UK Law Gazette – Commentary and opinion Are we ready for AI translators in the legal industry?

Interpreters bring an incredible skill to the legal profession. They perform many roles, from precisely translating documents for certification to simultaneously translating phone calls, conference presentations and court proceedings.

In courtroom settings, the ability of speech-to-speech interpreters to impartially and accurately express both counsel’s questions and witness responses is both an essential and an immense responsibility.

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) powered audio transcription and translation tools are beginning to be introduced into the legal industry, as an alternative to human interpreters.

The incentives for using this type of technology in law largely centre on productivity gains. AI translators remove the often time-consuming need to find, vet and brief interpreters.

Immediate translation at the push of a button allows lawyers to advise clients in real time – which is especially valuable in time-pressured situations, such as injunctive proceedings.

And, of course, while good quality legal translation tools and LLM-based products are not cheap, in the long-run they are likely to be more cost-effective than human interpreters, especially for long-running cases.

There are also wider ethical benefits, such as improving access to justice for people who find themselves involved in legal proceedings in jurisdictions where they do not speak the language, and cannot find or afford an interpreter.

What are the concerns?

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https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/are-we-ready-for-ai-translators-in-the-legal-industry/5122114.article?utm_source=gazette_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Mastercard+funder+to+get+up+to+%c2%a3100m+%7c+JR+reform+to+take+on+%27Nimbys%27+%7c+KC+slams+%27defective%27+SRA+at+tribunal_01%2f23%2f2025