APPLICATION OF AI IN LEGAL RESEARCH IN NIGERIA

Legal research is a basic function of the legal sector. It is the act of researching and obtaining the evidence required to support legal conclusions. This approach has traditionally involved lawyers to comb through lengthy legal documents, case law, statutes, and regulations, which has taken a great amount of time and effort. The effort expended in research is associated with the fact that a legal practitioner is as good as his/her research. In law, the research speaks for the legal practitioner.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a disruptive technology. It has been deployed and employed in various facet of the human endeavours – business, finance, health. The utilisation of AI in legal research and drafting is however unpopular, especially in Nigeria. This is because most firms are still very conservative and traditional in their approach to legal research.

The merits of the adoption and application of AI are numerous. Application of AI in legal research boosts the accuracy of research findings while minimising the amount of time legal practitioners spend manually examining materials. AI can also be deployed in the drafting of correspondences. Furthermore, AI enhances search operations by allowing users to conduct contextual searches rather than keyword searches. This means that even if the precise keywords are not there in the documents, attorneys can still locate contextually relevant facts.

LegalDigitalNG as a legal reporting and digital publishing company, has embraced AI on its digital platform. LegalDigitalNG seeks to improve the legal environment in Nigeria by delivering cutting-edge tools to legal practitioners and boosting access to legal information through the introduction of AI. The AI component of LegalDigitalNG helps users to undertake detailed legal research more quickly. The platform uses AI to review statutes, case law, and draft correspondences in order to offer users with accurate and relevant information. As a result, completing legal research needs less time and effort, allowing legal practitioners to focus on more strategic elements of their professions.

Taiwo A. Balogun, Lagos