Head of legal | Smartcat
Stepan Chplakhyan
Head of legal | Smartcat
What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?
It is evident that artificial intelligence will continue to significantly impact the legal profession. Its current applications are already improving efficiency across various areas, and its potential to transform legal processes is on the rise.
I believe that well-tuned contract lifecycle management system is one of the key priorities for in-house counsels. Now AI-powered CLM platforms are already streamlining the redlining process, but instead of merely suggesting edits, I am sure AI will soon be able to actively engage in negotiation with clients of comments where parties have not yet found a common ground. I firmly believe that by leveraging large datasets of previous contracts, laws, business practices, and internal policies, AI will be able to propose compromises and alternatives autonomously, so the legal team may reach resolutions faster and more strategically while minimising human intervention, but simply by making minor adjustments to the analysis provided by AI.
Another essential and powerful aspect for lawyers is searching for information. Even now, we are shifting away from manual searches and complex filtering. There is no doubt that upcoming AI systems will be able to parse through entire document databases, interpreting context and relevance with greater accuracy. For instance, asking, “How many contracts with liability limits above $10,000 that were signed in the past two years are due for renewal?” will yield precise, actionable results within seconds, compared to the manual searches of today.
The same point will help with due diligence procedures, particularly in complex transactions like mergers and acquisitions. AI will soon be able to provide a much more comprehensive risk analysis, quickly flagging inconsistencies, hidden liabilities, and unusual clauses in massive datasets. From my perspective, AI will potentially cross-reference information across multiple platforms—legal, financial, and even social media—offering deeper insights into potential risks in real-time.
To stay tuned on these emerging technologies, I closely follow legal tech publications, attend industry webinars, and engage with AI-focused communities. I also find value in collaborating with tech-forward law firms and vendors to gain hands-on experience with the latest AI-driven tools.