AI in Local Government Legal Teams: Promise and Pitfalls
AI tools—especially “generative AI”—are starting to appear in local authority legal work, from summarising consultation responses to reviewing procurement documents. Used carefully, they can save time and improve consistency; used carelessly, they can invent case law, breach confidentiality, or create IP headaches.
Potential Benefits
- Triage & summarisation – condensing long emails, bundles, or reports into usable notes.
- Procurement & contracts – spotting deviations from templates, suggesting clauses, drafting bidder Q&A.
- Information law – identifying possible FOIA/EIR exemptions for review.
- Litigation support – producing chronologies or skeleton letters for lawyer review.
- Policy & training – drafting readable policy versions and producing learning materials.
Benefits include faster first drafts, reduced admin, more consistent outputs, and cost control—freeing lawyers for complex public law matters.
Key Risks
- Hallucinations – AI can fabricate cases or misstate law. All legal propositions and citations must be checked by a lawyer.
- Confidentiality & data protection – Public tools can leak personal or privileged data. Use enterprise-grade systems, minimise inputs, and follow ICO guidance.
- Intellectual property – Ownership of AI-assisted works can be unclear; outputs may infringe third-party rights. Use clear contract clauses on ownership, licences, and indemnities.
- Bias & fairness – AI-based triage or recommendations must be explainable and fair.
- Competence & supervision – SRA duties apply; AI outputs are drafts, not legal advice.
Good Practice
- Start with low-risk tasks (summarisation, style editing, clause comparison).
- Use secure, managed AI tools with clear data handling terms.
- Carry out Data Protection Impact Assessments for significant use cases.
- Train staff on risks, especially hallucinations, data protection, and citation-checking.
- Mark AI-assisted work and record human contribution.
Do: fact-check everything, protect data, keep AI inside secure platforms, clarify IP.
Don’t: input sensitive or privileged data into public chatbots, rely on unverified outputs, assume IP ownership without checking.
Bottom Line
AI is a power tool, not a junior lawyer. With the right controls, local government legal teams can harness its efficiencies without sacrificing accuracy, confidentiality, or compliance.
This blog was produced entirely by AI
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