and let the language model do its work.
Most prompts only take a few seconds to generate results. For example, here’s what ChatGPT pulled when I asked, “What are the penalties or sanctions for DUI second offense in Virginia?”
You can also add specific instructions to refine ChatGPT’s response.
Let’s say you only need a short list of all DUI second offense penalties in bullet points. Just modify your prompt with the right instructions and let the algorithms work.
ChatGPT can take on even more advanced instructions, including links to article references and the exact word count you need. Whatever it is, you can count on the AI-powered tool to generate a well-written response in seconds.
ChatGPT Use Cases for Lawyers
To better understand how lawyers can use ChatGPT, let’s take a look at a few use cases:
1. Optimize Your Service Area Landing Page Copy
Many lawyers aren’t exactly well-versed in digital marketing — let alone Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With the help of ChatGPT, you can instantly improve the optimization of your web pages to help increase their search engine rankings and generate more leads.
Simply use a prompt like the one below and insert the keywords you’re targeting.
2. Create Marketing Emails
Email is still one of the top content marketing channels for promoting your legal services and generating leads online. However, crafting marketing emails is a time-consuming process that requires copywriting expertise and the right tools.
ChatGPT will help you create attention-grabbing emails in a snap. Or, you can use it to improve existing drafts from your marketing team.
Rock Rocheleau, founder of Right Divorce Lawyers, talks about how his firm uses ChatGPT to streamline client communications and the benefits of his decision:
ChatGPT has also been useful for generating content for our website and client communications. We use it to create informative blog posts, newsletters, and even social media content. The ability to produce well-structured content efficiently has allowed us to maintain a consistent online presence, which is crucial in today’s digital age. This not only helps with client engagement but also boosts our SEO efforts, making it easier for potential clients to find us online.
3. Simplify Legal Documents for Clients
You can ask ChatGPT to rewrite multiple pages of complex legal jargon into shorter, more readable articles your clients can understand. This ensures smoother client interactions and workflows.
While ChatGPT is useful for first drafts, it’s important to have your own team make the final adjustments before sending them to clients.
David Fritch, owner of Fritch Law Office, uses this exact same approach:
As the owner of Fritch Law Office for 40 years, I have found ChatGPT useful in streamlining certain legal processes like drafting client letters and court filings. ChatGPT can generate an initial draft in minutes, allowing my team to then customize details for each client.
At my firm, we use technology to augment our abilities, not to substitute them. The key is balancing AI and human expertise to best serve our clients.
4. Get Ideas and Prepare for Your Case
ChatGPT can bolster your case by giving you a head start on potential arguments and outcomes. While it’s not a good idea to rely on ChatGPT for your entire case, it’s still a great place to start early in the preparation phase.
5. Obtain Knowledge of Local Laws and Regulations
Lifelong learning is key to success in legal practice. And with ChatGPT, you can condense days or weeks of research into a few hours of AI prompts and outputs.
It’s simple: if you have questions or clarifications about local laws, regulations, and other legal matters, just ask ChatGPT.
GJEL Accident Attorneys managing partner, Andy Gillin, talks about how ChatGPT helps them save hours on legal research:
ChatGPT quickly synthesizes information on various legal precedents and regulations. This helps streamline case preparation and ensures we stay up-to-date without spending hours on manual research. For firm owners and lawyers, integrating ChatGPT into daily workflows can result in more efficient use of your time, allowing you to dedicate greater attention to strategic planning and client interaction.
Although only a small percentage of law firms actively use ChatGPT in their workflows, the majority of them already recognize the AI chatbot’s potential use cases. A survey by the Thomson Reuters Institute revealed that 82% of law firms believe that ChatGPT can be used for legal work.
Just remember, never skip the proofreading and editing processes whenever you use ChatGPT.
In a legal sense, using AI-generated content in your law firm’s workflow is a grey area. It’s not illegal for lawyers to use AI tools, but the practice of law is and always will be a human obligation. It’s also not a good look for attorneys to rely solely on AI in the legal industry.
Long story short, AI can definitely supplement your legal tasks — but it should never be the sole information source or decision-maker in your processes.
Riley Beam of Douglas R. Beam, P.A. warns about the nonchalant use of AI in the legal practice:
We haven’t fully embraced AI yet, mainly because we have serious concerns about confidentiality. We want to protect our clients’ privacy above all else, so while we see the potential benefits of using something like ChatGPT, we tread lightly.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have potential. I think ChatGPT could be helpful in drafting documents like contracts or legal briefs, followed by a lawyer refining and customizing the details. We can’t rely solely on AI to get everything right, so human oversight is essential
How to Write ChatGPT Prompts: A Lawyer’s Guide
Besides the examples above, here are six ChatGPT prompts you can use to make legal work a walk in the park:
1. Research Legal Precedents
Prompt: “Find legal precedents [specific case/legal issue] and identify example cases. List down notable arguments with brief explanations.”
2. Identify Potential Legal Questions
Prompt: “Round up a list of potential discovery questions for [specific case/legal issue], including tips on how to answer them.”
3. Proofread and Polish Legal Documents
Prompt: “Inspect this [document type] to spot any issues with citations, spelling, grammar, and other potential errors. Provide corrections when necessary. [Paste document]”
4. Rewrite Drafts
Prompt: “Rewrite this draft for [document requirements and specifications]. Improve its clarity, impact, and accuracy.”
5. Summarize Local Rules and Statutes
Prompt: “Summarize the [area of law] rules and statutes active in [location.”
6. Create a First Draft of Anything
Prompt: “Create a rough draft of a [document type] that specifically addresses [name of client/business]. Make it comprehensive but easy to understand for non-lawyers.”
Here’s one last tip: if you’re not happy with the AI-generated text you’re getting, consider using ChatGPT Plus. This paid version uses GPT-4, which is a multimodal, large language model that ramps up the chatbot’s creativity, speed, and reasoning.
ChatGPT Plus also accepts image inputs, which can streamline investigations in the legal field — unlike regular ChatGPT which is stuck with GPT-3.
Integrate ChatGPT into Your Law Firm’s Workflow Responsibly
ChatGPT is undeniably one of the most valuable productivity tools for law firms. However, no business strategy can survive without the human touch.
Contact us and learn more about how to integrate ChatGPT in your law firm’s marketing workflow and get more leads.
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