Large Language Models in Law: A Survey
Jinqi Lai Wensheng Gan Jiayang Wu Zhenlian Qi Philip S. Yu
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted the
traditional judicial industry. Moreover, recently, with the development of
AI-generated content (AIGC), AI and law have found applications in various
domains, including image recognition, automatic text generation, and
interactive chat. With the rapid emergence and growing popularity of large
models, it is evident that AI will drive transformation in the traditional
judicial industry. However, the application of legal large language models
(LLMs) is still in its nascent stage. Several challenges need to be addressed.
In this paper, we aim to provide a comprehensive survey of legal LLMs. We not
only conduct an extensive survey of LLMs, but also expose their applications in
the judicial system. We first provide an overview of AI technologies in the
legal field and showcase the recent research in LLMs. Then, we discuss the
practical implementation presented by legal LLMs, such as providing legal
advice to users and assisting judges during trials. In addition, we explore the
limitations of legal LLMs, including data, algorithms, and judicial practice.
Finally, we summarize practical recommendations and propose future development
directions to address these challenges.