I've been thinking a lot about the use of AI in my legal practice, and experimenting with a few different tools. I haven't yet figured out how to reliably use AI to do my work in less time. What I have noticed, though, is how AI can increase the value of what I offer to clients.

Early in my practice if a client asked to record a meeting, I would politely decline. Providing a written summary was also outside the scope of an initial consultation - I expected clients to take their own notes. I took mine. Though neither set was particularly reliable. It didn't help that I could barely read my own handwriting (from the days of in person meetings, pens, note pads and brown folders).

Now, most of my initial client meetings take place over Teams, with the transcript feature turned on. After the meeting, I can use Copilot to generate a summary of the conversation, which I can quickly review for accuracy before sharing it with my client.

The meeting itself hasn't changed much. The time spent hasn't decreased. But the client can leave the initial meeting with clear notes they can actually use.

That’s been the real shift for me: not doing less work, but delivering something which improves the overall client experience.

How are you using AI in your legal practice?