How AI is revolutionising Africa’s legal industry

Africa’s legal industry has long struggled with inefficiencies, limited access to justice, and high barriers to entry for legal services.

A 2022 report by The Lawyers Hub highlighted that the adoption of legal technology in Africa is still in its early stages, with many countries grappling with outdated systems and a lack of digital infrastructure.

“Many legal systems in Africa are still hampered by outdated infrastructures,” says a 2023 report by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology (CIPIT).

In countries such as South Africa and Kenya, AI has been slowly integrated into specific areas such as legal research and document analysis. However, as Rasheed Abass, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, points out, “Our level of AI adoption in Africa is still evolving.”

In Nigeria, for instance, the legal system has often been viewed as inaccessible to the general public. Legal literacy remains low, and many Nigerians lack a clear understanding of their legal rights and obligations. Legal research, even for professionals, is time-consuming and complicated. ​This is where AI, with its potential to automate and simplify legal processes, comes into play.

The impact of AI on Africa’s legal space

AI is transforming the legal space in Africa by automating repetitive tasks, improving legal research, and providing virtual legal assistance. According to the State of Legal Tech in Africa 2022-2023 report, AI-powered legal tools can reduce the time spent on tasks such as document reviewing by 70%, allowing legal professionals to focus on more complex, strategic work. For instance, AI systems can analyse large sets of legal data, providing predictions for case outcomes based on past rulings.

AI has significantly impacted legal research, allowing for faster and more accurate results. Tools like South Africa’s LawPavilion and Nigeria’s Case Radar have harnessed AI to make legal research more efficient. This not only improves the speed at which cases are handled but also ensures greater accuracy by reducing human error.

In Kenya, AI-based systems are now helping legal professionals in drafting documents, reviewing contracts, and summarising complex legal texts, thus saving time and reducing the workload on lawyers. The use of AI in these tasks has allowed lawyers to focus on higher-value work that requires human judgment and interpretation.

Addressing access to justice

One of the key areas where AI is making an impact is in providing broader access to justice. According to FurtherAfrica, AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots are already being used to provide basic legal guidance, helping individuals navigate legal processes and answer common legal questions. This is especially significant in Africa, where a large portion of the population lacks access to affordable legal services. AI systems are bridging the gap by offering low-cost solutions that empower individuals who previously had limited or no access to legal assistance.

In Nigeria, legal services are often too expensive for the average citizen.

“Legal literacy and access to affordable legal services have been critical gaps, and AI is now offering low-cost solutions that are empowering individuals who were previously excluded,” noted a recent CIPIT policy brief.

AI solutions like Case Radar are offering legal guidance in local languages, making it easier for people to understand their rights and seek justice. Virtual legal assistants provide preliminary advice on issues such as property disputes, family law, and labour rights, giving individuals the confidence to take legal action when necessary.

Ethical challenges and job displacement

While AI brings many benefits, it also raises several ethical concerns. Legal professionals in Africa have expressed worries about transparency and potential biases in AI algorithms. As AI tools are trained on historical data, they may perpetuate existing biases in the legal system, leading to unfair outcomes. A well-documented example of AI being trained on biased case law is the use of the COMPAS algorithm in US courtrooms to predict recidivism. Research by ProPublica in 2016 alleged significant racial disparities in the predictions made by COMPAS.

ProPublica reported that the algorithm often assigned higher recidivism risk scores to black defendants than white defendants, even when controlling for prior offences. For instance, in one case, a black defendant with a low risk of reoffending (based on real-life outcomes) was given a high score, while a white defendant with a history of reoffending received a much lower risk score.

Ben Green, an expert in algorithmic fairness, notes, “Even if risk assessments could attain some type of perfect prediction, that wouldn’t solve the problem. A perfect risk assessment could have the perverse effect of making these policies appear more legitimate.”​

In the corporate world, Amazon in 2018 scrapped an automated résumé screening tool that ended up favouring male candidates for technical roles over female candidates. This occurred because the tool was trained on historical data from Amazon’s male-dominated workforce.

Rachel Goodman, a former American Civil Liberties Union attorney, pointed out that these AI systems are not eliminating human bias but rather “laundering it through software”.

Biases in AI often disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups. In the context of the legal system, this can manifest in several ways. For instance, AI-powered legal tools could recommend that people from marginalised communities not pursue lawsuits, citing data that shows historically lower success rates for these groups. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy: if fewer people from these communities file suits, the data continues to show poor success rates, reinforcing the bias and further deterring legal action.

Additionally, there is growing concern about job displacement. As AI continues to automate legal tasks, many fear that it could replace junior lawyers and paralegals, leading to unemployment in an already competitive industry. A 2021 report from PolicyCenter noted that while AI will not replace legal professionals entirely, it will likely result in the automation of lower-level tasks, forcing lawyers to adapt by acquiring new skills such as AI literacy and data analysis.

People-oriented platforms

In response to these challenges, Case Radar was launched in Nigeria to address the pressing issues of legal accessibility and efficiency. The platform, developed by Agbo Obinnaya and Anthonymark Ngwu, aims to revolutionise legal research and provide affordable legal services to all. The founder, who experienced the difficulties of legal research first-hand during his law school days, saw the need for a platform that could provide quick, reliable answers to legal questions without the complications of traditional systems.

Unlike other legal platforms, Case Radar claims it is designed to be people-oriented, with its development driven by user feedback. Before launching, the team conducted surveys with hundreds of individuals, including law students and practicing lawyers, to understand their needs. The platform uses AI to provide personalised legal advice and connect clients to lawyers through an online legal marketplace.

It can perform real-time legal research based on Nigerian laws, offering quick solutions to complex legal questions. The AI system can summarise lengthy legal documents, helping users understand complex legal principles without spending hours poring over texts.

Legal services in Nigeria have long been prohibitively expensive, but Case Radar seeks to change that. With a subscription model starting at 1000 Naira for one hour and 25,000 Naira a month, the platform is aiming at a wider segment of the population.

One of the common concerns with AI-driven legal platforms is the accuracy of the information provided. To ensure that its AI system remains reliable, Case Radar involves legal practitioners in the auditing process, ensuring that the data used is up-to-date and accurate. The platform regularly updates its database with new laws and court rulings.

The future beckons

Looking ahead, AI is set to play an even more prominent role in Africa’s legal space. According to the Lawyers Hub State of Legal Tech Report 2022-2023, AI adoption in legal systems across the continent is expected to accelerate, with platforms like Case Radar leading the way. The African legal tech market is projected to grow significantly by 2025, with more countries looking to adopt AI-driven solutions in their legal systems.

Stuart Greenhill of LexisNexis predicts that “the speed at which AI tools are integrated into legal processes will reshape billing models and pricing structures” in the near future.

For example, South Africa has already begun implementing AI systems to support judicial processes. Predictive analytics and machine learning tools are helping to streamline case management and reduce backlogs in the court system. These innovations are not only improving efficiency but also cutting costs and making legal services more accessible to the public.