Revolutionising Legal Processes with Agentic AI
Agentic AI marks a paradigm shift in artificial intelligence. Unlike generative AI, Agentic AI is designed to autonomously execute decisions and complete complex tasks without constant human input. This revolutionary technology is poised to redefine how legal teams operate, strategise, and deliver value.
What Is Agentic AI?
Think of an Agentic AI system as a team of specialised agents working together to accomplish specific goals and adapt to their environment. Each agent has a distinct role – some may include Large Language Models (LLMs), search engines, or tools dedicated to particular tasks. In legal document creation, for example, one agent might research relevant case law, another drafts the document, a third critiques the work, and a final agent produces the polished version based on all previous outputs.
What makes Agentic AI revolutionary is its ability to break down complex tasks, sequence actions, gather the appropriate information, and execute workflows end-to-end. It continuously self-corrects, refines outputs, and adjusts based on new inputs—all while operating within set parameters and under human oversight (Thomson Reuters Legal, 2025).
Transforming Legal Operations
These agents are not just reactive – they’re proactive. They can interpret legal documents, identify risks, suggest strategies, and even coordinate workflows across departments. Think of them as intelligent legal assistants that don’t just follow instructions – they anticipate needs and act accordingly.
This, in turn, allows legal professionals to focus on higher-level, strategic work. Also, and possibly more importantly, they supercharge operational agility and unlock new revenue opportunities.
In McKinsey’s recent report, it was noted that for legal operations, Agentic AI systems deliver five key improvements (McKinsey, 2025):
- Simultaneous Coordination: Legal workflows often involve multiple interconnected steps – from initial research to document drafting and compliance verification. Agentic AI can coordinate and execute these steps simultaneously, reducing delays.
- Adaptive Process Flows: Legal requirements are constantly evolving. Agentic AI systems can ingest new regulatory data to improve workflows and ensure ongoing compliance.
- Personalised Service: Whether managing contract negotiations or monitoring compliance, Agentic AI can consider individual client profiles, matter-specific requirements, and organisational preferences to deliver tailored legal solutions.
- Operational Elasticity: Legal departments face volatile workloads, seasonal demands, and unexpected surges. Agentic AI can adapt by scaling resources without compromising quality.
- Enhanced Resilience: Reliability is critical. Agentic AI can detect disruptions, reroute processes when issues arise, and escalate to human oversight only when necessary.
Agentic AI is revolutionising legal teams and legal operations in several keyways, including:
- Contract Lifecycle Management: Agentic AI can autonomously review, draft, and negotiate contracts, flagging anomalies and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. It learns from past agreements and playbooks and adapts to new legal frameworks in real time.
- Legal Research & Analysis: Instead of manually sifting through case law and statutes, legal agents can conduct deep research, synthesise findings, and present actionable insights – often in seconds.
- Workflow Automation: From matter intake to billing, Agentic AI streamlines repetitive tasks, freeing up legal professionals to focus on strategic decision-making and client engagement.
- Risk & Compliance Monitoring: These agents can continuously scan internal and external data sources to detect potential legal risks, regulatory changes, or compliance breaches – alerting teams before issues escalate.
Challenges and Pitfalls of Agentic AI in Legal
Agentic AI’s has significant potential in offering efficiency and autonomy for legal teams – but its adoption is not without risks. From liability concerns to technical hurdles, legal teams must carefully navigate the implications of deploying autonomous systems. Below are some of the main challenges for consideration:
- Legal Liability and Accountability: Organisations may be held liable for autonomous agent actions, even if unintended, due to unclear legal status and strict liability frameworks.
- Explainability and Oversight: Agentic AI’s multi-step reasoning can be difficult to audit, making it hard to verify legal conclusions or correct hallucinations.
- Data Privacy and Security: Autonomous systems interact with sensitive data, increasing exposure to breaches and complicating compliance across jurisdictions.
- Integration and Workflow Complexity: Many legal workflows aren’t standardised, and legacy systems may not support agentic integration, causing disruptions.
- Ethical and Strategic Risks: Bias, unfair outcomes, and misuse are real risks if agents aren’t governed properly or if teams lack AI literacy.
It’s Time to Act with Agentic AI
Of course, deploying Agentic AI requires thoughtful governance. Issues around data privacy, ethical decision-making, and accountability must be addressed. But with robust frameworks and interdisciplinary collaboration, these challenges are surmountable. As legal operations evolve, Agentic AI will become indispensable – not just as a tool, but as a partner. The firms and departments that harness their potential today will be the ones shaping the legal landscape of tomorrow.
References:
- McKinsey & Company. (2025, June). Seizing the Agentic AI Advantage. McKinsey Global Institute.
- Thomson Reuters Legal. (2025, June). Agentic AI and Legal: How It’s Redefining the Profession.
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For further information, please contact:
Natasha Norton, KorumLegal
Natasha.Norton@korumlegal.com
