Key takeaways

Clients of law firms are now able to use AI to help articulate their cases to legal firms in a clear way.

Law firms should now be using AI to help with their day to day business.

The changing media landscape and the arrival of AI is upping the ante for New Zealand’s lawyers, 90% of the country’s 2500 law firms, small businesses with less than three employees.

The tech changes are coming hard and fast at these SMEs and sole traders- on the positive side, AI is helping them with their day to day legal work, making them more efficient and effective.

At the same time, law firms are increasingly becoming a favourite target of cyber scammers, according to the National Cyber Security Centre, because they are often moving large sums of money around.

Tom Roberts, Team Leader Threat and Incident Response at NCSC recommends businesses have two-factor authentication to keep cyber criminals out and to make sure they’re installing software updates to mitigate risk.

“With business email compromise (BEC) on the increase recently, we encourage all law firms to check if their email systems have been compromised,”he says.

Tom suggests businesses ask their IT provider to monitor business email and check auto-forwarding rules on email accounts, especially those relating to accounts receivable.

Legal PR is helping law firms with the new media landscape

Lawyers are also being called on more frequently to protect clients, companies or individuals, who are being talked about on social media.

NZ public relations company Alexander PR launched a separate business offering last year, www.legalpr.co.nz in response to a growing number of lawyers contacting them as they grappled with reputational fallout after a case was litigated through the media rather than in the courts.

“Today’s digital reality is that damage in the court of public opinion can outstrip that in a court of law,” says co-founder Kate Alexander.

Legal professions everywhere are entering more transparent and porous operating terrain as instant news reporting, digital and social media and AI, enable public scrutiny to influence legal processes and reputation, warns Kate..

“Now with the additional layer of large language models, AI engines including GPT, Claude, Grok and DeepSeek are becoming the arbiters of trust about you and your organisation,” she says.

How AI tech is helping law firms run more efficiently

Looking at the positives of AI for the legal profession, most forward-looking lawyers are embracing AI large language models to help them with their day to day business.

“There is no doubt that in the legal services sector, it’s going to enhance and streamline the way lawyers do their job and massively increase efficiency and productivity. This will be on the transactional side, litigation and in law firm management and administration,” says Nick Kovacevich, partner at Couch Harlowe Kovacevich.

At his law firm, the team is increasingly using apps including ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Studio with practice management software tools, for file management and communications, drafting and document preparation, and intuitive AI for tasks like workflow management, he says.

“The technology is only going to get better and better and if you don’t incorporate it into your practice, the market could leave you behind,” says Nick.

The future is here, says barrister Josh McBride

Auckland-based Richmond Chambers barrister, Josh McBride, works exclusively on high-stakes commercial cases, often behind the scenes for leading business families and developers.

The barrister, who has been practising for 27 years, acted for the successful plaintiff in New Zealand's leading case on the use of Google AdWords.

He is often invited by law firms to run workshops and demonstrations on the implications of AI for the profession.

"When I demonstrated a real-time case analysis workflow using Claude (AI app)to a firm recently, jaws dropped. It was the most engaged I’ve ever seen a legal audience," says Josh.

With the right prompts, AI can be like having an exceptionally helpful junior - fast, focused and tireless, says the barrister. "It’s not perfect, but it’s powerful."

Legal advice is becoming more affordable thanks to AI

A big positive the barrister sees for AI is as an enabler of better outcomes and broader access to justice.

"It’s a massive opportunity for people to save money, improve outcomes, and get access to justice where they otherwise couldn’t."

Many people face low-value but complex disputes that traditionally wouldn’t justify days of legal advice, he says.

"Now AI can untangle the issues, outline options, assess cost and risk, and present it all in a coherent way, within minutes."

Using AI in law can be like riding an e-bike

In his own practice, Josh uses AI daily. "It’s like riding an e-bike: fast, exhilarating, occasionally veering off track, but incredibly productive."

In one recent example, he used AI to test legal arguments and draft submissions over the course of five hours.

"It felt like running on a treadmill at 30km/h. Exhausting but heady."

He notes that while AI won’t replace lawyers, it significantly enhances what they can offer.

"I can draft a client report on a settlement agreement, explain the key terms and why it’s a good outcome, and send it during a mediation. That’s the level we’re working at."

An area with huge promise, the Auckland barrister believes, is case triaging.

"Helping people articulate their issue clearly before they see a lawyer or go to court—that’s where AI can really help."

For the full article read it here in Stuff.

Where do I find startup funding in NZ?

Am I missing something?

Physical vs Digital

Small law firms are facing new challenges with AI and the new media landscape