One of the most time-consuming portions of a lawyer’s job has always been doing legal research. It can take a lawyer hours or even days to find the appropriate answer by going through case laws, statutes, judgments, comments, and precedents.
But in 2025, the legal field is going through a big change.
AI-powered legal tools are helping businesses cut down on research time by as much as 70% without sacrificing accuracy.
This change is huge for law firms that are getting more cases, having to meet stricter deadlines, and facing more competition.
Why Legal Research Takes So Long
Lawyers are slowed down by traditional research methods since they depend on
- Searches for keywords by hand
- Going through hundreds of examples that don’t matter
- Reading long judgments from start to finish
- Looking at different decisions that are at odds with each other
- Putting complicated legal terminology into simpler terms
- Checking again to make sure the jurisdiction is correct
- Even with online libraries, research takes a lot of time for people to read and understand.
What happened?
Getting ready for cases takes longer, productivity goes down, and prices go up.
How AI Is Changing the Way Lawyers Do Research
AI doesn’t take the place of a lawyer’s knowledge; it makes it stronger.
Modern AI tools are educated on big sets of case laws, statutes, and legal commentary. This lets them do research jobs in minutes instead of hours.
Here’s how businesses are adopting AI to speed up their research process:
1. AI-Powered Case Retrieval: Get the Right Precedents in Seconds
Lawyers can now conduct the following instead of running dozens of keyword searches:
- Ask questions in plain language
- Get the right case laws right away
- Choose by court level, jurisdiction, and time frame
- Find precedents that have been missed
AI doesn’t only look for things; it also knows the legal context, which makes searches far more accurate.
2. Summaries of Automated Judgments
Judgments might be more than 50 to 200 pages long.
AI tools can make them shorter in:
- bullet points
- List of issues that are organized
- ratio decidendi
- influence of precedent
It used to take half a day, but now it only takes 3 minutes.
3. Making Legal Arguments
AI helps lawyers write:
- lists of issues
- Questions on the law
- structures of arguments
- references to supporting cases
This offers the lawyer a great place to start and cuts down on the time it takes to write the first draft.
4. Mapping for Compliance and Statutory Purposes
Law firms often have trouble with:
- old citations
- missing changes
- wrong references to the law
AI systems automatically map key laws and let lawyers know when they change, making sure that research is accurate and follows the rules.
5. Case Insights that Predict
Some powerful AI tools look at prior decisions to give:
- Chance of outcomes
- Pros and cons of arguments
- Important trends in the courts
These insights help lawyers create better plans and build stronger arguments.
The Result: Research is up to 70% faster
Companies that use AI are saying:
- 70% less time spent on research
- 2–3 times faster at getting ready for the first case
- More accurate citations
- Better consistency between teams
- Increased strategic bandwidth for top lawyers
- Less time looking. More time to contemplate.
That’s what really matters.
What This Means for Law Firms: More Work That Can Be Billed
Lawyers can now spend less time on manual research and more time on analysis, client strategy, and getting ready for court.
Faster Case Turnaround
AI speeds up the process of preparing cases, which lets firms take on more cases without hiring more people.
Better Experience for Clients
Customers get answers faster, clearer paperwork, and results that are more likely to happen.
Better Competitive Edge
Companies who use AI now will have a technological edge that other companies will need years to catch up to.
AI-assisted legal research is the way of the future, not AI-dependent research.
AI won’t take the place of attorneys; it will take the place of old ways of doing things.
Companies who see AI as a partner in speed, precision, and efficiency will be the real winners.
Ready to Modernize Your Legal Research Workflow?
👉 Sifars builds AI-powered legal research and document intelligence solutions that help law firms work smarter, faster, and with greater accuracy.
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