Introduction
Welcome to Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Legal Practice. This book has been designed with legal practitioners in mind, ranging from law students to experienced professionals. The content is structured to progress from basic concepts to advanced applications, ensuring that legal practitioners at all levels of technological proficiency can develop their skills. For those just starting out in AI, it offers essential knowledge. For those already acquainted with AI tools, it provides advanced techniques and strategies.
The book offers a comprehensive journey through the adoption of generative AI in legal practice, progressing systematically from foundational concepts to advanced applications. Beginning with an exploration of the transformative role of generative AI in legal practice, this establishes a foundational understanding of AI, large language models, and related technologies, such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and AI agents.
The book then introduces an AI Fluency Framework specifically designed for Australian legal practitioners, emphasising how to work effectively, efficiently, ethically, and safely with AI tools. This framework serves as the foundation for making informed decisions about the adoption of AI in legal practice.
Building on this conceptual foundation, the book guides readers through the practical landscape of available AI platforms and products, enabling them to evaluate and select the most suitable tools for their specific needs. This includes an exploration of major platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, as well as Australian legal AI solutions.
The core practical sections focus on mastering prompt design and engineering, starting with fundamental techniques and then advancing to advanced prompt engineering strategies. This part emphasises practical applications specifically relevant to legal work, including systematic approaches to evaluating and refining AI outputs to ensure professional standards.
The book concludes by addressing the critical ethical considerations inherent in AI adoption, providing frameworks for responsible use and including practical guidance for developing organisational AI policies. This structure ensures that readers develop both theoretical understanding and practical competencies, enabling confident and competent adoption of AI while upholding the highest professional standards.
Explanations and examples are presented throughout the book, explicitly tailored for legal contexts. Each section builds upon the previous one, fostering a comprehensive understanding of how to use prompt engineering in legal practice effectively.
As we navigate this technological transformation, we must recognise that generative AI tools are not replacing legal expertise but augmenting it. They offer unprecedented capabilities in research, analysis, and document preparation, yet the informed judgment of legal professionals must guide the creation of these tools and their use. This book emphasises the importance of maintaining professional standards while leveraging these powerful tools, ensuring that efficiency gains do not come at the expense of quality or ethical practice.
This book serves as an introduction to prompt design and engineering and a comprehensive reference that you can return to as you develop your expertise in this area. It represents a bridge between traditional legal practice and our profession’s technological future, ensuring that legal practitioners can confidently and competently embrace these new tools while maintaining the highest standards of professional practice.
Purpose and Scope
This book serves multiple purposes:
1. To provide a foundational understanding of generative AI capabilities and limitations in legal practice
2. To teach specific prompt design and engineering techniques tailored to legal applications
3. To address ethical considerations and professional responsibilities when using AI
4. To prepare legal professionals for future developments in generative AI
Who Should Use This Book
This resource is designed for:
- Practising legal practitioners wanting to know the basics of AI, with a specific focus on generative AI
- Law firm knowledge managers and innovation officers
- Paralegals and legal support staff
- Law students preparing for contemporary legal practice
- Legal educators teaching modern legal skills
The Road Ahead
As you proceed through this book, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of how to use generative AI tools in legal practice effectively. Remember that prompt design and engineering, like the law itself, is both an art and a science. While this book provides frameworks and best practices, developing expertise will require practice, experimentation, and continuous learning.
Throughout the book, readers are encouraged to explore the use cases for generative artificial intelligence (AI) for legal practice through interactive activities and key readings. Each chapter will have handy cues to guide the reader on what to complete and how to complete it. These cues are presented in the form of icons, which are explained below.
Read or 
watch content as you read the book, stopping to reflect as needed.
Do get hands-on practice with interactive activities.
Example prompts or prompt templates to try in generative AI systems.
Flagging new concepts to explore.
Explore content outside the textbook.
