Chris Patterson urges lawyers to gain understanding of the opportunities and implications of AI tech
This article was produced in partnership with LexisNexis
Lately, barrister Chris Patterson has noticed that more clients are telling him what they believe are the substantive and procedural laws relevant to their issues.
Armed with insights from publicly available Large Language Models (LLMs), clients arrive at meetings with AI-generated arguments, suggested strategies, and even drafted legal documents.
The Auckland barrister normally reviews these and, more often than not, finds them wrong. But rather than discouraging clients from using artificial intelligence, Patterson tells them to embrace it further. “AI is a very powerful multi-tool in your legal toolbox— learn how to use it, pick it up and put it to work,” Patterson told New Zealand Lawyer.
His response reflects a profession grappling with technology that promises to revolutionise legal practice while threatening its traditional structure. As someone who has spent over a quarter century at the independent bar, Patterson is in a unique position to observe AI's impact on New Zealand's legal profession. His early adoption of AI tools has positioned him at the forefront of what he calls “the equivalent of the industrial revolution for the legal profession.”
Work that once required junior lawyers to spend days, weeks, or even months producing detailed chronologies and evidence analysis can now be completed effortlessly by AI. Patterson has replaced two or three junior employees with AI tools, a shift that reflects broader changes across the profession.
“AI will now do [such tasks] literally within the space of 30 minutes to an hour,” said Patterson. This efficiency gain extends beyond document preparation to sophisticated legal research, case analysis, and even client communication support.
Patterson uses AI across multiple aspects of his practice, from LexisNexis's AI-powered legal research engine to personal organisation tools that free up time for billable work.
Lexis+ AI by LexisNexis has the ability to review and summarise large amounts of documents, assist barristers with drafting oral presentations, document analysis, and extract key insights.
Patterson was a beta tester for Lexis+ AI – he said that the platform exceeded his expectations and reinforced to him that AI will be integral to the future of law. The technology has become so integral to his practice that he cannot imagine operating without it.
Patterson's enthusiasm for AI's potential is tempered by recognition of a looming crisis. The elimination of traditional entry-level positions threatens the profession's ability to develop the next generation of lawyers. Junior roles that once provided pathways to expertise are being automated away.
“A high school student thinking about a career in litigation or even a law student or a recent grad, I'd seriously be rethinking long and hard about that career choice,” said Patterson. The challenge extends beyond individual career decisions to the profession's long-term sustainability.
Patterson points to the criminal defence bar as a cautionary example. Legal aid reforms in the early 2000s decimated opportunities for young criminal lawyers, creating an ageing profession without adequate succession planning. “We are now seeing the flow on effects of that, where we've got a very ageing senior criminal defence bar, who are all retiring now, and there isn't the experience that's coming through,” said Patterson.
AI threatens to accelerate this process across other areas of legal practice. “The profession needs succession, we need graduates and young lawyers to come through the ranks and to achieve and obtain these skills to ensure that there is a strong independent bar which is essential to the maintenance of the rule of law,” he said.
Not that Patterson himself is a good example of listening to career advice from more experienced people.
None other than business magnate Graham Hart warned Patterson shortly after he graduated from Otago Law School in the mid-1990s not to become a lawyer. Hart said that choosing to become a lawyer would make him nothing more than a “glorified form filler.”
Patterson ignored the advice but Hart’s warning has proven prescient in unexpected ways. The mundane work that Hart derided is exactly what AI excels at automating. What remains is the skilled judgment, client relationship management, and strategic thinking that define experienced legal practice.
Patterson's approach to practice management demonstrates AI's versatility beyond legal research. He uses AI for travel planning, personal organisation, and various administrative tasks that previously required human assistance. This creates capacity for higher-value work while reducing administrative burden.
“I've always adopted a mindset that the non-billable hours that you do today will dictate your billable income tomorrow,” said Patterson. His investment in learning AI tools exemplifies this principle, requiring significant time and energy that cannot be billed to clients but generates substantial returns through improved efficiency and service quality.
The integration extends to client service improvements. Patterson encourages clients to use AI as a supplement to his services, creating more informed discussions and better outcomes. “I'm encouraging of them doing so and I say look you need to do it more,” said Patterson.
Patterson sees AI as having dual potential to address access to justice issues. First, it can democratise legal knowledge by making it more accessible to lay users.
“Historically, for centuries, lawyers and judges were the keepers of legal knowledge,” said Patterson. “With the advent of online databases and the internet, the door to legal knowledge was opened to those who had not had to follow the traditional legal education pathway.”
AI represents another step in this democratisation process, helping bridge gaps for those without sufficient legal knowledge to fully utilise existing online tools. Patterson observes increasing numbers of self-represented litigants using AI to prepare court documents and legal submissions.
Second, AI can help identify solutions to systemic problems within the justice system. “It may assist in working out where it's better to divert resources to, scheduling, timing, all of these things,” said Patterson. “The capabilities are just endless, all of which are small incremental steps to decreasing the access to justice problem.”
While AI promises to democratise legal knowledge, Patterson acknowledges the digital divide that prevents universal access. He said that community law centres need funding for computer terminals and technical support to help disadvantaged clients benefit from AI tools.
“Some members in our society do not have easy or any access to computers, and some who do, do not have sufficient knowledge to use them to gain access to the legal solutions they are seeking - and that's a problem,” said Patterson.
This challenge requires coordinated responses from the profession, government, and community organisations. Legal databases like the New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII) provide free access to legal information, but their interfaces remain “terribly user unfriendly and chunky.” AI could bridge this gap by providing more intuitive access to legal information.
The contrast between private practice and public sector adoption of AI reflects broader systemic issues. While profit-motivated law firms invest heavily in technology, government departments face budgetary constraints and cultural resistance to change.
“Generally speaking, government departments are not renowned for identifying opportunities that technology can offer to deliver better and more efficient services,” said Patterson. This can create a two-speed justice system where private practitioners leverage cutting-edge tools while public sector components lag behind. The Court’s electronic filing and case management system, Te Au Reka, which is due to be rolled out in the Family Court shortly may greatly modernise those aspects of our justice system.
Within the court system, Patterson sees significant potential for AI to improve efficiency. Judges' clerks, particularly recent graduates, would benefit from AI tools for legal research and analysis. “I cannot imagine a scenario where any of those clerks, particularly recent graduates, would go into a role thinking they were not going to be using AI,” said Patterson.
Patterson's experience hosting “The Law Down Under” podcast, which has attracted over 15,000 downloads, has reinforced his belief that the profession must embrace change. His conversations with technology experts have shaped his understanding of AI's potential and limitations.
The choice facing the profession is stark: adapt or risk obsolescence. Patterson's advice to clients about embracing AI as a “multi-tool” applies equally to his colleagues. Those who resist risk becoming irrelevant in a profession where technology-enhanced service delivery becomes the minimum standard.
For Patterson, the idea that lawyers somehow wouldn’t be embracing technology is nonsensical.
“Imagine you’re boarding a flight from Auckland to Dubai, which takes over 17 hours assuming nothing unexpected, you take your seat and there is an announcement that for the flight the Captain and co-pilot will be switching off the auto-pilot, all electronic collision avoidance and navigation equipment in favour of only their eyesight, a compass, paper charts and a sextant” said Patterson. “You'd be like, ‘get me off this flight!’”
The analogy also counters any possible value proposition challenge from clients who may claim the work is being done by a machine rather than a lawyer. Clients receive better outcomes because their lawyer has more effective and efficient access to information by using superior tools.
Passengers don't expect discounted flights when the flight crew are using modern collision avoidance tools or other advanced navigational equipment to help make decisions concerning safety and flight efficiency. Similarly, legal clients benefit from AI-enhanced analysis and research capabilities that improve case outcomes.
Patterson's observations about the non-contentious side of legal practice paint a picture of complete transformation. Commercial law work—mergers and acquisitions, leases, and corporate transactions—faces the most immediate disruption from AI automation.
“Analysing the documents for key terms and implications will all be undertaken by AI,” Patterson predicts. “Not every task will be completed by AI, but AI will remove the mundane grunt work that traditionally a small army of solicitors and senior associates would have to labour under to complete.”
This shift will see senior lawyers become reviewers of AI-generated work rather than managers of teams of junior lawyers. The traditional pyramid structure of law firms, with partners at the top supervising progressively junior lawyers, faces obsolescence as AI handles the bulk of routine legal work.
Patterson views AI as both a disruptor and a potential solution to the justice system's problems. While it changes the calculus for traditional entry-level positions, it also creates opportunities for more efficient case management, resource allocation, and dispute resolution.
“The access to justice crisis has been caused by a large number of systemic problems within many aspects of our system of justice,” Patterson explains. “There isn't just one issue or one problem - it's an extensive multitude.”
AI's analytical capabilities could help identify where resources are most needed, optimise court scheduling, and streamline administrative processes. These improvements, over time, could collectively address some barriers to accessing justice.
The profession now faces a choice between embracing AI as a tool for enhanced service delivery or resisting change and risking irrelevance.
As Patterson's experience demonstrates, the lawyers likely to thrive in this new environment will be those who combine deep legal expertise with technological competency, creating value that neither AI nor traditional practice alone can deliver.
Chris Patterson is a senior member of the junior bar. He is a well-regarded specialist in dispute resolution and litigation. Chris is also active in the legal profession as a presenter, facilitator, and host of the Law Down Under podcast. Find out more about Chris here.
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