What is paralegal AI? Tasks, limits and supervision

Tasks paralegal AI can assist with

• Summarising depositions, emails or bundles.
• Building a chronology from documents, for review.
• Extracting dates, parties and amounts into a table.
• Drafting routine letters and forms for lawyer review.
• Organising and tagging documents.
• Preparing first-pass checklists.

Every item is a draft or a sort for a person to check.

What stays human

• Client contact and sensitivity.
• Knowing the court, the registry and the people.
• Judgement on what matters in a document.
• Accountability: a person can be asked why.
• Anything filed, signed or sent with the firm's authority.

Professional rules about supervising non-lawyer assistants (ABA Model Rule 5.3 in the US, and equivalents elsewhere) are relevant to how you manage AI help. Check the rules and guidance in your own jurisdiction.

Working with it, step by step

1. 1

   Pick a task

   For example, a chronology from a client's emails.

2. 2

   Define the output

   A table with date, event, source document and page.

3. 3

   Run it

   Use a tool whose data terms you have reviewed.

4. 4

   Check

   Verify each row against the source, since extraction can miss or misread.

5. 5

   Save

   File the verified result on the matter.

Task by task: how much checking each needs

These ratings are a rule of thumb, not a standard. The more a mistake would cost, the closer the check should be.

Common mistakes

• Treating a fluent summary as a verified one.
• Pasting a whole client file into a tool whose data terms you have not read.
• Not recording who checked the output, so the file does not show the supervision.
• Giving AI work to a junior without saying that AI was used, so nobody knows what to double-check.
• Starting with a high-stakes task instead of one you can verify in minutes.

A short note on the matter, saying which tool produced the draft and who verified it, is usually enough to make supervision visible.

Organising the work in Notion

Paralegal work is mostly tracking: who is doing what, by when, for which matter. The Actions database in LawyerOS Pro with AI ($39, one-time) has status, due date, priority and dependency with My Week, Overdue and Waiting / Blocked views. That helps a human paralegal, or a lawyer supervising AI drafts, see what is outstanding. LawyerOS itself is a template with no AI paralegal inside it. See also /post/ai-legal-assistant-small-firms.

Frequently asked questions

Will AI replace paralegals?

It changes some tasks. Responsibility, client relationships and judgement still need people. This article makes no forecast.

Is it safe to give AI client documents?

Only after reviewing the provider's terms and your confidentiality duties.

What is the best first task?

A chronology or summary of documents you know well, so you can check the result.

Do I need to tell clients?

Check your regulator's guidance and your engagement terms on tools and disclosure.

Should paralegals use AI on their own?

That is a firm policy question. Write down which tasks are allowed, which tools are approved and who reviews the output.