AI legal confidence: What is it and how do you get there?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept for the legal profession — it’s here, embedded in research platforms, contract review tools, litigation analytics, and even client-facing chatbots. But as law firms and legal departments increasingly adopt AI, a critical question emerges: How do you build trust in these tools?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of legal technology, the concept of AI confidence is emerging as a critical benchmark for law firms, in-house counsel, and legal tech vendors alike. But what does that really mean? Why does it matter? And how can legal professionals achieve it in a world where AI can be both a powerful ally and a potential liability?

Confidence in this context is the ability to rely on AI tools with clarity about their capabilities, limitations, and the implications of their use. It’s about trusting your own decisions and those of your teams. Knowing you have built a solid foundation and having the reassurance that the tools you’re using are tied to tangible use cases that remove friction from everyday workflows.

“By adopting the technology, [general counsel and chief legal officers] will improve their practical understanding to better advise business colleagues whilst also establishing confidence and trust in new AI capabilities for the wider Legal department,” according to Deloitte’s AI for In-House Legal: 2025 Predictions report {PDF download].

Legal professionals need to be able to rely on AI systems with a high degree of trust, knowing that the technology performs tasks efficiently and aligns with ethical standards, regulatory requirements, and professional responsibilities. It’s not just about using AI — it’s about using it wisely, transparently, and with full awareness of its limitations and risks.

In the legal profession, AI confidence means:

• Understanding the technology behind the tools you use
• Trusting the outputs because they’re explainable, auditable, and aligned with legal standards
• Knowing the boundaries of AI — what it can and cannot do
• Integrating AI into workflows without compromising ethics, accuracy, or client service
• Where relevant, working with credible and trusted partners to harness the power of their expertise and experience in this area

Growing confidence in AI

Achieving AI confidence begins with understanding the nature of these tools in legal practice. Most current AI systems operate within agentic workflows, where AI tools assist with tasks like document review, contract analysis, or legal research, but still require human oversight.

These systems are semi-autonomous, meaning they can suggest actions or generate drafts, but a lawyer must approve and finalize the work. This model offers efficiency while maintaining a safeguard against errors or ethical breaches.

To build real and lasting AI legal confidence, law firms must adopt a framework grounded in four core principles: transparency, autonomy, reliability, and visibility.

Transparency means understanding how the AI system reaches its conclusions. Autonomy must be balanced with human judgment, ensuring that AI doesn’t overstep its bounds.

Reliability demands consistent, accurate performance across diverse legal contexts. And visibility ensures that lawyers can audit and trace the AI’s decision-making process.

Ethical obligations also play a central role. According to guidance from the State Bar of California and legal ethics experts, lawyers must ensure that AI tools comply with duties of confidentiality, competence, and communication. This includes anonymizing client data before inputting it into AI systems, verifying outputs before relying on them, and maintaining independent judgment even when AI suggests a course of action.

Truly transformational

Training and education are essential. Lawyers need to become fluent in AI literacy — not just how to use the tools, but how they work, what data they rely on, and where they might fail. In her LinkedIn article, Top 8 Online AI Courses for Lawyers to Stay Ahead in Legal Tech, Katerina Ilieava, a tax lawyer and technology and tax expert, puts it bluntly: “Whether you're a practicing attorney, in-house counsel, or a law student looking to stay ahead, investing in AI education is no longer optional; it’s essential.”

Firms should invest in cross-disciplinary teams that include technologists, ethicists, and legal experts to evaluate and monitor AI systems.

Ultimately, AI legal confidence is not a destination — it’s a journey. It requires ongoing vigilance, adaptation, and a commitment to ethical excellence. As AI becomes more embedded in the legal profession, those who embrace this journey will be best positioned to harness its transformative power while safeguarding the integrity of justice.

AI is undoubtedly transforming the legal profession — but transformation without understanding is risky. AI confidence is built on trust, knowledge, transparency, testing, governance, and ongoing learning. Legal professionals don’t need to become technologists. But they do need to become informed, critical users of AI. Because in the courtroom, the boardroom, and the client meeting, confidence isn’t just a feeling — it’s a critical foundation.