Last updated · Peter Baker
Short answer: automate the work around the matter, not the legal judgement. Enquiry intake, onboarding paperwork and client updates take hours and carry low risk. Legal research, advice and anything that goes to a court need a solicitor verifying every word, and the SRA has said so.
Your clients already judge how modern your firm is. This is how you look like the firm that has it handled, without betting the budget on hype.
Where the hours go
Every firm is different, and a real audit measures yours. These are the places we look first in a small or mid-sized UK firm:
- New enquiries: capturing, qualifying and routing them before the prospective client calls someone else.
- Client onboarding: ID and supporting documents collected and chased, so files can open.
- Status updates: clients ringing to ask where things are, when the answer is already in the case management system.
- Routine correspondence: standard letters and emails drafted for a fee earner to check.
- Time recording: reconstructing the day from emails and calls at five o'clock.
Three pilots we'd start with
Each one is a 30-day pilot on a single workflow with one owner, measured before and after. Pilots start from £2,500.
- Enquiry intake and triage. Every web and phone enquiry captured, qualified and routed to the right person, with the information needed for a conflict check prepared. A person runs the check and decides.
- Client onboarding. ID and supporting documents collected and chased automatically. Identity and anti-money-laundering decisions stay with a person.
- Matter updates. Progress updates drafted from your case management system for a fee earner to approve, so clients stop having to ring for them.
Take the admin off the fee earners. Leave the law with them.
What we'd leave alone
- Unverified research or citations. Nothing goes to a court or a client without a solicitor checking every authority.
- Automated advice. A model can draft; a solicitor decides what the client is told.
- Client data in public AI tools. See the SRA notice below.
- Replacing your case management system. Expensive, disruptive, and rarely the actual bottleneck.
What the SRA expects
On 17 August 2026 the SRA published a warning notice on the misuse of AI. It has two main concerns: false information in court documents, including fabricated citations, and client confidentiality when client data goes into AI tools.
- Client information should only go into AI systems with appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards, including that it isn't used to train models unless authorised.
- Any case law relied on must be genuine, relevant, verifiable and actually support the argument.
- Using AI does not reduce or transfer a solicitor's professional responsibility, and supervisors remain accountable for their team's work.
The courts have said the same. In June 2025 the High Court dealt with fictitious citations in Ayinde v Haringey and Al-Haroun v Qatar National Bank, and called on managing partners and regulators to make sure lawyers using AI understand their duties.
That's why our builds for firms stay away from legal judgement, keep client data in tools with proper safeguards, put a person on every decision that matters, and log what ran. We're not your compliance officer, and we'll flag where your own sign-off is needed.
How to start. Run the free website report if you want something now with no call. If the problem is operational, the AI Opportunity Audit is from £750, takes one to two weeks, and is credited in full against a pilot started within 60 days.
Frequently asked questions
What should a law firm automate first?
The work around the matter rather than the legal judgement: enquiry intake, client onboarding paperwork, and routine status updates. These save hours without putting AI between a solicitor and their advice.
Can solicitors use AI tools with client data?
The SRA's August 2026 warning notice says client information should only go into AI systems where appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards protect confidentiality, including that data is not used to train models unless authorised. Public tools without those safeguards are a risk.
Who is responsible if AI gets something wrong?
The solicitor. The SRA says using AI does not diminish or transfer professional responsibility, and supervisors remain accountable for work done through the people they supervise.
How much does AI automation cost for a law firm?
Ishigai's AI Opportunity Audit is from £750 and is credited in full against a pilot started within 60 days. Pilots on a single workflow start from £2,500, and larger builds across several systems typically run up to £15,000, fixed-price.
Related reading
- AI Opportunity Audit: from £750, credited against a pilot started within 60 days.
- AI Security Audit: testing the AI tools you already use for data leaks and prompt injection. From £1,500.
- AI for accountants: what to automate first, and what ICAEW expects.
- What an AI audit costs in the UK: 2026 price ranges, with sources.
- AI for web agencies: automate the agency, not the craft.
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