Society warns poorly managed AI adoption could expose firms to regulatory, professional and data protection risks
The Law Society of England and Wales launches a new practical guide to help solicitors make safer, more informed technology decisions warning that unsafe AI adoption may expose firms to risks.
The Law Society said, majority of firms and solicitors now use AI for routine legal practice tasks such as drafting documents and analysing case materials. Although the use of AI and technology as a whole may have significant benefits, it also carries great risks. “Challenges to data protection are heightened,” the society said. “The risk of unreliable and inaccurate outputs increases. AI tools are also notorious for having embedded biases.”
The Buying New Technology guide is designed to help firms make “safer, more informed technology decisions” and stresses that poorly managed adoption of AI systems could expose practices to professional, regulatory and data-protection risks.
The guidance focuses on procurement discipline. It sets out a step-by-step framework covering the identification of business needs, assessment of suppliers, contract negotiation and evaluation of deployed systems, reflecting concerns that firms are increasingly adopting legal technology without sufficient governance structures in place.
The guidance also reflects continuing regulatory uncertainty around the use of AI in legal services. The Society has previously warned that while two-thirds of lawyers report using AI tools in their work, many remain unclear about compliance expectations relating to oversight, security and liability.
Ian Jeffery, chief executive at the Law Society, said: “Our new guide helps firms ask the right questions, avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions.
“The benefits of technology can be enormous, allowing more time to focus on original thinking and innovation. But the downside can be considerable if firms do not adopt new technologies, including AI, safely and responsibly to serve the people and communities they live in.”
Importantly, the new resource sits alongside wider professional efforts to ensure technology adoption aligns with existing duties under conduct rules rather than creating a separate regulatory regime. The Society has repeatedly called for clearer practical guidance to help solicitors interpret existing obligations in the context of emerging technologies.
The guide therefore signals a shift towards embedding structured procurement and risk-management processes as standard practice as firms integrate AI into client services and internal operations.