Last Updated on Jul 11, 2025 by Kurt Dunphy

7 Best Legal AI Tools for Lawyers & Law Firms in 2025 (Most Recommended)

Do you spend hours reviewing contracts, drafting legal agreements, or sifting through endless piles of documents?

AI tools can take on tasks involving document review, organization, and contract drafting, allowing you to focus on higher-value legal work. These legal AI tools automate repetitive document review and drafting tasks. AI tools like Spellbook can detect errors faster than human reviewers and quickly draft and redline contracts.

In this article, we explore the five best legal AI tools that can optimize your legal workflows and highlight features to consider when choosing the best AI tool for your firm.

Key takeaways

  • Time savings – An AI tool can reduce contract review and drafting time from hours to minutes.
  • Seamless workflow – Spellbook works inside Microsoft Word to generate clauses and redline contracts without switching platforms.
  • Smart selection – When choosing a legal AI, look for strong accuracy, ease of use, and real return on time saved.

What are Legal AI Tools? 

Legal AI tools are software powered by artificial intelligence that automate tasks such as legal research, contract analysis, case prediction, and document review. These tools improve efficiency by reducing manual workload, increasing accuracy, and accelerating decision-making in law firms and legal departments.

How Does a Legal AI Software Work?

Legal AI software leverages advanced technologies like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) to perform various tasks autonomously. NLP enables the software to identify key contract clauses and extract relevant information from legal texts, while ML predicts case outcomes based on historical data and trends.

AI tools assist legal professionals with tasks that traditionally require human expertise by understanding legal documents, recognizing patterns, and drawing actionable insights.

Top 7 Legal AI Tools for Lawyers

The following list highlights top legal AI software and how the tools can enhance your practice through automation features, document management, and revision systems. Key aspects focus on the quality of the tool’s assistance with contract reviews, writing suggestions, application to legal tasks, and other features.

1. Spellbook (Best Overall AI Tools for Law Firms)

Spellbook is a legal AI that assists transactional lawyers in drafting, reviewing, and analyzing contracts efficiently. For example, lawyers can customize and quickly retrieve frequently used legal clauses with Spellbook. This is just one of the many tasks Spellbook automates to save time. 

Because Spellbook works where lawyers do in Microsoft Word, it’s the top choice for lawyers seeking an easy solution to improve efficiency and experience instant benefits.

When you first use Spellbook, its integration with Word delivers a simple user interface on the right side of your document. You don’t need to switch to a different software environment. Everything is available with a click, in a simple drop-down task menu, or by interacting with a chatbot under the Assistant tab.

Spellbook is ideal for offices focused on transactional contracts and solo legal professionals, offering industry-specific core features such as:

  • Comprehensive document review: Spellbook performs thorough checks to identify linguistic ambiguities, contextual errors, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and legal issues. 
  • Straightforward redlining assistance: It automates the contract review and redlining process. 
  • Auto-generation of legal text: The software can automatically generate requested legal text including entire agreements, specific contract clauses, and amendments.
  • Understanding complex legal nuances: Spellbook comprehends the intricacy of legal language and circumstances that extend beyond basic legal contexts.

Transactional lawyers value these features because of the time spent working on contracts. 

Spellbook leverages an extensive database of industry benchmarks to help you compare your contracts against established compliance standards and best practices. Allowing users to identify gaps or missing sections quickly and draft replacements.

Pros

  • Integrated directly into Microsoft Word; no need to switch platforms.
  • Saves significant time on contract drafting and review.
  • Tailored for legal professionals, especially in transactional law.
  • Offers clause suggestions, redlines, and benchmarking tools.
  • Easy to implement, with minimal training required.
  • Affordable and accessible for small to midsize law firms.

Limitations

  • Not designed for post-signature contract management.
  • No Predictive Analytics or Compliance Monitoring

With an affordable subscription and a free trial available, Spellbook offers excellent value for your money. Try the software and become familiar with its benefits before choosing a pricing plan.

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2. ChatGPT (Best Free AI Tool for Law Firms)

ChatGPT is arguably the best free AI tool available to law firms today. Its strength lies in its broad accessibility and ability to quickly assist with drafting, summarizing, and brainstorming legal content. 

For solo practitioners and small firms exploring AI without a budget commitment, ChatGPT can be a solid entry point. Lawyers can use it to generate first drafts of legal letters, break down complex clauses for client communications, or explore alternative phrasings for boilerplate text.

However, it comes with a lot of limitations. ChatGPT is not trained specifically for legal use and does not provide jurisdiction-specific guidance or ensure compliance with legal standards. It lacks awareness of regulatory requirements, can generate plausible-sounding but legally inaccurate content, and does not benchmark against industry norms. While it's a great tool for ideation, any legal output must be carefully reviewed by professionals.

Pros

  • Free and easy to access with no setup requirements.
  • Helpful for general content drafting and language refinement.
  • Supports quick brainstorming and legal language exploration.
  • Great for non-sensitive, preliminary legal content.

Cons

  • Not legally specialized; content requires full legal review.
  • Lacks contract benchmarking, redlining, and document comparison.
  • Cannot integrate directly into legal workflow tools like Microsoft Word.
  • Poses risks of inaccuracies or hallucinations in legal contexts.

3. Thomson Reuters - CaseText CoCounsel (Best AI for Legal Research)

Thomson Reuters has integrated CoCounsel with its product set since purchasing CaseText. This AI-powered solution can benefit large offices with many team members, extensive documentation, and complex workflows.

CoCounsel focuses on automating tasks rather than providing customized solutions. It performs in-depth contract analysis to identify bottlenecks. Attorneys may find it useful during case preparations due to its ability to quickly search relevant databases for case citations. Thomson Reuters recently introduced several new features for users, including:

  • Inline Citations: Helps verify sources and check accuracy manually.
  • Document Comparison: Offers side-by-side automated summaries and review options.
  • Organized Dashboard: Keeps member chats organized in folders for easy navigation.
  • Automatic Timeline Creation: Generates timelines for contracts and cases.

CoCounsel is an AI assistant that coordinates teamwork in busy offices. It can quickly generate common legal letters and emails tailored to specific tones for in-house correspondence and client communication.

Pros

  • Deep legal research capabilities across extensive databases.
  • Inline citation checks enhance accuracy and verification.
  • Document comparison streamlines case preparation.
  • Organized dashboard and chat folders support team workflows.
  • Auto-generated timelines improve case and contract clarity.
  • Customizable email and letter drafting for internal use.

Cons

  • Not tailored for contract drafting or transactional law.
  • Geared more toward research-heavy legal work.
  • Can be overly complex for solo practitioners or small firms.
  • Higher cost and a learning curve due to a broader toolset.

4. Lex Machina

Lex Machina provides predictive analytics to help law firms, companies, and government agencies make data-driven decisions in litigation. Its database contains millions of court documents, offering insights into case outcomes, judicial behavior, and legal strategies. Key features of Lex Machina include:

  • Litigation analytics, with insights on judges, law firms, and case outcomes.
  • Tactical decision-making, helping to predict case outcomes based on historical data analysis.

Law firms use Lex Machina for competitive intelligence, case strategy, and client advisories, enabling legal professionals to anticipate outcomes more accurately and optimize their litigation approach.

Pros

  • Integrated with Thomson Reuters tools for seamless legal research.
  • Automates complex document review and timeline creation.
  • Ideal for large teams handling high-volume workflows.
  • Organized interface supports collaborative legal work.
  • Strong citation verification tools built in.

Cons

  • Designed more for task automation than custom solutions.
  • It may be too complex or costly for solo and small firms.
  • Limited flexibility for contract personalization or stylistic editing.
  • Best suited for research-heavy practices, less for transactional drafting.

5. LawGeex

LawGeex focuses on teamwork and contract management. The software automates the contract review and approval process, acting as an extension of your team to speed up deal closures.

To get started, you must input your law firm’s unique perspectives, preferences, and policies. Once set up, LawGeex can scan contracts to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with your best interests. It can handle various types of contracts and documents, including:

  • Routine agreements, such as service contracts and bills of sale
  • High-volume contracts
  • Low-complexity agreements

Pros

  • Automates contract review and approval workflows.
  • Customizable to match firm-specific policies and preferences.
  • Speeds up deal closures through streamlined processes.
  • Suitable for handling high volumes of low-complexity contracts.

Cons

  • Requires upfront setup with firm-specific data.
  • Less flexible for complex or highly negotiated agreements.
  • May not integrate as seamlessly into traditional legal workflows.
  • Not ideal for solo practitioners or smaller firms with fewer contracts.

6. Harvey AI

Harvey optimizes workflows to improve efficiency in legal firms through its AI-powered features. It is particularly useful for tasks like drafting, summarizing, and reviewing large volumes of documents.

Harvey’s automated summarization feature can quickly analyze thousands of legal documents and provide summaries in minutes, saving hours of manual review. Additionally, Harvey simplifies the legal research process by thoroughly analyzing relevant law databases to provide pertinent case citations from sources like:

  • US Case Law
  • EDGAR
  • A custom Tax AI Assistant
  • The European Legislation Identifier (EUR-Lex)

Overall, Harvey is excellent for litigators as it offers insights into legal precedents and helps tailor case strategies. There is still little public information about Harvey; however, the company is generally focused on enterprise legal teams. 

Pros

  • Efficient document summarization at scale.
  • Strong legal research capabilities across multiple databases.
  • Tailored tools for litigators, including precedent insights.
  • Specialized support for tax law and international legislation.

Cons

  • Limited public transparency about features and pricing.
  • Primarily focused on enterprise legal teams; may not suit smaller firms.
  • Integration details with common legal tools are unclear.
  • Potentially steep learning curve for non-litigation lawyers.

Spellbook vs. Harvey

Harvey made waves in litigation, but 3,000+ legal teams trust Spellbook for faster contract work and deeper drafting.

See full comparison →
SpellbookHarvey
Redlining
Draft from template
Benchmarks
Word Add-In

7. Diligen

Diligen is a contract review automation platform designed to streamline legal workflows, particularly for firms dealing with large volumes of contracts and compliance documents. It uses AI to identify, extract, and analyze key clauses, making it valuable during due diligence processes and routine compliance checks.

Diligen enables legal teams to reduce manual review time and ensures that important contract elements are not overlooked.

Pros

  • Automates extraction of clauses, terms, and key data points.
  • Speeds up due diligence and large-scale contract reviews.
  • Useful for compliance monitoring across high document volumes.
  • Offers customizable review checklists for specific workflows.

Cons

  • Not integrated directly into word processing environments like Microsoft Word.
  • Requires initial setup and training to optimize for firm-specific needs.
  • May be overkill for smaller firms or lower document volumes.
  • Less suited for contract drafting compared to review-focused tools.

How to Choose the Right AI Software for Law Firms

Invest in software that aligns with your business objectives and meets your firm’s needs. For instance, busy law offices with numerous documents awaiting redlining should invest in AI tools that help legal professionals review documents faster and more accurately. A reliable AI tool for lawyers focused on document review and management can save time and resources when handling existing contracts and drafting new ones.

Functionality and Features

Most law firms will benefit from software with the following features:

  • Integration with Word: Let lawyers work in the familiar Microsoft Word environment, empowered by AI.
  • Automatic legal document drafting: Quality legal AI tools like Spellbook can generate new content from scratch based on your input or their analysis of existing documents.
  • Automatic reviews and redlines: AI can provide valid suggestions for improving document language and quality, including accuracy, compliance, consistency, and other contract aspects.
  • Customization: The ability to incorporate customized playbooks and templates is a bonus.
  • Multi-document support: Effective legal AI tools can handle various types of documents, scanning them for compliance and detecting discrepancies in policy, terms, language, and tone to ensure consistency.

User Interface and Usability

In legal practice, user-friendly AI software is essential to save valuable time navigating and managing multiple documents. Spellbook recognizes your focus is on legal work, not trying to find features in complex software tools. Spellbook’s interface stands out with:

  • Smooth integration with Microsoft Word: Unlike other tools that require switching between different platforms, Spellbook operates directly in Microsoft Word. You draft, review, and redline contracts in the same window. You don’t have to bounce between tabs or software—everything you need is on the same screen as the contract.
  • Intuitive navigation: Spellbook’s interface is designed for legal professionals, offering simple, clearly labeled options for contract review, clause generation, and summaries. Easily move between contract versions and legal tasks without unnecessary clicks.
  • Fast and highly responsive: Legal professionals cannot afford delays in their workflow. Spellbook’s responsive design ensures fast access to AI-powered suggestions, redlines, and comparisons to industry standards, helping you stay on track with your deadlines.
  • Quick access to clause libraries and past documents: Saving time is a priority. With Spellbook, commonly used clauses and previously reviewed documents are just a shortcut away. Quickly pull in standard language and legal precedents when needed.

Accuracy and Reliability

AI tools offer significant value by predicting outcomes and modernizing workflows. However, accuracy remains crucial. Precision is essential for transforming AI into a reliable and powerful tool for lawyers, especially in contract drafting and review. Spellbook excels in this area by providing dependable insights tailored to the legal sector.

Liabilities all AI tools in legal applications currently share include:

  • Incorrect predictions from irrelevant or incomplete data: Generic AI tools may depend on incomplete or irrelevant data sources, leading to inaccurate legal interpretations. Spellbook addresses this issue by focusing on transactional law, delivering the most relevant results for drafting, reviewing, and redlining contracts.
  • Hallucinated case citations: Some general-purpose AIs may fill in gaps with false information to make responses more convincing. Specialized legal AI tools like Spellbook avoid this pitfall by concentrating on contract review and drafting processes, where the primary tasks revolve around structured documents and legal language, not case law.

Compliance and Security

Customer data management (CDM) in AI software operates under the same legal framework as other software solutions. Digital tools must adhere to client confidentiality, privacy, and data management standards.

When evaluating your legal AI software, look for the following data security measures:

  • Encryption: Protect data by converting it into a secure format.
  • Advanced user authorization and authentication: Ensure only authorized users can access sensitive information.
  • Security audits: Regular checks to identify vulnerabilities and ensure compliance.
  • Data intrusion detection: Monitor for unauthorized access attempts.
  • Sensitive information protection: Safeguard confidential data from breaches.
  • Emergency response plan: Include backup and recovery options to restore data in case of an incident.

Scalability

When selecting legal AI software, ensure it can scale with your law firm's current size and future growth. Here’s how to assess whether AI tools meet your scalability needs:

  • Research firm size compatibility: Determine the most appropriate firm size for the software. For instance, Spellbook suits solos, small, and mid-sized legal teams and can grow alongside your business.
  • Support for multi-user environments: Ensure the AI software allows multiple users to work simultaneously on drafting and reviewing legal documents.
  • Cloud-based and scalable storage: Cloud infrastructure ensures that as your firm's workload increases, so does the AI tool’s data storage capacity. This allows you to manage growing volumes of documents and legal data without compromising performance.

Cost Effectiveness

Many AI solutions require a significant upfront investment without first providing long-term value. To decide whether to invest in AI for your firm, consider these factors:

  • Subscription fees: Compare basic and premium plans, as well as monthly or yearly subscriptions, to find the best value for your money.
  • Maintenance and support: Look for affordable, reliable support and low maintenance costs.
  • Return on investment (ROI): For example, Spellbook significantly reduces the time spent on contract drafting and reviewing, providing a clear ROI.

Reviews and Reputation

Lastly, consult colleagues in similar practice areas for their opinions on software. Unbiased reviews provide valuable insights into the features and overall customer satisfaction of the AI software you are considering. Find credible reviews and recommendations on:

  • Quora and Reddit: Users on these social media platforms often discuss various software options.
  • Trustpilot: This site offers user reviews and ratings for many products.
  • LinkedIn Posts: Professionals frequently share their experiences and recommendations on LinkedIn.
  • YouTube Video Reviews: Many users create video reviews that highlight the pros and cons of software.

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How Much Do AI Tools Cost for Lawyers?

AI pricing can be complex. Not all companies disclose their pricing plans before you sign up for a trial or explain what you get for your money. 

Prices can vary widely, typically starting from around $200 per month. As the legal AI market grows, users will have many options, and budget isn’t always the best determinant factor. Some specialized tools can charge up to $2,000 monthly for premium plans and team subscriptions.

For solo practitioners and smaller firms focused on transactional law, platforms like Spellbook offer more affordable options while providing powerful features for contract drafting and redlining. With lower prices, these AI tools are accessible to a wide range of users.

When comparing the costs of integrating AI into your legal workflow, research payment options and the differences between annual and monthly subscriptions. Most tools, including Spellbook, offer significant discounts for yearly subscriptions.

Factors that influence the pricing include:

  • Available pricing models: Companies may offer various subscription structures.
  • Market demand: Pricing can fluctuate based on demand for specific features.
  • Number and complexity of features: More features often lead to higher costs.
  • Potential integration with other software: Tools that integrate with existing systems may have different pricing.

When setting a budget for your firm’s AI legal technology, consider what you get for your money. Some AI companies offer various product subscriptions that cover individual tasks and charge extra for upgrades and integrations. For example, a basic plan might only include initial contract reviews. If you want legal document drafting features, you may need to purchase additional products and integrate them into your existing workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Legal AI Tools Enhance Client-Lawyer Interactions?

Yes. Legal AI tools enable lawyers to update clients about their cases in minutes with features like AI document reviews, drafts, and summaries. By automating these tasks, lawyers also gain more time to build client relationships and provide personalized service.

How Effective Are AI Tools in Managing Large Volumes of Legal Data?

AI software can classify and categorize legal information for easy access, regardless of data volume. It quickly extracts data to automate various tasks, including redlining, summarization, and drafting.

Are Legal AI Software Reliable for Court Case Predictions?

The reliability of AI legal software in predicting court case outcomes depends on its database and the complexity of the factors analyzed. The more factors the software considers—such as a judge’s behavior in similar past cases—the more accurate the predictions will be. However, AI cannot make reliable predictions based on incorrect or missing data.

What is the Best AI Tool for Legal Research?

Lexis+ AI is the best AI tool for legal research. It uses natural language processing and machine learning to analyze legal documents, provide case summaries, and generate citations. Lexis+ AI offers real-time Shepard’s validation, conversational search, and predictive insights, making it the most advanced legal AI platform as of 2025.

What is the Best Free AI Tool for Lawyers?

Casetext’s CoCounsel Core is the best free AI tool for lawyers. It offers legal research, document review, deposition preparation, and contract analysis using OpenAI’s GPT technology. While some features may be limited without a subscription, CoCounsel Core provides powerful AI support for solo practitioners and small firms at no cost.

What is the Best AI for Legal Document Review?

Spellbook is the best AI tool for legal document review. Spellbook enables lawyers to review and redline agreements directly in Microsoft Word. It assists in identifying clause-level issues, improving language, and comparing text against internal standards.

What is the Best AI Tool for Legal Contract Drafting?

Spellbook is the best AI tool for legal contract drafting. It integrates with Microsoft Word to suggest clauses, flag risks, and auto-complete legal language using GPT-4. Spellbook helps lawyers draft contracts faster and with greater accuracy, reducing manual edits and improving consistency across legal documents.

What is the Best AI Tool for Writing Legal Documents?

Harvey AI is the best AI tool for writing legal documents. Built on OpenAI's GPT-4, Harvey generates contracts, memos, and legal briefs with high precision. It understands legal context, adapts to jurisdiction-specific requirements, and integrates with firm workflows, making it ideal for large-scale legal drafting.

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