Top law firms are using the best legal AI tools to rethink how they manage workloads and processes. Legal research, contract review, billing, and client intake are now completed more efficiently and accurately, enabling attorneys to dedicate more time to higher-value work.

And adoption is accelerating. AI use in law firms jumped from 11% in 2023 to 30% in 2024, marking a decisive turn in how the industry operates. According to Thomson Reuters, lawyers using AI reclaim an average of four hours each week. Even more telling: 72% of legal professionals now describe AI as a “force for good.”

With this rapid shift underway, it’s important to understand which tools are making the biggest impact. This guide examines the best legal AI tools currently available, organized by application area and the specific workflows they improve.

Where Legal AI Delivers Real Value

Before diving into specific tools, it helps to understand the categories where the best legal AI tools are already transforming legal work. Law firms are actively using AI today to reduce workload, improve output, and operate more efficiently.

The top areas include:

  • Legal research: AI accelerates case law discovery, summarizes rulings, and flags relevant precedents faster than traditional tools.
  • Document review and eDiscovery: Firms save hundreds of hours by training AI to classify, flag, and summarize documents in large cases.
  • Contract drafting and analysis: Law firms are using tools to surface risks, suggest clauses, and auto-draft contracts based on firm-approved templates.
  • Practice management: Some AI tools now integrate with your CMS or case management system to automate notes and even client interactions.
  • Client intake and communication: Chatbots, scheduling tools, and autoresponders are helping to make sure clients are engaged more quickly.

Each of these categories has matured in the past 12 months and continues to grow as time goes on. Although there is discussion on where AI is headed and how to use it across industries, the legal community is beginning to search for the best legal AI tools. 

Next, we’ll break down the tools dominating each category. We’ll start with research, then move into contract automation, document review, firm management, and client intake.

Legal Research: CoCounsel

Legal research is one of the earliest areas where AI proved its value and continues to lead in adoption for law firms. Instead of spending hours sifting through case law, attorneys now use AI to summarize rulings, highlight key takeaways, and surface related precedents based on nuanced context.

CoCounsel, now part of Thomson Reuters, is one of the most advanced generative AI tools built for legal professionals. It handles legal research, reviews documents, drafts contracts, and analyzes transcripts, all with source-cited responses.

What sets it apart is its ability to deliver fast, accurate answers backed by legal authority. Attorneys can ask plain-language questions and get results with linked citations, speeding up research without sacrificing confidence in the outcome.

Best for: High-volume legal research with accurate, source-linked answers
Use case: Litigation, employment, and personal injury firms with heavy case law demands

Contract Drafting: Spellbook

Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts is time-intensive and requires the closest detail. That’s why contract automation has become one of the most practical applications for legal AI. The best legal AI tools today enable lawyers to flag risks, insert clauses, and revise documents much more quickly than ever before.

One tool that solo and small law firms are using for contract automation is Spellbook.

Spellbook acts as a live legal assistant inside your documents. You can prompt Spellbook to explain a clause, suggest new language, compare versions, or ensure consistency across sections.

Best for: Solo and small firm attorneys who want to streamline contract review inside Word.
Use case: Contract-heavy work like commercial, real estate, or M&A work.

Spellbook helps you improve legal language and makes sure nothing is missed. Unlike generic writing tools, it’s trained on actual legal contract data and provides smart prompts that align with how attorneys work.

Bonus pick: Lawgeex

Lawgeex is worth noting as a legacy leader in contract automation for mid-size and large law departments. It focuses on aligning contracts with company policies and can automatically flag non-standard language during review.

Next, we’ll take a look at the best legal AI tools for document review and eDiscovery.

Document Review & eDiscovery: Harvey and Ivo

High-stakes litigation often comes with massive volumes of documents. AI is transforming how law firms manage these workloads. Document review tools now scan thousands of pages to screen the most important pages and then categorize everything in seconds.

Here are two of the best legal AI tools to speed up the document review and eDiscovery process:

Harvey AI

Harvey is one of the fastest-growing legal AI tools and has drawn attention from major firms and investors. Harvey is designed for large-scale legal reasoning, including document review, research memos, and summarization. While still invite-only for many firms, its adoption is expanding quickly among Big Law and elite boutiques.

Best for: Larger firms seeking custom, AI-powered legal assistants.
Use case: Reviewing complex case files, drafting memos, and analyzing legal strategy.

Harvey’s strength lies in its adaptability. It can be fine-tuned to match a firm’s preferred workflows, tone, and jurisdictional standards. In a 2024 benchmark by Vals.ai, Harvey achieved 94.8% accuracy on document Q&A tasks, outperforming human lawyers on four of six legal challenges.

Ivo

Ivo (formerly Latch) is a growing favorite for small to mid-size litigation and personal injury firms. It focuses on rapid document sorting and automation. Users can scan, categorize, and summarize hundreds of case files with minimal manual oversight. For firms that handle a high volume of repeatable case types, Ivo is one of the best legal AI tools.

Best for: Small firms that need scalable litigation document workflows
Use case: PI firms managing discovery, correspondence, and case docs

For practice management, one of the best legal AI tools is used by law firms to organize their records.

Practice Management: Filevine AI

The best legal AI tools are being used to improve how law firms run behind the scenes. Modern practice management tools now come AI-enabled to handle more of the operational load. These improvements focus on case tracking, timekeeping, and client communications.

Filvevine AI is one of the top legal AI tools for record summaries and overall automation.

The AI platform features programs to summarize medical records, draft settlement memos, and automate internal routing. The AI engine plugs into Filevine’s task and doc management features, letting firms build more consistent systems without adding to staff workload.

Best for: Personal injury and litigation firms using Filevine’s full stack.
Use case: Auto-generating case summaries, managing timelines, and task routing.

One of the largest upcoming use areas of AI in the legal field is client intake and communication. Two tools rank highly for this type of automation.

Client Intake & Communication: LawDroid and Gideon

When a potential client reaches out, their first interaction with your firm can determine if they continue to use your services. The best legal AI tools for client intake help firms respond quickly, gather accurate information, and create a smooth experience from day one.

Here are two tools to help:

LawDroid

LawDroid offers AI-powered chatbots, voice assistants, and intake forms designed specifically for law firms. It can guide clients through eligibility questions, collect case details, and even schedule appointments automatically.

Best for: Solo and small firms looking to streamline intake without extra staff.
Use case: 24/7 intake for personal injury, family law, or immigration.

Gideon

Gideon is another AI intake platform built for lawyers, focused on lead conversion and client qualification. Its smart forms and chat interfaces adapt based on user responses, helping firms pre-qualify leads faster.

Best for: Firms that want more detailed screening upfront.
Use case: Screening leads for case fit before assigning to staff.

These tools don’t replace human communication. They help firms and lawyers handle volume more efficiently. Using the best legal AI tools augments the system firms already know works. While these programs operate, FirmPilot works on the forefront as your marketing department to bring in qualified leads and organize your content automation.

AI for Personal Injury: Even Up and Clio Duo

When a potential client reaches out, their first interaction with your firm can determine if they continue to use your services. The best legal AI tools for client intake help firms respond quickly, gather accurate information

EvenUp

EvenUp is an AI-powered legal platform built for personal injury law firms, designed to streamline case intake and drafting from start to finish. It automates the extraction of critical data, generation of demand packages, medical chronologies, and strategic case insights.

Best for: PI firms looking to help get strategic case information more quickly and easily.

Use case: Surface crucial medical record details proactively to make strategic case decisions.

Clio Duo

Clio Duo is the new generative AI assistant inside Clio’s legal practice management platform. It helps lawyers draft emails, summarize notes, and prep documents faster—without ever leaving the Clio dashboard. Built with privacy and security in mind, Duo is tightly integrated into the tools many solo and small firms already use.

Best for: Law firms using Clio manage looking to streamline workflows and administrative tasks.

Use case: Manage client communications by pulling logs and drafting responses to messages.

Bonus pick: Supio

Supio is an AI-powered platform for personal injury and mass tort law firms that automates review of case documents like medical records and police reports. It delivers structured outputs such as chronologies and demand letters. Supio helps legal teams save time, scale caseloads, and improve case outcomes.

Integrate All-in-One Marketing Automation with FirmPilot

While tools like Casetext and Spellbook help you handle cases more efficiently, FirmPilot focuses on driving growth. It’s built for law firms that want more qualified leads, without spending more time chasing them.

FirmPilot works on two fronts:

  • Content and SEO: It identifies high-intent keywords, analyzes competitor gaps, and publishes optimized legal content that ranks.
  • Digital presence: It optimizes legal websites, ads, and social media to be seen by humans, search engines, and AI.

Ready to attract more qualified leads while your AI tools handle the casework?
FirmPilot automates marketing so you can focus on client results. Book a personalized demo today.

FAQ

How does FirmPilot work with legal AI tools?
FirmPilot focuses on growth: helping you attract, convert, and retain clients. It complements tools like Casetext or Spellbook by managing your visibility, SEO content, and lead flow while your other tools handle casework and operations.

What are the best legal AI tools for solo or small firms?
Spellbook, Casetext, Latch, and LawDroid are all strong choices. They help with research, contract drafting, document review, and intake.

How is legal AI different from general AI tools like ChatGPT?
Legal AI tools are built with domain-specific training data. That means they’re designed for compliance, accuracy, and workflows tailored to attorneys.

Do I need all of these tools to get started?
No. Most firms see results by starting with one or two high-impact tools, then expanding based on need.