AI moves from experiment to infrastructure in UAE legal sector
Dubai: When a supply chain is disrupted, a contract that has sat untouched for years can suddenly become critical. A force majeure clause may determine whether a company is protected, exposed to losses or headed for a dispute. For legal teams, the problem is often not knowing where to look, but finding the time to examine hundreds of agreements before a problem escalates. That is where artificial…
Dubai: In the realm of legal sector, artificial intelligence (AI) is transitioning from experimental phase to operational use within legal firms and practices in the UAE. Dmitry Grinik, the founder and CEO of Legaline Platform, observed that AI integration has rapidly shifted from experimental to practical use within the past three to six months.
This surge in AI adoption coincides with increased pressure on legal and advisory teams as regional disruptions prompt contract reviews, renegotiations, and stricter compliance checks.
Grinik highlighted that AI is not merely replacing repetitive tasks but also enables lawyers to manage workloads that previously demanded more time and manpower. The impact of AI is particularly evident among mid-sized firms. While large international law firms began automating internal processes several years ago, smaller practices are now beginning to develop similar capabilities. However, the transition for these mid-sized firms could take up to nine to 12 months due to limited internal IT resources.
One of the notable advancements is the conversion of a firm's own knowledge into AI-powered resources. Case files, past agreements, internal precedents, and document archives can be transformed into resources accessible through AI systems. Lawyers can leverage this institutional knowledge to assess new matters without the need to sift through years of files.
This potential is especially evident in force majeure reviews, where AI can swiftly identify ambiguous, potentially unenforceable, or outdated clauses within large contract portfolios. Multiple AI specialists can then analyze the same issue from different perspectives and generate a structured assessment.
Grinik views AI as an extension of legal expertise rather than a substitute for it. The application of AI in force majeure clause reviews, for instance, allows companies operating in the UAE, which has multiple legal frameworks, to identify potential weaknesses before disputes escalate to court. A corporate counsel responsible for 200 contracts could leverage AI to detect issues before legal action takes place.
Beyond individual law firms, the UAE's AI adoption push extends to a broader ecosystem involving government activities, data centers, universities, and AI systems. The UAE's target of 50% of government activities powered by agentic AI by 2028 is expected to create a conducive environment for legal technology development. The country's legal environment, characterized by multiple jurisdictions, over 40 free zones, and a highly international business population, presents a unique opportunity for testing legal technology.
Grinik believes that while AI may not replace lawyers, it empowers them to see further, work faster, and act before legal problems become crises.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
