UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

AI AND THE PRACTICE OF THE LAW IN GHANA

LEGAL RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS – LAW 204

FL/LLB/21/0060

FL/LLB/22/0087
FL/LLB/22/0011
FL/LLB/21/0063
FL/LLB/21/0065

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND TO STUDY
 The advent of technology has brought a significant change in human lives. According

to Derry and Williams (1993), technology is made up of all the mind-boggling knowledge

and tools that allow man to gradually control his natural environment. It has challenged the

norm and has made professionals and businesses more productive, Sassen (2015) espouses.

Technology connects the world making in it a global village as purported by Marshal

McLuhan. It enhances communication, interconnectedness, spread of ideas and now hosts a

great deal of businesses (virtual companies) via the internet. (Alarie et. al, 2018; Osei, 2023)

advance that the legal profession has not been spared from the radical shift of technology. It

has been disrupted just as all other professions. From receiving its first technological touch

which was in the form of the recording of cases on a tape by a University of (Harrington,

1985) to the use of complex Artificial Intelligence tools in some Law Firms in Europe, the

Law has advanced beyond traditional methods.

Law has been one of the building blocks of society since creation. In several ways, it

has molded society and provided peace and tranquility. Its impact in the lives of people,

businesses and nation building cannot be underemphasized. The practice of the law in Ghana

has been in existence even before the coming of the Europeans into the then Gold Coast

(Kwapong, 2013) posit. Osei (2023) imbibes that since its inception, legal practice in Ghana

has gone through enormous changes to meet modern trends brought by the influx of

technological advancement. The practice of the law in the era of John Mensah Sarbah, J.B

Danquah and the likes also saw substantial changes as a result of technology in the modern

world. According to Vickery (2017) Modern technology is continuously reshaping industries

nowadays. As beneficial as adopting technology can be, it is always quite disruptive to do so

at first. Every industry needs time to properly adapt to new technologies before they actually

become an asset. In the view of Osei (2023), a perfect example of this scenario is the law

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industry. Admittedly, there has been a gradual change to this narrative particularly after the

covid ’19 pandemic.

An undisputable fact is that no industry can avoid the changes imposed by technology.

Every industry in the world uses technology, and since its introduction, businesses and all

sectors have been able to improve their operations and service delivery by becoming more

inventive and technologically advanced. Sassen (2015) perceives that technologies have

helped both large- and small-scale businesses develop significantly. In sectors like

manufacturing, banking, and telecommunications, it has gradually made daily operations

considerably simpler. In a keynote speech delivered at the Annual Ghana Bar Association

Conference in 2018, it was established that through technology, modernization and

globalization, adaptation to modern systems of practice by legal practitioners in Ghana is not

just an option but a necessity if practitioners should survive in this modern world. The

technological wave has challenged businesses and professionals to upscale else they become

archaic.

In present day, there has been developed more complex forms of technological

devices and software that further shape the practice of the law. For instance some firms like

CQ legal take advantage of technology in the storage of data. Law firms and legal

practitioners work with huge data each day and being able to store these on cloud/ the internet

enables better data management practices. Some practitioners also use technology in online

dispute resolution (ODR), contract drafting and analytics, transcription, marketing, virtual

meetings and internships, research among others. Artificial Intelligence tools like QuillBot,

Chat GPT, and others have made all these easier, simpler and faster. AI has become the norm.

It is therefore, essential to come to an appreciation of how it can be leveraged for the benefit

of Ghana’s Legal System regardless of the challenges it poses, (Alarie et. al, 2019).

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Technology has transformed the legal practice in diverse ways and offices like …have

had a dose of these transformations. In Ghana as well, firms like CQ and many others have

adopted the use of technology especially in managing the data and undertaking administrative

and clerical duties. In a keynote address at the Annual Ghana Bar Association Conference in

2018 which was reported by I-CAN Ghana, the speak said;

“the fact is that a lot of our non-contentious commercial and corporate law work is now

standardised and commoditised. Over time, several of our services have become relatively

indistinguishable from competing offerings, and are easily replicated. And the work has also

become systemised, relying heavily on the back office, emails, accounting, admin, work

processing, and well-established legal research tools, such as WestLaw, LexisNexis and the

Ghana Law Database. Legal expenses have been high. However, client-driven technology

has become a key and central part of transformation of the legal profession, and this is

having the effect of driving the prices down”.

This statement was to draw the attention of lawyers on the impact technology has had

on certain duties they perform. Thus, the fact that technological tools have been developed to

perform the traditional office roles that lawyers perform. It was also meant to awaken them

and challenge them to employ innovative and creative ways in executing their duties. Legal

tech had come to stay and in order to be a competitive Lawyer; one had to be abreast with the

trends in the technological world. Artificial Intelligence especially, has challenged the ability

of lawyers. In the past, the executions of certain tasks were seen to be the sole capability of

humans; however, nowadays, machines outperform humans at ever-more complicated tasks,

Alarie et. al (2019) argue. Machines are now used in the banking, medical, transport and

insurance sectors offering better accuracy and fastidiousness.

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 According to Susskind (2017), “the practice of law is clearly not immune from these

technological advances and the impact of data-driven analysis”. Several works have been

done on the impact of technology on the practice of the law and a handful on Artificial

Intelligence and the Law nonetheless, there exists little literature on AI’s influence on legal

practitioners in Ghana considering its uniqueness. This research therefore, aims to explore

the influence big data and Artificial Intelligence has on the practice of the law in Ghana. It

will also ascertain ways in which natural language processing and machine learning can help

legal practitioners and perform some of their duties.

RESEARCH QUESTION

I. How has big-data and Artificial Intelligence influenced the work of legal

practitioners in Ghana?

II. How can natural language processing and machine learning help legal

practitioners in Ghana?

III. What is the future of the practice of the law in Ghana considering the advent of

AI?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The main aim of this research is to ascertain the influence of AI on the practice of the law in

Ghana.” In our quest to answer this, we will discuss the history and use of technology in the

practice of the law before streamlining the conversation to the use of Artificial Intelligence by

legal practitioners in Ghana.

The specific objectives for this research proposal are to:

I. Determine how big data and AI has influenced the work of legal practitioners in

Ghana.

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 II. Explore how natural language processing and machine learning can help in the

practice of law in Ghana.

III. Ascertain the future of the practice of the law in Ghana considering advancements

in AI.

LITERATURE REVIEW

This review will explore the history of technological advancements in Ghana and

particularly how legal practitioners have leveraged it in their works. It will subsequently

inquire into the adoption of AI in the legal practice in Ghana and explore the future of the

practice of law with the development of more AI tools.

Technology has been adopted across the world in the advancement of professions and

businesses. Since its inception, it has challenged the traditional ways of doing things and has

brought enormous contributions in fields like medicine, metrology, transportation, hospitality

and tourism among others Crecelius (2022). The legal profession has not been left out of this

revolution. Lawyers and other practitioners in the field take advantage of technological tools

in communicating with clients, data acquisition, storage etc., Kimbro (2010) espouses. Law

firms also leverage on the internet in promoting their businesses whilst researchers use

technological tools for conducting research and making their works available.

The use of technology in the legal field spans from the basic point of text or email

messaging to the use of complex investigative tools and storage of files on cloud/ the internet.

According to Harrington (1985), the success of an American Professor, Horty in 1960 in

recording all Supreme Court cases on a tape which made it accessible within a day proved the

essence of computer in legal research and delivery of legal services. Additionally, the

introduction of Lexis and Westlaw, soft wares which provided databases of legal authorities

for American attorneys and researchers immensely contributed to the adoption of technology

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in legal research, (Hellyer, 2005). The growth in the use of technology in the legal profession

has been steady and astronomical and has caused several disruptions. Singh (2022) posits that

“what was once seen as a closely-knit profession has now become a global enterprise market

projected to be worth USD 1,011 billion by the end of 2021”. Consequently, it is believed that

this significant turn is as a result of legal technology.

Singh (2022) purports that, “legal technology (usually called Legal tech) refers to

technologies and software that substantially changes the way we use legal services in our

daily lives. In broader terms, it represents the set of technologies that – eases the practice of

law for attorneys and legal professionals, and enables customers access legal competence or

justice”. Several soft wares, websites and digital tools have been used to augment the work of

lawyers in recent times making them work smarter and fastening their pace. Crecelius (2022)

cited an example of a Florida jury which participated in a virtual trial through Zoom in late

2020. The plaintiff in this case received a $411 million verdict, which presumptively happens

to be the greatest compensation award ever. It is evident therefore, that virtual trials have no

negative effects on juries' capacity to comprehend the evidence and reach informed verdicts.

Again, technology has aided in conducting advanced research through soft wares like

the Expert IQ which provides instant and detailed information on experts in various fields.

This has reduced the burden of paralegals and lawyers who often have to deal with loads of

information. It has also made their research faster and easier. In Ghana for instance, legal

research has become comparatively simpler in recent times where portals and websites like

the Ghana Law Finder, Dennis Law, Judy among others provide legal materials to

researchers. Legal practitioners are also able to use tools like Grammarly, Google workspace,

MS office Suite, Turnitin QuillBot etc. in their works. As said at the 2018 nnual Ghana Bar

Association Conference, time is changing and traditional tasks that were performed by

lawyers are now being done by machines.

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 With time, more complex Artificial Intelligence tools like Chat GTP have been

developed. The development of Chat GPT especially has brought a global uproar.

Professionals in various fields, especially, academics have experienced concerns of the

tendency of such technologies to make researchers lazy. A Twitter post by a user, Daniel

Feldman which trended a few weeks ago held that a lawyer who had used ChatGPT for a

legal research and stated untrue cases was in trouble with the judge. This is an evidence of the

challenges that the use of such sophisticated soft wares poses. Nevertheless, the benefits it

brings surpass the difficulties. Alarie et. al. (2019) argue that “such technological advances

make it possible for parties to litigate more effectively – before, during, and after trial – by

predicting legal outcomes with greater accuracy and consistency, and at a lower cost”. They

assume that machines do not have certain limitations like humans; they do not take time off,

can predict without bias, and yield extrapolations others can make repeat.

This can nonetheless be misleading as machines do get worn out and can run slow just

when you need them. They can be affected by viruses and destroy important files a lawyer

may have saved. It also very possible to lose documents and confidential information of

clients can be vulnerable as systems can be hacked. All the same like every phenomenon,

there are merits and demerits and technological advancements have irrefutably been more of

a blessing than a curse. It is therefore, imperative for further research to be conducted so as to

ascertain ways can be leveraged for greater efficiency and safer ways for use can be explored.

METHODOLOGY

Legal research methodology constitutes the use of relevant legal information,

analyses, interpretation and applies them to resolving issues at hand and present findings.

This research will focus on the use of various methods that will aid with the conduct of the

research. According to Kumar, research methodology is important to all research as it shows

the path the researcher intends to take to conduct her/his research, data collection and

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analysis of data (Kumar, 2010). According Foster 1998, for research to be valid, the research

purpose, research approach, sample selection, data collection and data analysis must be taken

into consideration for reliability to be ensured. The purpose of the research is to investigate

how practicing lawyers are leveraging the use technology in Ghana.

Exploratory and descriptive research methods will be applied. Exploratory research

seeks to investigate a situation and provide insight to the researcher (Sarantakos, 2005) and

descriptive research describes a situation or a phenomenon that is being studied. The research

seeks to investigate and explore the level of technology usage in the legal system with a focus

on Ghanaian law firms, and further describe the findings to the Ghanaian legal community

and other interested stakeholders. A qualitative approach will be used to acquire a deep

understanding of the topic. Qualitative Legal Research is a subjective form of research that

relies on the analysis of controlled observations of the legal researcher. The various methods

used for collecting data in qualitative research are grounded theory practice, narratology,

story-telling, and ethnography.

Trochim defines qualitative methodology as the collection of non-numerical data

(Trochim, 2005). As part of this approach, qualitative measures that will used for this thesis

included data from structured and unstructured interviews, documents and participant

observation. Qualitative research is crucial for strengthening the empirical base of operations

management by enhancing insights and discovery into organizational phenomena (Soltani et

al. 2014).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This paper will employ an exploratory conceptual framework. A conceptual

framework sets forth the standards to define a research question and find appropriate,

meaningful answers for the same. In exploring how practicing lawyers are leveraging the use

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of technology, qualitative preliminary research will be conducted. According to Stebbins

(2001), “Social Science exploration is a broad-ranging, purposive, systematic prearranged

undertaking designed to maximize the discovery of generalizations leading to description and

understanding”. This will help add quality and insightful information to the study. Thus, we

will first look at what technology is to this research and what practicing lawyers have got to

do with technology.

According to the Collins English Dictionary, technology refers to methods, systems

and devices which result in scientific knowledge being used for practical purposes. The

innovations done by modern technologies have the potential to broaden and enhance

communication and access to information. Technology has become a valuable asset in society

and an important tool in the day-to-day activity of an individual. Modern technology is

continuously reshaping industries nowadays, which most professions like teachers,

accountants, engineers and not forgetting legal professionals are taking advantage of. There

are several forms of technologies employed by these corporate bodies that have made work

easy. Some aiding innovations in the legal practice are the use of ChatGPt, Artificial

Intelligence (AI), online dispute resolution apps and so on. According to Kaplan (2016),

machines now perform increasingly complex tasks much better than humans.

The practice of law is not immune from this technological advancement. A senior

partner of Davies Howe Partners, a Toronto-based law firm discusses that the uniqueness of

the internet, which is a form of technology, is attributed to the fact that data is available and

can be accessed by anyone, anywhere (Howe, 2003). It is a fact that the Internet has enhanced

communication and it reduces communication costs over different mediums (Howe, 2003).

This shows how technology has made it possible for access to information to be everywhere.

For instance, AI technology has generated a lot of attention across various industries, the

legal sector included. Although it is still in the early stage of its development, AI technology

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is already being used by numerous companies and law firms are no exception (Vickery,

2019).

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of South Africa, tend not to be

included in discussions about “high-tech” industries. Often when new media technologies are

discussed in relation to Africa, it is through a 'development deficit' frame in which

technologies are deterministic and the African subject (nation or individual) lacks the

capacity either to innovate or use them in a novel way of relevance to the rest of the world.

There is exploring how practicing lawyers are leveraging the use of technology, detailed

exploratory research will be done in the made work.

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

Aside the fact that this work adds up to the plethora of literature on the field, it also

points out some of the gaps in the field that needs attention. It suggests some measures that

can be taken for the effective utilization of Artificial intelligence by lawyers in Ghana. The

study again points out some of the limitations that hinders the active and effective utilization

of AI in the practice of the law by lawyers.

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