As businesses and individuals increasingly operate across borders, the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in managing multilingual legal disputes has become more significant. Here we explore how AI is transforming the way legal professionals handle cases involving multiple languages, making processes potentially both faster and more efficient.
AI-ENHANCED TRANSLATION ACCURACY:
One of the primary challenges in multilingual litigation lies in the need for precise translation. Legal documents, often dense with specialised terminology and nuanced expressions, require more than mere linguistic conversion. Whilst human translation by experienced and qualified professionals offers the greatest degree of accuracy and reliability, in this brave new AI powered world there may be methods and tools that can help not only the translation process, but also case handling and review too. AI-powered translation tools can potentially help linguists ensure a level of accuracy in their translations. This has already been done to an extent in years past through use of CAT tools (Computer Assisted Translation tools), TMs (Translation Memories), and glossaries; however, by employing advanced machine learning algorithms and vast databases of legal terminology, AI systems can continually learn and improve, thereby reducing the time spend by linguists on updating and maintaining their CAT tools, TMs, glossaries etc, helping them to further reduce margin for errors and improve adaption to the specific linguistic contexts of different legal systems.
EFFICIENCY IN DOCUMENT HANDLING AND REVIEW
AI’s impact extends beyond translation, offering significant enhancements in the management and review of legal documents. In multilingual litigation, where thousands of documents may need to be processed, AI-powered document review tools can swiftly shift through vast quantities of data to identify relevant material. This not only speeds up the litigation process but also ensures that critical information is not overlooked. Moreover, AI can handle multiple languages simultaneously, a feat that would require considerable time and manpower if done manually.
A SOLICITORS AI TOOLBOX
ChatGTP, Bard, and Copilot may be fast becoming household names; however, there are additional AI powered tools out there that may help a solicitor manage their case, especially in multilingual litigation. Below we have collated a few examples:
Relativity’s Text Analytics
Relativity provides AI-powered text analytics for document management, specifically useful in legal reviews. Its features include language identification, which automatically detects and classifies documents based on the language they’re written in. This is particularly useful in international litigation involving multilingual document sets. Additionally, relativity employs machine learning models to prioritise documents that are most likely relevant to the case, enabling solicitors to focus their review efforts more efficiently, and to better manage translation time and cost by ensuring only relevant documents are prioritised.
Luminance’s Legal Inference Transformation Engine (LITE)
Luminance uses AI to enhance document review in legal settings, including due diligence and compliance checks. It purports to read and understand documents in any language and identifies legal concepts rather than merely matching keywords, allowing it to adapt to different legal systems and terminologies, speeding up drafting and revision and therefore making it a useful tool in multinational litigation.
Lex Machina is an AI tool that revolutionises how lawyers handle case law and litigation strategy. It provides analytics on judges, lawyers, parties, and the outcomes of similar cases, which can be invaluable in preparing for multilingual litigation. By processing historical data, Lex Machina can predict trends and outcomes, helping lawyers make informed decisions. Although primarily an analytics tool, its ability to process and analyse data in multiple languages makes it a critical asset in international legal practice.
ROSS Intelligence is another AI application that supports legal research across different languages. By using natural language processing, ROSS is a legal research tool that uses simple English to find answers in a large database of statutes, case law, and secondary sources. For multilingual cases, ROSS helps identify key legal precedents and related documents that may be spread across various jurisdictions and languages.
CHALLENGES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Despite its advantages, the integration of AI in multilingual litigation is not without challenges. The reliability of AI translations can still vary, particularly with languages that have less extensive training data available or a larger distance between the language pairs. Moreover, the potential for AI to misinterpret nuanced legal arguments or cultural nuances remains a significant concern – we have all heard of AI ‘hallucinations’. These limitations necessitate a careful blend of human oversight and AI capabilities, where legal professionals must verify AI outputs and ensure they meet the rigorous standards required in legal contexts.
Additionally, ethical considerations such as data privacy, security, and the transparency of AI decision-making processes and bias must be addressed. As AI systems handle sensitive legal data, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of this information is paramount.
Conclusion
The role of AI in multilingual litigation is both transformative and expanding. As technology advances, AI’s capacity to help handle the linguistic and procedural complexities of international legal disputes will only become more refined. Similar will be true for linguists, adapting new technology to improve and increase their output. For legal practitioners, embracing AI tools offers a strategic advantage, facilitating potentially more efficient and accurate legal proceedings. However, the successful integration of AI in both the legal and translation fields will depend on continuous improvements in technology, ethical handling of data, and vigilant oversight by legal and language professionals.
The use of AI in multilingual litigation not only reflects the evolution of legal practices but also signifies a shift towards a more interconnected and technologically adept global legal landscape. As such, the ongoing development and ethical implementation of AI technologies will be crucial in shaping the future of international law and justice.