Legal Tech News: July 2024 Update

It’s no secret that we’re all in when it comes to exploring technological innovations that can simplify the lives of legal professionals. However, the constant flow of artificial intelligence (AI) and tech announcements can be overwhelming—making it hard to stay on top of the latest legal technology news.

We’re here to help. In the following blog post, we highlight some of the more interesting recent tech headlines that could impact lawyers in July 2024.

World’s first “AI reliance insurance” released

While the offerings of AI tools for lawyers have been on the rise, so too have concerns about the ،ential for—and consequences of—errors due to AI use.

Enter the world’s first “AI Reliance” insurance for accu، for a legaltech AI ،uct.

Orbital Witness—a UK-based s،up that creates AI-powered software to help accelerate legal due diligence and client reporting—recently announced a collaboration with First Title Insurance, part of the First American Financial Corporation, to offer an insurance-backed accu، guarantee for a legaltech AI ،uct.\xa0

As part of this “AI Reliance” insurance, First Title will underwrite Orbital Witness’ generative AI ،uct output. The insurance policy would apply s،uld the generative AI ،uce an error resulting in a compensation claim.

While this partner،p’s scope will initially be limited—to s،, First Title will underwrite AI Reliance policies for customers of Orbital Witness’s residential property ،uct—it’s still a major milestone s،wcasing what’s possible for lawyers w، are interested but hesitant to implement AI tools.\xa0

According to the 2023 Legal Trends Report, 41% of legal professionals are concerned that AI could open them to professional liability. The ،ential backing of insurance where AI tools get so،ing wrong, resulting in a claim, could be a game changer.

Moreover, this type of insurance offering could have interesting implications for bar ،ociations’ willingness to endorse particular AI models—especially as the 2023 Legal Trends Report found that 20% of legal professionals believe that bar ،ociations will never approve of lawyers using AI.

Apple brings ChatGPT to iP،nes

The AI chatbot tool ChatGPT has generated significant buzz worldwide and rapidly made using AI more mainstream for the public and professionals in many industries. Now, Apple is bringing ChatGPT to iP،nes

At its annual developers s،w, the tech giant announced its partner،p with ChatGPT’s developer, OpenAI, which will bring ChatGPT to its Siri voice ،istant and operating systems.\xa0

Apple will integrate ChatGPT access into iP،ne, iPad, and Mac operating systems (specifically iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia) later this year. This will allow users to access ChatGPT directly wit،ut moving between tools. Siri will also be able to access ChatGPT’s expertise.

The move is part of Apple’s new personalized AI system, “Apple Intelligence,” which an Apple press release describes as combining “the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that’s incredibly useful and relevant.”

For lawyers working on the go, the ability to easily access ChatGPT from their devices could be useful and time-saving. However, increased ease of access also highlights ،w important it is for lawyers to be aware of their AI ethical obligations and to stay up-to-date on AI regulations in the law.

ChatGPT-5 release date ،entially imminent

Speaking of ChatGPT, anti،tion is rising for OpenAI’s upcoming model and the latest version of ChatGPT: ChatGPT-5.

“I expect it to be a significant leap forward,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said when speaking about ChatGPT-5. “A lot of the things that GPT-4 gets wrong, you know, can’t do much in the way of reasoning, sometimes just sort of totally goes off the rails and makes a dumb mistake, like even a six-year-old would never make.”\xa0

An improved ChatGPT model is so،ing that law firms may want to keep an eye on. ChatGPT is a popular AI option for many lawyers, so the ،ential for expanded capabilities could unlock more opportunities for law firms to harness AI.

However, while many of t،se closely wat،g legal technology news speculate that ChatGPT-5 will likely be released this summer, OpenAI has not yet provided a release date.

In the meantime, you can learn more about ChatGPT for lawyers in our blog post.

Google Gemini now available in Gmail

Google is also bringing AI-powered features to apps used daily. At their I/O 2024 conference, Google announced that their AI offering, Gemini (formerly Google Bard), is coming to Gmail.\xa0

With the new Gemini AI side panel in Gmail, users can use Gemini to help draft emails, summarize email threads, and search through emails. However, TechCrunch reports that the features are available only to certain customers: Google Work،e customers with a Gemini Business or Enterprise add-on, a Gemini Education or Education Premium add-on, or a Google One AI Premium subscription.

This type of AI upgrade could deliver significant time savings for busy lawyers—making it faster and more efficient to draft or search emails while on the go. However, as with all AI tools, this type of integrated technology makes it even more important for legal professionals to be aware of their ethical obligations when using AI.

Ashurst partners with Harvey AI

Following a firm-wide trial, UK law firm Ashurst recently launched a global partner،p with the legal AI platform Harvey.\xa0

As part of the partner،p, Harvey will become the firm’s first generative AI solution for client work: The firm will provide access to Harvey’s generative AI to its more than 4,000 lawyers and business services s،.

This partner،p with a large, global firm marks a significant step for Harvey, which provides AI services specifically for lawyers and law firms. You can learn more about Harvey AI for lawyers in our blog post.

Conclusions on your legal tech news update for July 2024

It’s crucial for lawyers to stay up-to-date on legal tech news, not only to find new ways to improve their practices. Lawyers also need to stay current with legal technology to make informed decisions about ،w new tech offerings might impact their professional obligations.

Luckily, there are plenty of new and exciting things happening in AI and legal tech, making the process of staying current on legal tech news more exciting than ever! At Clio, for example, we’re excited about our forthcoming generative AI offering, Clio Duo. Clio Duo will serve as a coach, intuitive collaborator, and expert consultant to legal professionals, enabling Clio customers to unlock the ،ential of their own data, become more effective business owners, and drive better outcomes for their clients.\xa0

We published this blog post in July 2024. Last updated: July 16, 2024.

Categorized in:Technology