Can artificial intelligence make legal information more accessible without diminishing the essential role of lawyers in protecting individual rights and upholding the rule of law?

This question is at the heart of a thought-provoking article by Sabrina Martin, Founding Partner of MARTIN-CONDROTTE Avocats à la Cour, our member firm in Luxembourg.

With over 28 years of experience in complex and cross-border litigation, employment law and technology-related legal matters, Sabrina brings a particularly relevant perspective to this debate. A former partner at Loyens & Loeff, she has long been engaged with the intersection of law and technology, having developed Luxembourg's first Legal Tech platform in 2017.

Her professional involvement extends to the European level: she represents the Luxembourg Bar as an expert on the IT Law Committee of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) and is a member of the ILNAS AI Committee. She also served on the Luxembourg Bar Council from 2020 to 2024.

In the article below, Sabrina examines how AI is changing clients' expectations of legal services, the economic pressures facing law firms and, above all, why access to legal information must not be confused with access to independent legal advice and effective legal protection.

While AI Is Revolutionising Access to the Law, It Must Not Overshadow the Essential Role of Lawyers in Upholding the Rule of Law

By Sabrina Martin

Artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming the way we approach the law, and the full consequences of this evolution have undoubtedly yet to be fully understood.

Today, it is no longer uncommon for clients to visit a law firm after consulting ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools, convinced that they have already done “most of the work”. The lawyer’s involvement is then seen as a mere verification exercise, which should be completed quickly and at minimal cost.

Yet the role of a lawyer goes far beyond providing a legal answer. It involves listening, understanding a situation in all its complexity, assessing risks, advising and, when necessary, defending. All of this requires experience, sound judgement and independence, and entails professional responsibility.

Artificial intelligence undoubtedly represents a major advancement. Making the law more accessible is a positive development. However, easier access to information should not lead us to underestimate the significance of a lawyer’s involvement.

This evolution also raises very real economic concerns. In Luxembourg, law firms face substantial structural costs, particularly rent, staff expenses and fees paid to collaborating lawyers, while pressure on legal fees is increasing considerably.

Over time, this situation could affect their ability to recruit young lawyers, provide them with training and pass on the experience essential to practising the profession.

But the discussion cannot be limited to purely economic considerations. Beyond the future of law firms, what is at stake is the place of lawyers in our system governed by the rule of law.

Lawyers also enable individuals to assert their rights, defend themselves against more powerful interests and, when necessary, challenge decisions made by public authorities.

Their independence is not a privilege attached to the profession, but above all a safeguard for those seeking justice. If the conditions under which lawyers practise were to be weakened over the long term, the consequences could undermine access to independent, high-quality legal representation.

Artificial intelligence makes the law more accessible, and that is undeniable progress. However, knowing your rights and having the means to effectively enforce them are two very different things.

It is precisely in this distinction that the essential role of lawyers lies, along with their fundamental importance in upholding the rule of law.