Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
3 of 20 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
More than half of Victoria’s lawyers have reported using AI in their work, according to a new study, but just over a quarter say they’ve reduced fees as a result of efficiency gains.
uncertain
they → report → gains
They also say clients seeking advice from chatbots has added to their workload, forcing them to correct errors made by AI.
asserted
clients → say → AI
The 2026 census of 2,221 of the state’s lawyers, conducted by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner’s legal services research centre, found a major increase in lawyers using AI in their practices, rising from 37% to 55% in the last year.
asserted
lawyers → conduct → year
While the 2025 report found AI use was highest among those under 30 years of age, in 2026 this disparity had largely disappeared, although usage remained low for those aged 60 and over.
asserted
usage → find → those
AI use was most common in trade practices (85%), banking and finance (78%) and information technology and telecommunications (78%), while it was used much less in criminal law (29%), family law (45%) and administrative law (46%).
asserted
it → use → law
While there are AI tools designed specifically for legal services, 79% of lawyers reported using consumer chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot.
asserted
% → be → ChatGPT
Legal-specific tools alone were used by 22% of respondents.
asserted
tools → use → respondents
The increased use in AI has not translated to a reduction in fees for most, the survey found, with just 26% of lawyers responding that their use of AI had resulted in lower client fees.
asserted
use → increase → fees
Reduced fees were more likely to be reported by those working for business clients (34%) compared with individual fee-paying clients (23%).
asserted
fees → reduce → clients
Some reported AI had enabled them to take on work that would have previously been uneconomical (18%).
asserted
that → report → work
The principal researcher and report co-author, Dr Georgie Rychner, said fee reductions in corporate and big firms could be attributed to the fact clients in those settings were repeat users of legal services.
uncertain
clients → say → services
“They have a high level of legal capability,” she said.
asserted
she → have → capability
“They also are perhaps using AI in their own work, so they have a better understanding and are able to advocate for lower prices … whereas we’re not seeing that as much in the community legal system sector.
asserted
we → use → sector
Rychner said the efficiency gains of using AI were not as high as expected, but that in 2025 the survey found 89% of practitioners said they had taken steps to verify the accuracy of AI output, which might have negated the gains.
uncertain
which → say → gains
Rychner said in 2026 there had been a rise in clients using AI for their own legal research, with 46% of lawyers reporting their clients were arriving with inaccurate or misleading information, and 41% presenting AI-generated documents that required correction.
asserted
that → say → correction
Nearly half of lawyers said there was an increase in time and effort required if their clients used AI, compared with 19% who said it led to a reduction in time and effort.
“What we are hearing is that clients are more frequently arriving with misleading or inaccurate information about their legal problems, more so than they’re arriving with a better understanding of legal problems,” she said, adding more research was needed to understand client perspectives.
asserted
research → say → perspectives
Courts and legal practitioner bodies across Australia have been grappling with the rise in AI use among lawyers and the public since 2023.
asserted
Courts → grapple → 2023
A Victorian lawyer last year was the first in the country to face sanctions for false citations discovered, being stripped of his ability to practise as a principal lawyer.
asserted
lawyer → face → lawyer
Investigations were also launched by regulatory bodies in Western Australia and New South Wales in similar cases.
asserted
Investigations → launch → cases
The federal court in April issued new rules around using generative AI, while the chief justice of the high court, Stephen Gageler, said last year the use of AI-generated content in legal cases had reached an “unsustainable phase”.
asserted
use → issue → phase
The Aporia
