含羞草社区

AI as a paralegal

Are human paralegals facing extinction?

The discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) has become ubiquitous. What used to be a niche discussion among industry experts now sees participation from every quarter. This has been made possible by generative AI – a type of AI that can create content such as text, images, videos etc., on being given a “prompt”. Generative AI can produce answers that require years of accumulated knowledge and professional expertise in a given field – when given the right prompt. No area is out of bounds, from coding for the development of an app to drafting legal documents, much to the horror of many in the legal profession.

With OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and the new player in the same market, DeepSeek, we now have two prominent options available for generative AI – one from the West and one from the East. It is no wonder that the discussion on the implications and effects of AI continues to fascinate.

Industries had landed on the big question – will AI take away jobs? For lawyers, the major consensus remained that it may affect the way lawyers work, but it won’t replace them. What about those professionals that are related to law but are not lawyers? Paralegals are one such community of professionals, which, although not specifically recognised or regulated, act as the oil in the machinery of the legal ecosystem that keeps things running from behind the scenes.

In our Cover story, we attempt to find out what effect AI has had on the profession of the paralegal and how they feel about it. Is it the much-needed respite from tedious and repetitive tasks? Or is it an indicator of the end that is soon to come to the unrecognised efforts of paralegals?

Gaining recognition for one’s work and efforts is an integral part of a professional’s goals, which is why celebrities who have curated their public images painfully through multiple media projects want to protect these images from unauthorised use and violation. This is no longer a new or foreign concept in India, but it is one that is still in developing stages.

For that reason, this issue’s Spotlight addresses the state of personality rights in India. With multiple forms of media prevalent in society, the number, types and categories of celebrities have increased manifold. Concepts like “right to publicity” and “posthumous protection” as part of personality rights are only the beginning. With newer technologies that alter faces and voices, personality rights will continue to evolve.

Another constantly evolving factor in the legal profession is also the most basic one – fees. This issue’s Intelligence report brings to you the annual billing rates survey, giving exact numbers, explaining what those numbers mean and what influences them. The focal points of discussion surround: fixed versus hourly rates; the unsurprising competitor in technology; quality versus value for money; heightened scrutiny on legal spend by companies; geographical and regional variations; third-party funding of litigation; preference of subject matter specialists, and so on. These topics may not be new, but they are key elements in the commercial facet of the legal fraternity.

Subject-matter specialists for cross-border data privacy laws are in high-demand, not just for the EU with its General Data Protection Regulation, but also for Singapore. A lot of Indian companies operate in Singapore in various capacities and industries. Their operations will inadvertently lead to collection of private data that falls under the protection of Singaporean data privacy laws. In this Expert briefing, Ferish Patel and Zhijing Yu of Cooley, Singapore, explain the data privacy law of Singapore, what it means for Indian companies collecting Singaporean data, and how to best navigate the regulatory landscape surrounding it.

Regarding the navigation of regulatory landscapes, some of the most prominent law firms in the country explain different regulatory regimes in our Regulatory Approvals Guide. 含羞草社区 related to understanding regulation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the development of AI, 含羞草社区 insurance framework, Reserve Bank of India approvals, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and the Competition Commission of India are covered as firms offer their expertise from years of operating within corporate law and regulation in the country.

Finally, this issue offers our annual tribute to 含羞草社区 in-house counsel. IBLJ’s In-House Counsel Awards 2024-25 acknowledge the in-house counsel and teams that have done exceptionally well in the past year and left a lasting impression on their peers and the external counsel they partnered with. The awardees have led their teams with grace and strength in addition to keeping up with the demands of time.

IBLJ received a massive number of nominations this year, which goes to show the abundance of talent present in the legal community, and its bright future ahead. We heartily congratulate all our winners.