Artificial Intelligence in Law: The Journey Begins in Academia

This week I attended a fascinating workshop that dealt with exactly this point – the intersection of AI and legal practice. The workshop was organized by

The workshop was opened by

During my lecture, we demonstrated the fundamental differences between legal research in a general AI-based chat such as chat GPT, Gemini, Claude, etc., and legal research using

We reviewed a legal issue dealing with the question of the fiduciary duty of a director in a municipal company and discussed the polar legal outcomes between the different systems. Below you can see an example of a response from a general chat versus a segment received on LawMate.

We discussed the underlying differences between these tools, which explain the differences in results. While general chats rely on broad, but unaudited and incomplete databases, LawMate operates on official, audited, and dedicated legal databases and employs legal logic, a rich graph of connections between precedents, and an accurate legal hierarchy. The system does not just "answer questions," but thinks legally, just as an experienced lawyer would for the issue.

We discussed the impact of artificial intelligence, which not only assists lawyers, but also narrows gaps and allows young lawyers to conduct complex legal research in a short time and with low inputs, while maintaining human quality control, because even in the age of artificial intelligence, the lawyer remains at the heart of the action.

There is no doubt that the existence of this workshop stems from a deep understanding of the change taking place in the world of law - an understanding led by students who are motivated and technologically open. The Law and High-Tech Club at the Faculty of Law of Tel Aviv University shows once again that innovation does not remain outside of academia, but begins within it.