Fifteen minutes before a consultation · a made-up illustration
An AI agent for lawyers comes in at a moment every firm knows. In fifteen minutes a client arrives for a meeting about a dismissal. The pay slips came by email, the termination letter on WhatsApp, and the employment agreement never came at all. Instead of reading the material, you are hunting for it.
The hunting can be handed over. The legal decision can't.
In short
- An AI agent for lawyers is a digital assistant that takes a task from you on WhatsApp, Telegram or email, and works in the email, folders and calendar you connected it to.
- It prepares what only a law firm needs: a first draft of a demand letter from your template, a timesheet from the day that just ended, numbered exhibits with an index, and a weekly list of matters that haven't moved.
- It also takes the office work around the matter off your desk: a missing-documents list, a meeting prep sheet, a client update and reminders for the dates you approved.
- Legal advice, taking on a client, setting deadlines and decisions in the matter stay with the lawyer. You start with one task and one folder, after checking which material may be passed on and to which provider.
What does an AI agent for lawyers do around the matter?
Think of the prep table that stands in front of the lawyer's desk. On it the documents are put in order, what's missing is flagged, and the client's question is placed next to the material that answers it. That is the agent's table. Your desk, the one where you decide what the document means and what the client is told, stays yours.
An example from a real estate practice: before a meeting about a sale, you write to it "what has come in for the file and what's missing." It goes over what the client sent, compares it with your list and answers: the land registry extract and the sale agreement arrived, the seller's proof of title is missing. Whether the title is in order is for you to determine.
If this is your first encounter with the subject, the explainer what is an AI agent describes how an assistant like this connects to a business's tools.
A request that's too broad
"Handle the dismissal inquiry"
- Not clear whether it may reply to the person who wrote in
- Nobody set which documents it reads
- Not clear who decides on taking the client
A task you can check
"Prepare a list of the material for the consultation"
- Works only in the folder for that meeting
- Shows what arrived and what's missing against your list
- Returns a draft message that waits for approval
What does a working day at a firm look like with an agent?
Pick a time and see what was sent to the agent and what came back. This is an illustration of a possible day at a small employment law firm, not a record of any particular firm or matter.
08:40 · Before the 11:00 meeting
What do we have for the 11:00 meeting?
12 pay slips, the termination letter and the notice of the pre-dismissal hearing arrived. The employment agreement and the final pay statement are missing.
The termination letter says employment ended on March 31, and the client wrote April 15 in his email. Both documents are linked in the prep sheet.
✓ Prep sheet ready · ! 2 documents missing · Request for what's missing awaiting approval
Send him the request.
12:15 · After the meeting
We're taking the case. Prepare a demand letter to the employer from the template: a hearing that wasn't held properly, a severance shortfall and pay in lieu of notice. 14 days to respond.
The draft is ready. The period of employment and the last salary are taken from the pay slips, and the date of the hearing notice from the letter the client sent. Next to every fact it says which document it comes from.
I didn't calculate the amounts; I left three fields empty. I didn't add statute sections.
Draft for you to edit · Not sent
18:10 · End of day
Prepare my hours for today.
Consultation 11:00 to 12:00, and drafting the demand letter after it. On another matter: three emails to opposing counsel and a twenty-minute call you dictated to me at noon.
Between 15:00 and 16:30 the calendar says "work on a file" with no name. Which matter should I log it to?
Draft timesheet · 2 matters · One slot unassigned
An illustration. The dates and details in the example are made up.
What repeats in all three conversations: the agent collects, compares and prepares a draft, and you read, edit and decide. The morning summary, the calendar and the reminders in the example are the work of an AI personal assistant for your business, here with the firm's matters.
What does an AI agent for lawyers do that only a law firm needs?
Four jobs that only someone who runs matters knows. In all of them the agent works from the firm's templates and folders, and the output is a draft that waits for you. Which of them can be set up at your firm is something we check on the intro call.
A demand letter from your template
- What triggers it: "Prepare a demand letter to the employer," with a pointer to the meeting summary.
- What it does: fills the parties, the period and the chain of events into the template, and notes next to every fact which document it comes from.
- What it leaves empty: an amount you didn't give it, statute sections and case law.
- With you: the claims, the amounts, the time to respond and the signature.
A timesheet from the day that just ended
- What triggers it: the end of the day, or "prepare my hours for today."
- What it does: goes over the calendar, the emails you sent and the documents that were saved, and prepares a draft by matter.
- What comes back as a question: a calendar slot with no matter name. A phone call goes in when you dictated a line after it.
- With you: how much time is recorded and what is billed. It does not issue an invoice to the client.
Numbered exhibits with an index
- What triggers it: you finished a draft of a pleading or an affidavit that refers to exhibits.
- What it does: orders the files as they appear in the draft and prepares a single file with an index and page numbers.
- What comes back alongside the file: an exhibit with no file, a file that isn't mentioned, and a scan with a page missing.
- With you: what gets attached, compliance with the filing requirements and the filing itself.
Matters that didn't move this week
- What triggers it: the day of the week you set.
- What it does: sends a list of matters with no outgoing email, no saved document and no calendar event for more than the number of days you defined.
- What it says next to each matter: the last thing that happened, for example "settlement offer sent on September 2, no reply."
- With you: what to do about each matter. The list does not replace the deadline calendar.
This is what the output of the third job looks like. On the left, the matter's documents in date order, and on the right the index the agent built from them. The last row is the one that saves you a surprise on filing day.
Which routine processes at a firm can be handed to an agent?
Around those four jobs there is the routine: five processes that come back in almost every matter.
| The process and what triggers it | What the agent prepares | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|
| Intake of a new inquiry. An inquiry from the form on the website | An inquiry card with contact details, the subject and the names of the parties, and a flag if a name already appears in the list of clients and parties you gave it | The conflict check, the decision to take the client and the reply to the person who wrote in |
| Collecting documents before a meeting. A meeting was set, and there is a document list for that type of matter | A comparison between what arrived and the list, and a message to the client asking only for what's missing | The list itself and sending the request |
| A meeting prep sheet. "Prepare me for the meeting," with a pointer to the folder | One page: a list of documents with links, a timeline and contradictions, each with its source | The legal meaning and the questions you'll ask |
| Tracking deadlines you approved. You approved a hearing date or a filing date | An entry in the firm's calendar, prep tasks and reminders. A court decision with a different date is shown next to the existing entry | The deadline itself and the counting of days, including court recesses |
| A status update for the client. The client asks "what's happening with my case" | A short draft: what was filed, what was received, what the next step is. "Should I settle?" goes to you | The wording, the recipient, the files and the sending |
Two things that didn't make it into the table. A file the agent isn't sure about, for example a scan with no title, is flagged for you to check and is not counted as "arrived." And if you decided to take a case, it fills in the fee agreement and the power of attorney from your template and flags any field where a detail is missing.
What happens when the agent makes a mistake?
It can make mistakes, like a new trainee. Say the prep sheet states that the employment agreement arrived, but the link leads to an agreement from another matter. You correct the assignment, and check whether the same mistake also made its way into the request to the client and the missing-documents list.
That's why, before working on real matters, we also test the process on hard cases: an unreadable scan, two files with similar names, conflicting dates. The result we look for is "not sure, please check," not a confident guess.
A new document arrives in the file · what happens to it
- Filed in the matterThe agent identifies which matter and which meeting the document belongs to
- Compared with your listWhat arrived, what's missing and what's unclear
- A request for what's missingA short draft to the client, only about what's missing
- You approveA look at the recipient and the wording, and the message goes out
What you don't give the agent: advice, confidentiality and professional responsibility
So far, what you gain. The limits are gathered here, and most of them come from the rules of the profession, not from the technology.
What stays only with you. Case strategy, assessing the chances, the decision to settle and every legal answer to a prospective or existing client. In the processes we described, the agent also does not file court documents and does not transfer money.
Responsibility does not pass to the tool. In Israel, the National Ethics Committee of the Israel Bar Association published an up-to-date opinion on the use of artificial intelligence in lawyers' work (opinion 60/24). It states that using AI does not reduce the lawyer's professional responsibility, and that supervising the tool does not end on the day you approved it. In practice: you open the document the summary relies on, and you don't approve because the wording is convincing. The opinion, responsibility and ongoing supervision. If you practice elsewhere, check the rules and guidance of your own bar or regulator.
Deleting the client's name is not enough. According to the opinion, even after a name is removed, the details that remain can identify the client. It also says you don't settle for a system being called "closed" or "enterprise": you check the account, the settings and the actual commitments, including who can access the information, and that it isn't used for training without proper consent. That's why family law files, medical documents and privileged correspondence are connected only after that check. The opinion, confidentiality and platforms.
Firm procedures and checking the provider. The opinion talks about internal procedures: training everyone who uses the tool, including trainees and administrative staff, and setting which information is not entered and how outputs are verified. With an outside provider, you check that it is committed to protecting client information. At a small firm this comes down to three decisions: who sends material to the agent, who approves a message, and what you do when a document from another matter turns up. The opinion, procedures and providers.
The agent prepares on its own
- A list of documents that arrived and that are missing
- A draft timesheet and an exhibit index
- A list of matters that haven't moved
Waits for your approval
- A document request and an update to the client
- Entering and changing a deadline
- A demand letter that leaves the firm
Off-limits to the agent
- Legal advice
- Filing court documents
- Transferring money and irreversible deletion
Is it worth starting at your firm?
If what you'd like to hand over is drafting an argument or a sensitive conversation with a client, we wouldn't start there. If you keep reopening email threads to find out which pay slips arrived, you have a first task. To choose it, mark how much time a week each of these jobs takes at your firm.
How many hours a week go to the work around the matter?
8.5 hours a week
37 hours a month
This is the time this work takes you today, according to what you marked. The starting numbers are an example, not data. An agent doesn't make this time disappear: you still read and approve the output. Your longest row is a good candidate for the first task.
Once you've chosen a task, the checklist helps you see what is already in place.
What's ready for the first task at the firm?
Your checkmarks aren't saved. The first two items are the heart of it: without a task and without a document list, the agent has nothing to check against. If the item about the provider's terms is still open, you can start by trying it out on dummy material.
How do you start without opening up the whole firm?
We would start with a missing-documents list before a meeting, in one practice area. For the intro call, bring your document list and a made-up example of the material a client sends. Together we set what comes back to you, and what the agent does when it isn't sure which matter a file belongs to.
The email, folders and calendar the firm already has are enough for the first task. A connection to practice management software or to the court e-filing system is checked separately, according to what the system allows.
At Platin Digital the agent works on a separate cloud computer used only by your firm, with its own user and narrow permissions, and with a list of every significant action it took. When the information is sensitive, you choose a provider and a plan that do not train on the information. You can read about limiting access in the article on permissions and approvals for an AI agent. The price is built from a one-time payment for the connection, external services and monthly support, and you get the exact price in writing before we start. We set up processes like these as part of business automation with an AI agent.
What else does the agent do for a law firm?
Matters are only part of the firm. The same agent can also take care of your website, your inquiries and your routine, and each area starts separately. This is what the seven areas look like at a law firm. For examples from other businesses: what an AI agent does in a business on a normal day.
You say in a voice message what you answer to "I was fired without a hearing, what do I do?", and it writes a draft article for the firm's website from it. No client details, and it goes up after you approve.
A lawyer joined, or a practice area was added? The team page and the practice area pages are updated from one message, and you can set a regular check of the contact form.
In the morning a summary is waiting for you: today's hearings and meetings, emails waiting for a reply and what needs preparing for tomorrow.
Someone who writes in for the first time gets a confirmation that the inquiry was received and the intake questions you set, in the evening too. A legal question goes to you.
From the article you approved, it prepares a draft post for the firm's LinkedIn page. The post is published after you've read it.
If the firm advertises on Google, it goes over the campaign every day and reports which searches brought inquiries. Wording and budget change only with your approval.
Everything we described in this article: a missing-documents list, a prep sheet, a timesheet, an exhibit index and reminders for the deadlines you approved.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI agent for lawyers?
An AI agent for lawyers is a digital assistant connected to the firm's email, folders and calendar that carries out defined tasks around the matter: a draft demand letter from your template, a timesheet, numbered exhibits, a missing-documents list and a meeting prep sheet. What it may read and do is set in advance, and a message to a client goes out with your approval.
Can it reply to a client on WhatsApp?
Yes, on whichever channel suits the firm: WhatsApp, Telegram or email. Usually the agent prepares the reply and you approve it. If you want an automatic reply with fixed wording, such as "Your message was received, we'll get back to you," it is defined explicitly. A legal question goes to you. A first reply to people who get in touch is the work of an AI customer service and sales agent.
Can I let it count the days for filing a statement of defense?
We wouldn't. It tracks a deadline the lawyer set and approved, prepares reminders and alerts you when a decision arrives with a different date. You set the deadline itself, and the firm's regular tracking stays active.
Do we have to connect all the firm's files?
No. To prepare a meeting, only the folder of that matter is connected. If a document is missing, the agent writes that it's missing and does not search other files.
What if we don't have proper case management software?
You can work with the existing email, document folders and calendar. What you do need: it must be clear which document belongs to which matter. If the files are mixed up, you sort them first and only then give the agent access.
