New Delhi [India], June 2: Manupatra has remained a trailblazer in legal technology in India. Through continuous engagement with the legal community and students, we gain first-hand insights into the evolving intersection of law and emerging digital tools.
In recent years, artificial intelligence has become deeply woven into both personal lives and professional environments. In legal practice, AI has offered advantages such as faster research, improved drafting support, and streamlined contract and case management. However, some challenges have emerged, including cases where legal professionals unknowingly cited AI-generated fictitious judgments.
To better understand this transformation, Manupatra initiated a first-of-its-kind national survey to evaluate how AI is being used within the Indian legal system. The responses gathered from across the legal community shed light on current usage patterns, implementation gaps, and the steps needed for ethical and practical integration. These insights are crucial for lawyers, regulators, and educators in shaping a responsible AI future in law.
Manupatra’s report, titled “Adoption of AI in the Indian Legal Landscape,” presents findings from 227 respondents across India, including law students, litigators, in-house counsels, law firm partners, academics, and judicial authorities.
Key Findings:
Tech-Forward Respondents: A majority—60%—were aged between 18 and 34. Law students (36.6%) and advocates (23.8%) formed the largest respondent groups, showing strong early adoption interest.
Growing AI Usage: Nearly 60% had used AI tools in the past year, especially for legal research (77.9%), summarizing (65.7%), and drafting (54.7%).
Productivity vs. Reliability: 79.7% experienced time savings on repetitive tasks, yet only 4.1% completely trusted AI outputs. Nearly half (48.8%) stressed the need for review before relying on results.
Core Issues: 58.1% flagged inconsistent performance, 51.2% dealt with hallucinated or incorrect content, and 42.4% found most tools lacked relevance to Indian law.
Policy Deficit: Although 77.1% supported disclosure of AI usage in legal submissions, just 11% said their firms had formal AI policies.
Challenges Faced:
Unreliable Accuracy (58.14%): Many participants reported errors or hallucinations in AI-generated legal content.
Security Concerns (47.67%): A significant number worried about data protection and maintaining client confidentiality.
Contextual Limitations (42.44%): AI systems often miss nuances specific to Indian legal principles and precedents.
Ethical Risks (38.37%): Concerns included liability, bias, and professional responsibility in using AI for legal tasks.
Lack of Training (40.12% & 34.30%): Limited staff training and general unfamiliarity with AI tools were cited as barriers to adoption.
Looking Forward:
Timeline for Adoption: 35.68% expected AI to become standard in legal practice within 1–2 years, while only 3.96% predicted a timeline longer than five years.
Measured Optimism: 46.25% viewed AI as largely positive, 18.06% labeled it transformative, and 45.37% remained cautious, noting both risks and benefits.
Need for Infrastructure: Respondents called for structured training (67.40%), access to trial tools (66.52%), and regulatory guidance from bar councils and courts (47.58%).
AI as Legal Assistant: The general consensus is that AI will support legal work—especially research and drafting—while final legal judgment remains human-led.
About Manupatra:
Manupatra is India’s foremost legal-tech company, offering access to legal, regulatory, and business information. As the pioneer of online legal research in India since 2000, Manupatra maintains the most extensive collection of Indian and international legal content. With features powered by AI and machine learning, Manupatra helps lawyers, law firms, courts, corporate legal departments, and students find legal answers faster and smarter—combining deep legal knowledge with intelligent technology.